08/27/2026
For Customer 17 of our 50 Customers in 50 Weeks series, we are celebrating a close, two-decade joint development partnership with a premier global rail equipment manufacturer and service provider. This collaboration showcases our shared commitment to trust, innovation, and cutting-edge product development.
The Challenge
As our partner began expanding their global offerings into the highly technical top-of-rail friction management market, they recognized a critical gap. The existing friction modifiers on the market were falling short of the industry's evolving operational and environmental demands. They needed a highly reliable, specialized partner who could help them engineer a brand-new, high-performance product capable of outperforming everything currently available.
The Solution
They turned to Midwest. Leveraging our deep scientific expertise and years of rigorous testing, our two teams embarked on a highly collaborative, multi-year research and development journey.
Together, we successfully engineered and introduced a revolutionary friction modifier. This advanced product was specifically designed to be environmentally safe while carrying significantly farther along the track than any competing solutions on the market.
The Result
The success of this initial product launch laid the foundation for a thriving, long-term Joint Development partnership that continues to deliver major benefits:
• Superior Rail Protection: The newly engineered friction modifier drastically reduced rail wear and tear, extending the lifespan of infrastructure for rail operators globally.
• Eco-Conscious Performance: We delivered a high-performance solution that meets the highest environmental standards, offering peace of mind to operators.
• A Foundation of Trust: Our successful collaboration evolved into a formal Joint Development Agreement, leading to a continuous pipeline of new, innovative products that benefit both companies and the global rail industry.
Nearly 20 years of partnership proves that the best innovations are not built in a vacuum. By combining our scientific expertise with our partner's deep industry knowledge, we continue to create lasting value for the rail sector.