L.B. Foster Congratulates Sid Shue, VP of Rail Products, on His Retirement After 39 Years with The Company
- Feb 19, 2024
- Corporate
Congratulations to Sid Shue, VP of Rail Products, who retired at the end of 2023 after 39 years with L.B. Foster.
(L-R) Greg Lippard, Senior Vice President, Rail, and Sid Shue, VP of Rail Products.
A civil engineer by education, Sid worked for the railroad and decided to go into railroad supply after seeing a job advertisement in the paper. In 1978 he moved from New Jersey to Cincinnati, OH to accept the job of sales engineer at Weir Kilby, a division of L.B. Foster at the time. Weir Kilby made trackwork for the railroad industry, and this was Sid’s first job working for The Company.
In 1989, the division of L.B. Foster that Sid worked for, Weir Kilby, was sold and he went to work with the owner, eventually returning in 1993 when the company was acquired by L.B. Foster. Sid has held a variety of positions in rail sales, engineering, plant operations, and product management during his time at L.B. Foster.
Opening a manufacturing plant for Allegheny Rail Products product line in Colorado was one of Sid’s favorite projects to work on. It gave L.B. Foster the first manufacturing presence west of the Mississippi and changed the Company forever after that.
Sid has most enjoyed working with the people and customers at L.B. Foster. He commented, “Railroad people are the most down to earth people in the business world, and they’re kind of the same whether you’re sitting in the United States, Australia, or Brazil.”
He has enjoyed working in the rail industry because, “You learn new things every day. You’re always finding a new problem to solve and a new solution to offer. It’s never boring, you’re always reinventing the approach each day. L.B. Foster has afforded me the ability to be a bit of an entrepreneur, to bring an idea to the Company, build a business case, and the company will invest in it.”
Sid’s advice for a young professional would be to, “Surround yourself with good people. My success is largely because of the people who work with me, no doubt. One of the nice things about working here is that I have been able to see the progression of the people that I’ve hired through the ranks and see them be successful. That’s very fulfilling.”
Some of Sid’s fondest memories of working at L.B. Foster include travelling the world with his colleagues. Although he will no longer be visiting other countries for anything business related, Sid is looking forward to the opportunity to travel with his family during retirement.
