27 Feb. 1998

Joe S.Towing: A Family Company On the Ohio

"We're a family company," says matriarch Dianne Neale of the towing company that she and her husband Charles started 34 years ago. "We had been farming on an island when we bought our first boat," she explains of the way in which this enterprising West Virginia family entered the marine industry. Today, that one boat has grown to seven vessels.

The company's operation centres around Neale's Fleet where they sort and store barges from larger tows brought up the Ohio River by other companies, Joe S. Towing also does some spot towing along the upper Ohio. Dianne well remembers the pride when they repowered that first boat back in the 1960s and the disappointment when it sunk a short time later. Now with the growing fleet, they are repowering the last of their vessels that was not already Cummins powered. They will pull a pair of 12-cylinder 675 hp Detroit 12V149 engines from their 70x24-foot "Sarah E. Neale" and install a pair of Cummins new six-cylinder electronic QSK19M engines delivering 660 hp each. The quick response of the electronic engines and their fuel efficiency are attractive to the Neales, as is the move from a two-cycle engine to the four cycle Cummins. The real clincher on their decision to go with the new engines was the improved environmental record. With the electronicly controlled fuel injection they will burn their fuel so efficiently that exhaust smoke is virtually eliminated while performance is optimized.

At the same time as they are repowering the "Sarah E. Neale", this progressive company is also having a new boat built at the Marine Builders yard in Utica Indiana. To be named the "Mr. Charlie Neale" for the recently retired founder, this will be their most powerful boat with a pair of KTA38-M0 engines rated at 850 hp each at 1800 RPM. The engines on the 65X26-foot boat will turn 66X60-inch propellers through Twin Disc MG5220 5.92:1 gears. This powerful 1700 hp will be an important addition to the fleet. As Dianne says, "We are a harbour and fleeting company and the extra horsepower helps our fleeting area handle the larger barges that are being manufactured now."

For the new boats' engines they have also chosen the Cummins Eliminator option which in itself is a major step in environmentally friendly and cost effective system design:

ELIMINATOR FILTER: Alfa Laval, in cooperation with Cummins, has developed the Eliminator Filter system that effectively does away with replaceable components in the lube oil system. Taking the place of six conventional oil filters, the Eliminator Filter unites two proven Alfa Laval technologies -- a self-cleaning full-flow filter that removes 85-90% of particulates over 20 microns and a disc stack centrifugal separator that removes particles down to two microns or less.

From a river island farm to a modern fleeting operation, the Neale family's Joe S. Towing Inc. has grown through hard work and wise selection of equipment. Now, with a new vessel in an entirely Cummins-powered fleet, they are ready to meet the challenges of an increasingly cost competitive and environmentally sensitive era.

For more information contact:

Jerry Armentrout
Cummins Cumberland Inc.
South Fairmont Exit I-79
145 Middletown Road
Fairmont, WV 26554
Phone: (304) 367-0196 Fax: (304) 367-1077

Dianne Neale
Joe S Towing Co. Inc.
Route 10 Box 8
Parkersburg 26101
Phone: (304) 295-4223 Fax: (304) 295-7484

Dave Evancyzk
Marine Builders Inc.
208 West Church St.
Utica, Indiana 47130
Phone: (812) 283-7932

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