866-217-7794

Discuss Your Project
TGB Group

Tag: Texas

  • Senior Fundraiser – Montgomery County Miles for Meals Fun Run Recap

    Senior Fundraiser – Montgomery County Miles for Meals Fun Run Recap

    We walked, we ran and we had fun raising money for meals

    In April, TGB Group team members got together with many others in the community to participate in the Meals on Wheels Fun Run senior fundraiser.  It was a great event, with the goal of raising money to provide meals to homebound seniors.

    TGB Group was proud to be a Bronze Sponsor for this special event to help out our area seniors who sometimes struggle to get the food they need for daily meals.

    The senior fundraiser was coordinated by Montgomery County Meals on Wheels.  In addition to healthy meals, the organization also is available to help seniors with necessary trips such as to their doctor appointments and to stores and other places.

    Senior fundraiser Fun Run events

    fundraiser for seniors photo #2

    Participants enjoyed doing either a 5K or 10K course.  Those who were in pretty good shape ran their courses.  Others just walked or jogged along at their own pace.  Entry fees for the courses went to Meals on Wheels.

    All kinds of people brought their children – many in strollers – and we saw plenty of dogs all over the place.  The dogs had fun, the babies had fun, and all of us “big kids” had a blast, too.

    What’s great about events like the Meals on Wheels senior fundraiser is that it’s always a totally supportive atmosphere.  There’s no big competition (although, winners for the events were selected, so serious runners were probably a little competitive), and everybody was simply out to enjoy the day and do something positive for our senior population.

    About Meals on Wheels

    Meals on Wheels is headquartered in Conroe, Texas, in Montgomery County.  Their focus is assisting at-risk senior who might not have an easy way to get their daily food – something we all pretty much take for granted.

    The Miles for Meals senior fundraiser is just one of many ways the organization enlists the help of the greater community to come together and give a hand to our local seniors.

    Maybe next year, you can join us at this super event.

    The TGB Team

    Photos on this page are from Jesse Juarez of Jesse Juarez Photography.  Check out his work, and give him a call when you need truly exceptional visuals for your event or business promotion.

  • Children’s Fundraising Event in New Braunfels, Texas, Made a Difference

    Children’s Fundraising Event in New Braunfels, Texas, Made a Difference

    TGB Had a Great Time Helping Raise Money Abused & Neglected Children

    Some of us at TGB Group had a great time recently participating in a children’s fundraising event held at the Bandit Golf Club in New Braunfels, Texas on April 12, 2021.

    The proceeds from this very special event went to help Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA), also located in New Braunfels.

    This great organization works hard to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system.  Their work involves recruiting, training and coordinating their many community volunteers.  Their vision statement is simple: “Every child has the right to a safe, nurturing, permanent home.”

    The children’s fundraising event at the Bandit Golf Club was just one of the ways CASA reaches out for assistance from the community to help children with real and present needs.

    What We Did at this Children’s Fundraising Event

    TGB Group at a children's fundraising event

    TGB Group believes strongly in making better lives for all children who are in precarious circumstances.  We also believe in having fun, and that’s exactly what we did at the special golfing event.

    It was the Second Double Schotts Golf Tournament, sponsored by Double Schotts Sports Bar & Grill in New Braunfels.  The establishment was founded by four friends who loved fun and sports and wanted to create a sports bar environment that focused heavily on those two things.

    For the tournament, TGB Group sponsored the 12th hole, which is a long, 425-yard par 4.  The format for the tourney was a four-person team scramble.

    Money was generated through various hole competitions with golfers competing for the longest drive, ball closest to the pin and the Tiger Drive.  There was also an exciting putting contest, raffle tickets and a lot of cool prizes.

    All this and more made it the perfect children’s fundraising event that everyone enjoyed and went home knowing that, whether they won any of the challenges or not, they met the most important challenge of all: helping disadvantaged children.

