Broe Cos. looks to grow regional holdings

WINDSOR — When Owens-Illinois Inc. made its final decision last fall to build a new bottle plant east of Windsor that will add 150 high-paying jobs to the region?s economy, it spotlighted a Denver company that played a key role in that decision.
The Broe Cos., parent of Great Western Railway, had the short-line rail service available that was essential to O-I?s connection to its No. 1 customer ? the Anheuser-Busch Inc. brewery in Fort Collins.
A transportation and real estate giant, Broe was able to negotiate a deal with the owners of the 150-acre property that O-I would ultimately choose for its manufacturing facility.
Looking back on the experience, Alex Yeros, Broe managing director, said his company was happy to be part of a successful collaboration by numerous parties.
?The whole Owens-Illinois episode was a great opportunity for Northern Colorado to get together and attract an industry and do something as a group,? Yeros said, noting the involvement of Hall-Irwin Construction, Greeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership and local governments.
Owens-Illinois recently broke ground on the site, located about a mile east of Kodak Colorado Division, and expects to have the $110 million plant operational by early 2005.
Yeros said The Broe Companies, founded 30 years ago in Denver by entrepreneur Pat Broe, is interested in increasing its investments and developing its assets in Northern Colorado. As a privately owned company, Broe does not reveal its annual revenues. But the company claims more than $1 billion in assets, including those of its affiliate ? Omnitrax Inc., which owns the largest private rail and rail-related operations in North America.
Great Western Railway Co. of Colorado is a subsidiary of Omnitrax, operating on 80 miles of owned track and track rights in Northern Colorado and serving customers that include Anheuser-Busch, Metal Container Corp., Amalgamated Sugar, Kodak, Colorado Sweet Gold, Universal Forest Products and Western Sugar.
Those 80 miles of track include ?significant? amounts of right-of-way properties that are available for development or leasing by utilities.
Broe and Omnitrax acquired the Great Western network in 1986, buying it from Great Western Sugar Co., which was in bankruptcy.
At the time of the purchase, the short-line service was carrying 400 rail cars a year. In 2003, the Great Western line carried 15,000 cars.
But rail service isn?t all that Broe hopes to get from its investment.
?There are currently a wide range of uses for our rights-of-way: gas lines, power lines, water lines, sewer lines, fiber optics,? Yeros said. ?To the extent that our right-of-way provides a connection for utility providers, we?d explore that with them to provide the right infrastructure for the growth of Northern Colorado.?
Owens-Illinois purchased 90 acres of the 150-acre property acquired by Broe near Windsor (the property is expected to be annexed into the city). Yeros said the remaining 60 acres are being marketed for industrial or distribution uses.
?We?d like to develop it and attract some more businesses there,? he said. ?It?s zoned industrial and we?d like to see other compatible industries make a home there. We?ll use the full marketing ability of the company nationwide to identify industries and promote Northern Colorado and the advantages that our region brings.?
The company took a step in that direction in March, when it announced creation of a land development division charged with developing nationwide intermodal and real estate projects, such as rail-served industrial parks, and multi- and single-family homes.
Initially, the real estate division will focus on Northern Colorado opportunities. The company is also developing residential projects in Douglas County and near Denver International Airport.
While there are no hot prospects at the moment near Windsor, Yeros said Broe looks forward to other economic development projects in Northern Colorado.
?Owens-Illinois was such a great effort,? he said. ?It would be difficult to go through that process and not be energized and not be excited by the opportunities that exist in Northern Colorado.?
Ron Klaphake, Greeley/Weld Economic Development Partnership president, said he?s happy to have The Broe Companies interested in helping develop the region?s economy.
?Any companies that can help us market beyond the region, that?s the name of the game,? he said. ?We can?t do it in a vacuum.?