Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad Company receives new management
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ESCANABA -- The Escanaba & Lake Superior (E&LS) Railroad Company is entering a new chapter.
On Aug. 21, four members of the company's management were escorted out of the business and let go. Tyler Delvaux -- former vice president of operations -- and his wife, Taylor Delvaux -- former director of finance and accounting -- are no longer with the company, as well as two other employees who were not named by current management.
According to the new vice president, Tim Tennant, the change was necessary.
“Well, basically, we got approached by employees and a number of people that the trajectory of the railroad was going in a downward motion," Tennant said.
Tennant was hired to replace Delvaux by E&LS owner and CEO John Larkin, who has long-standing ties to Tennant. The two worked together during Tennant’s time at the Champion International Corporation in Quinnesec. Tennant's wife also worked for Larkin for 20 years.
“John knows us, and we presented him with a letter that indicated we can put a management team together and try and help turn the railroad around," Tennant said.
That discussion occurred towards the end of May. Ty Penca now works as the company's superintendent of transportation; Wendi Matthews became staff accountant; and Terri Lester, who works in accounting and marketing, remained at the company during their management transition.
Upon new management taking their places, the company reportedly communicated changes with their customers.
“We immediately went out and sat down with eight of our customers just to tell them about the changes and what we’re doing to change the direction of the railroad," Tennant said. "I think that’s very important that we set that straight, so they know what we’re doing to turn things around.”
While the exact factors that went into Larkin's decision to hire new management are unknown, Tennant did voice concerns over the previous management potentially partaking in alleged irregular financial reporting.
“At some point in time, you get to a position where you can’t recover," Tennant said. "On the course the railroad was taking, it could not continue on the same trajectory. Something had to change, and that’s what we’re trying to do as far as addressing infrastructure, finances and just being more responsive to customers.”
E&LS, headquartered in Wells, is a privately owned shortline railroad company operating in the Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company was chartered on Nov. 17, 1898, though various historical reports cite the year 1897.
According to the E&LS website, the big timber industry along the Escanaba River attracted enterprising Maine woodsman Jefferson Sinclair and Daniel Wells Jr., in the 1850s.
Later, Harrison and Nelson Ludington -- for which Ludington Street got its namesake -- joined Sinclair and Wells in the lumbering enterprise. The firm name became the N. Ludington Company.
Isaac Stephenson, of New Brunswick, entered the company in 1850 and steadily increased his holdings until 1888 when the name was changed to the I. Stephenson Company, according to E&LS. In 1898, the company's name was changed to the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railway, and the tracks were extended to Watson.
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 148, or svogelmann@dailypress.net.