    The TGB Team

  • The AREMA Annual Conference: Learning & Networking Opportunities

    The AREMA Annual Conference: Learning & Networking Opportunities

    The perfect event for all rail industry professionals

    TGB Group representatives are looking forward to the upcoming AREMA Annual Conference to be held Sept. 26-29.  Every year, the American Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) puts on a great conference with many educational and networking opportunities.

    Presented in conjunction with Railway Interchange, the conference is designed as an opportunity for rail engineering professionals to expand their industry knowledge about the latest technologies and innovations.  TGB Group will join many others who seek key distinctions that will allow them to expand and grow their businesses or consultancies.

    AREMA Annual Conference presenters

    A variety of rail-industry experts are scheduled to speak and share important knowledge with attendees that will benefit them, no matter what sector of the industry they serve.

    Every year, those who participate in the AREMA Annual Conference get to hear about what’s trending, what’s coming up the pipeline and how we can use the information to further our expertise and make our companies more fluent and effective.

    Networking with other professionals

    The AREMA Annual Conference is the perfect time to reconnect with associates and make new connections that can bring positive mutual benefit.  Just these brief (or extended) conversations can give you a wealth of insight and ideas that you can bring back home and implement with your team.

    We attend as many industry conferences and events as possible throughout the year.  While our team of civil engineering experts are at the forefront of our niche in the industry, we believe there’s always room for improvement and growth.  The AREMA Annual Conference is a great and fun way to accomplish that.

    About AREMA

    The American Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association is a professional association for those who serve in many capacities in the rail and rail engineering industries.  AREMA focuses on education with many events throughout the year.

    The association creates and distributes recommended practices regarding communications, structures, tracks and signals in the rail industry.  AREMA currently has about 6,000 members.

    We’ll see you at the conference!

  • Jumping in to Help with Meals on Wheels Volunteer Opportunities

    Outfitted with masks and aprons, Dean and Rebecca are ready to rock.

    Jumping in to Help with Meals on Wheels Volunteer Opportunities

    One day making lunches brought big dividends

    meals on wheels volunteer
    A Meals on Wheels volunteer makes a LOT of food!

    We had a great experience in January by working for a day as a Meals on Wheels volunteer.  Rebecca, along with Dean Murphy, who is a Texas A&M student intern for The TGB Group, helped the program prepare 1,000+ lunches for homebound seniors in the Conroe, Texas, area.

    Rebecca has been active in fundraising for the organization since 2018 and thought getting more active as a Meals on Wheels volunteer would be an awesome experience.  She was right.

    Rebecca and Dean did their part by helping set up lunch trays with vegetables, cobbler and pudding and making sure the food-prep areas were properly and safely sanitized.  In itself, pretty uneventful work.

    But the payoff was deeply felt.  A lot of elderly community members are unable to leave their homes due to illness, lack of transportation or simply old age.  Add in concerns about contracting COVID, and you’ve got a lot of people who need someone to help them out a little.

    About Meals on Wheels Montgomery County

    meals on wheels volunteer work
    Outfitted with masks and aprons, Dean and Rebecca are ready to rock.

    Meals on Wheels was founded in 1973 as The Friendship Center to serve the needs of seniors in the county.  Over the years, the organization has grown to provide around 300,000 meals and 15,000 rides each year to the elderly and disabled in Montgomery County.

    For many of the people served, this is possibly the only way they could get a hot meal and necessary transportation to healthcare appointments and other destinations.  Every Meals on Wheels volunteer – and there are hundreds of them – are making a significant difference in people’s lives.

    Area businesses also help out, as do thousands of donors who give the money that’s needed to keep the operation running.

    One day of volunteer work may not be much out of our schedule, but it sure means a lot to the homebound individuals who get a delicious meal delivered right to their door.

    Serving as a Meals on Wheels volunteer was the right thing to do for Rebecca and Dean, and we hope more community-minded folks will give a little of their time now and then for this good cause.

