GATX

Gatx Corp

A global transportation asset lessor, GATX owns and leases railcars—tank cars, covered hoppers, and gondolas—to shippers and railroads across North America, Europe, and India, carrying everything from chemicals and petroleum to grain and cement. The company was founded in Chicago in 1898 when Max Epstein used his commission to buy 48 used refrigerated railcars for a Pittsburgh brewery that needed to ship beer. Its name comes from its old corporate title, General American Transportation Corporation, plus the "X" that railroads assign to private car owners—so the company's initials literally became its brand.