    The TGB Team

  • TGB Group Hired for Port of Victoria Rail Infrastructure Project

    TGB Group Hired for Port of Victoria Rail Infrastructure Project

    Work to include a master plan for water, rail and highway transportation

    TGB Group has entered into an agreement for consulting services in the Port of Victoria rail infrastructure project. Our team will help the Port identify ways to develop rail infrastructure and operations along with other development efforts for land surrounding the port.

    We’ll begin by designing an industrial and rail-centric master plan for the property with the overall concept of a multi-modal facility offering transportation by water, rail and highway. When the plan is complete, we’ll work with the Port to outline the next steps to take to further the development of rail operations while considering building additional infrastructure.

    Port of Victoria Rail Infrastructure Project Specs

    The Port turning basin area is situated on more than 2,000 acres and is served by rail and four-lane divided highways.

    POV Dock No. 1 is a 350-foot transit dock. A new lighting system allows for 24-hour cargo operations. Twenty mooring sites, 17,000 square feet of shed space and more than three acres of improved ground storage areas are available. A 7,300-square-foot office and storage building is ready for occupancy.

    POV Dock No. 2 is an 800-foot string pier available for docking sites and barge repair. Major products transferred are liquid and dry bulk and general and project cargo. The Port of Victoria’s mission is to provide waterway transportation capabilities to create economic opportunity in the region.

    The Port recently created an industrial park with multi-modal access. The park is located within a foreign trade zone and a Texas Enterprise Zone. The Port has the ability to “build to suit” and tailor a package specific to the facility and transportation needs of customers.

    A major cost savings was realized by including the basin expansion with the completion of the widening and deepening of the canal. In addition to almost doubling the size of the harbor, a 400-foot-by-150-foot barge slip was added for greater safety and efficiency.

    TGB’s work on the Port of Victoria rail infrastructure project will allow the Port to realize many of its expansion and development targets.

    Port of Victoria rail infrastructure project

    About the Port of Victoria

    With inland waterways that lead to the Gulf of Mexico and markets throughout the world, the Port of Victoria provides water, rail, highway and air transportation options. It is a center for the chemical, construction, steel fabrication and agribusiness industries, offering access to all transportation modes.

    The Port is located on the Texas coast between Houston and Corpus Christi.

    To learn more about our work on the Port of Victoria rail infrastructure project, please contact:

    Mike Murphy, president, TGB Group: (866) 217-7794

  • Clean it Like You Mean it: Trash Bash 2021

    Clean it Like You Mean it: Trash Bash 2021

    Come out and help our environment by picking up waterway trash in the Houston area

    If you’re not otherwise engaged on the weekend of March 27, 2021, consider joining us for a great time hanging out with trash.  No, not that kind of trash.  We’re talking about the kind of trash that pollutes our waterways and therefore our environment.

    It’s the 28th annual River, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash to support the Texas Conservation Fund.  It’s easy to get involved, and it’s fun for everybody.

    The conservation fund was launched in 1985 to advance America’s land and water legacy.  Working with a variety of partners, the fund focuses on conserving land, training leaders and investing in conservation.  It is headquartered in Arlington, Va., and has saved more than 6,000,000 acres of land throughout all 50 states.

    What happens at the Trash Bash?

    It’s one big clean-up, with thousands of volunteers who care about our planet gathering along waterways in Texas and removing the trash that could spoil and ruin our natural lands.  The Bash grows every year, and every year we add to the massive amount of trash we’ve picked up since the project started in 1994.

    Get more information on the weekend’s agenda as it becomes available here.  Also, learn more about how this year’s event is being billed as a “virtual” event to keep people safe during the COVID-19 situation.

    About the Bash

    Trash Bash is financed in part by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  Trash Bash is approved to receive TCEQ Supplemental Environmental Project funds.

    The event is the largest single-day waterway cleanup event in Texas.  Trash Bash was founded in 1994 by the Houston-Galveston Area Council and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  The inaugural Bash saw 3,000 volunteers working at seven sites.

    By 2020, the event had grown to cover 16 sites across the Galveston Bay Watershed with more than 4,000 volunteers taking part.

    Some of our team will be there this year to give a little of our time.  We encourage you to make a space in your schedule to give some of your own time to suport this very worthy cause.

    The TGB Group Team

  • TGB Group Sponsors Golf Fundraiser Event

    TGB Group Sponsors Golf Fundraiser Event

    Nearly 200 Rail Industry Golfers Participated

    For the fifth consecutive year, TGB Groups has helped to sponsor the annual golf fundraiser held by the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS). This year’s event happened at the Trails of The Woodlands club in The Woodlands, Texas.

    The October 2, 2020 golf fundraiser event was attended by 196 golfers from companies associated with the rail industry.

    TGB group sponsored the 7th hole on the Oaks Course, one of two courses at the Trails of The Woodlands. For this hole, the winner would be the golfer who could hit the longest drive. That honor went to Mark Dearing, owner of Vertex Builders.

    Other incentives at the SWARS golf fundraiser included the longest putt, the closest approach shot and a $10,000 hole-in-one challenge.

    Golf fundraiser benefits a scholarship fund

    As in years past, the golfing event raised money for the George Elking, Jr. Scholarship Fund.

    Elking is known within the rail industry, having served as SWARS president in 1995 and then as president of the North American Association of Rail Shippers in 1998.

    TGB Group is always excited to play in the golf fundraiser event and help support the Elking scholarship. Our employs have participated for the past 15 years, and we’ve been a proud hole sponsor since 2016.

    The large turnout of nearly 200 golfers shows the unity of many companies within the rail industry. We’re like a brotherhood – and sisterhood – who have built multiple industry connections and always enjoy getting reacquainted with the folks who make railroads run.

    SWARS meetings

    The golfing event fundraisers are held twice a year, always in conjunction with official SWARS meetings. We encourage individuals and companies in the rail industry to be part of the meetings, where critical information is discussed and to get involved in the golf fundraiser as a player or sponsor, where a good time is always guaranteed.

    Here’s a recap of our last SWARS golfing event.

  • Railcar Storage Yard Development Project

    Railcar Storage Yard Development Project

    TGB providing design services to Texas Gonzales & Northern Railway

    Texas Gonzales & Northern Railway (TXGN) has again selected TGB Group for design services in support of its railcar storage yard development project that will add capacity to its already sizeable yard in Gonzales, Texas.

    We’re proud of our long-term relationship with TXGN and are honored to have been chosen to bring our cutting-edge services to this exciting railcar storage yard development effort.  Our team will provide survey, design and construction oversight activities for a new yard expansion that will give TXGN an additional 400 car spots for a new client they recently secured.

    TGB Group’s bottom-line objective here is to create greater efficiency and cost savings for TXGN.  We’re partnering with Shackelford Construction & Hauling, LLC of Yazoo City, Miss., to operate the project as a design build.

    Texas Gonzales & Northern Railway tasked TGB with providing a plan to complete the railcar storage yard development expansion in a very short window, something we’re quite familiar with.  We will be feeding up-to-date design specifications to Shackelford each week in order to speed up the process.  This will allow construction to start with minimal design work completed and continue quickly, cutting more than 45 days from a traditional timeline.

    TXGN railcar storage yard development project specs

    • More than 30,000 feet of track
    • 19 turnouts
    • Access roadways
    • Drainage for the entire site
    • Existing drainage improvements
    • Creation of a master plan for additional adjacent yard tracks that TXGN can add later

    About TXGN

    Texas Gonzales & Northern Railway has been providing rail transport, storage and operations for companies in the heartland of Texas since 1992. Located midway between Gonzales and Harwood, off U.S. 1-10, TXGN owns and/or manages 13 miles of lead track, and approximately 61 miles of storage and loop track. TXGN interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad and handles several thousand cars carrying energy-related products: grain and animal feed meals, clay/bentonite and raw and finished heavy metal products.

    To learn more about our railcar storage yard development project for TXGN, please contact:

    Mike Murphy, president, TGB Group: (866) 217-7794

  • Survey, Design and Construction for Sugar Land Rail Facility

    Survey, Design and Construction for Sugar Land Rail Facility

    TGB Instrumental in Accredo Packaging Expansion

    TGB Group provided professional survey, design and construction services for the expansion of the Accredo Packaging North American production facility in Sugar Land, Texas.  The latest in three phases of expansion was completed in the first quarter of 2020 and provided Accredo with nearly three times more operational space.

    Highlights of the survey, design and construction expansion project include:

    • Total facility space upon completion: 550,000 square feet, which is nearly almost three times the original size
    • 165,000 additional square feet of warehouse and office space
    • 35,840 square feet of new manufacturing space
    • Work included adding a 4,000-amp underground power supply
    • Two 500t air-cooled chillers were added to serve production equipment
    • Two new rail spurs
    • 1,825 additional feet of railroad track along with a crossover and drainage accommodation

    New survey, design and construction increases capacity and creates jobs

    The expansion project will give Accredo a significant capacity increase for bag and pouch making, adhesive lamination projects and flexographic printing.  Annual flexible film production was increased to 2 billion feet from 1.5 billion feet.

    Along with greater production at its Sugar Land facility, which opened in 2009, the expansion work resulted in 175 new jobs in the area, bringing the number of Accredo employees up to 525 from 350 before the project began.

    TGB Group partnered with Railworks for much of the survey, design and construction services on this project, which supported Kingham Dalton Wilson, which oversaw the design and construction of a new building located to the south of the existing facility.

    About Accredo Packaging

    With headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, Accredo Packaging brings packaging solutions that are both innovative and sustainable to a number of multinational corporations and specialty brands.  The firm is a member of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council.

    Products produced by Accredo include wicketed bags, pouches and bundling; cotextured films; overwrap film; laminated barrier film rollstock and more.

    To learn more about TGB Group’s survey, design and construction services for the Accredo Sugar Land facility expansion, please contact:

    Mike Murphy, president, TGB Group: (866) 217-7794

  • BBB Gold Star Certificate from Houston Better Business Bureau

    BBB Gold Star Certificate from Houston Better Business Bureau

    The BBB is one of the many ways we connect with our community

    TGB Group has received a 2020 BBB Gold Star Certificate from the Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas.  We learned about this honor in April 2020.

    BBB membership is one of the many ways we stay connected with our community and is an opportunity for our community to stay connected with us.  There are Better Business Bureaus throughout the United States, and each one is in place to showcase businesses and companies in its area that perform to the highest ethical and professional standards.

    We’re proud to be recognized with the BBB Gold Star Certificate.  While our membership with the Houston BBB is just one of many memberships we hold, it’s important to us, because many consumers (including our future customers) consider it important that a company be in good standing with their local bureau.

    Along with the BBB Gold Star Certificate, we maintain an A+ rating with the Houston BBB and have received 5 stars on each of our customer reviews through the bureau.

    More important than a BBB Gold Star Certificate and other awards

    It’s always nice to be recognized by organizations and agencies for a job well done.  But at TGB Group, the most important recognition comes from our customers, the people we serve and help to grow and expand their operations.  Without satisfied customers on your side, you really don’t have a business.

    Since we launched our company three years ago, certain elements have been in place to guide us in all our work.  They include:

    • Integrity
    • Honesty
    • Hard work
    • Industry expertise
    • Clear communication
    • Customer-first approach
    • On-time delivery of services

    The way we see it, when the owners of a business set the standard for everyone in the company, when they hold employees – and themselves – to these standards, things just run more smoothly and client satisfaction is guaranteed to be high.

    If you’re interested in hiring the TGB team for your next engineering or design project, give us a call at (866) 217-7794 and tell us what you want to accomplish.