Metsä Board Sells Hangö Stevedoring in Finland to Euroports

Dec. 21, 2021 - Metsä Board and Euroports have signed an agreement on 16 December 2021, according to which Metsä Board will sell the entire share capital of its fully owned subsidiary Oy Hangö Stevedoring Ab to Euroports Finland Oy.

Hangö Stevedoring is a port operator in the Port of Hanko and its business is not part of Metsä Board's core business.

The parties have mutually agreed that the transaction price will not be disclosed.

Hangö Stevedoring has around 180 employees and its sales in 2020 were approximately EUR 20 million. The company is the largest provider of cargo handling services in Hanko and has a wide customer base, including Metsä Board.

“We are very excited to join Euroports,” says Petteri Sammalisto, Managing Director of Oy Hangö Stevedoring Ab. “We are looking forward to identify several shared opportunities between the companies and look forward to bringing the enhanced service offering to our customers.”

Euroports Finland is a leading port operator in Finland. The company is part of Euroports Group, one of the largest port-infrastructure companies in Europe, with around 3,000 employees worldwide and approximately 600 in Finland.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

SPOURCE: Metsä Board and Hangö Stevedoring

Georgia Ports Authority Capacity Efforts Paying Off

Savannah marks 16 consecutive months of record growth.

Dec. 10, 2021 - The Port of Savannah handled 495,750 twenty-foot equivalent container units in November, a 6.7 percent increase over the previous year and a new monthly record for the Georgia Ports Authority.

“I would like to acknowledge the incredible teamwork on and off our terminals that have made these results possible,” said Griff Lynch, GPA’s executive director. “Our employees along with Savannah’s stevedores, ILA members, truckers, river captains and many other transportation professionals have pulled together to handle record cargo volumes for an incredible 16 consecutive months. Off terminal, the willingness of our customers, two class one railroads and stakeholders in state and federal government, have allowed us to put into place innovative and effective supply chain solutions.”

In less than six months, the GPA has designed and begun to bring online an ambitious series of improvements that will increase the Port of Savannah’s annual capacity by 25 percent. Already, 200,000 TEUs of container handling space have come online, with an additional 200,000 to be added in just three weeks. By March 2022, an additional 500,000 TEUs will be added, growing to a total of 1.6 million of new capacity by June.

GPA is also expediting the completion of its Berth 1 expansion which will add 1 million TEUs of new berth capacity and eight ship-to-shore cranes at its docks. The project is now 30 percent complete and will come online at the end of Q2, 2023.

“Through the cooperation of our customers and the innovative thinking of our operations team, we’ve trimmed the number of boxes on terminal to allow for more efficient container handling and faster vessel service,” said GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten. “Additionally, crews are working every day to build the new container yard and dock space that will keep commerce flowing.”

Off-terminal, GPA has activated four flexible “pop-up” container yards near manufacturing and distribution centers. The sites in Atlanta, Savannah, Statesboro, and Murray County in Northwest Georgia bring cargo closer to customers and reduce the length of container storage time at the Port of Savannah. The GPA is also arranging additional sites, which will bring the total annual capacity for the off-port locations to 500,000 TEUs.

SOURCE: Georgia Ports Authority

Alexander Global Logistics Now Offers QAKE Certified Pulp and Paper Warehouse in Alexandria Port

Nov. 11, 2021 - Alexander Global Logistics (AGL) announced that it recently acquired a warehouse facility in Alexandria, Egypt, for the handling of pulp and paper shipments.

According to AGL, the acquisition was prompted by a North American pulp and paper producer seeking a fully equipped, bonded warehouse dedicated to pulp and paper that also needed to be QAKE (Quality Assurance Key Environment) certified within a six-month timeframe. This meant special hygiene and maintenance measures, qualified and trained personnel, modern technology, GMP specifications, and more.

In addition, COVID-19 protocols were in-place and tasks such as on-site inspections were not always possible.

“With our international team of highly qualified staff members as well as our partner company located directly in Alexandria, we were able to conduct our regular inspections and training remotely,” AGL said. “The well-being of all involved are of utmost priority, therefore we reacted quickly in making sure all health standards were met to prevent the spread of the pandemic and to keep everyone safe.”

Renovations of the warehouse started with a new roof, flooring, lighting, and paint. Installations of EDI to track the inventory efficiently, modern pest control devices and disinfectant stations, were also carried out as part of the conditions prior to the audit taking place. AGL provided training videos shown from previous AGL projects to all personnel, as well as weekly video calls to ensure everything was communicated clearly and that all requirements were being met.

The upgraded warehouse in Alexandria Port includes modern handling equipment (e.g. electric forklifts) with a storage area of 2.000 m² and an outdoor storage yard of 20.000 m². Along with humidity and temperature control system, the facility now provides the foremost services for AGL’s client and becomes one of many dedicated warehouses worldwide suitable for pulp and paper that AGL offers.

AGL noted that the project was completed on-time and on-budget, and has successfully become the fourth warehouse worldwide to be QAKE certified.

“Through our in-house developed AGL-Web, we can offer our customers a tailor-made solution that fits their needs. AGL-Web enables customers to monitor stock levels in real-time and have them integrated into their IT System. Additionally, pulp producers can use AGL web to control inventory and provide Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solutions to their customers,” the company added.

SOURCE: Alexander Global Logistics

Port of Coos Bay Enters into Purchase and Sale Agreement to Acquire the Former Georgia Pacific Mill Site

Nov. 1, 2021 (Press Release) - The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay (Port) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) to acquire the former Georgia Pacific Mill site.  The Port and the current owner, CDC Inc. of St. Louis, MO have negotiated the terms of the PSA with the goal of job creation on Oregon’s South Coast.  The Port’s intent in this acquisition is to rehabilitate the site and return it to service, utilizing the facility for the movement of goods and commodities through maritime, rail, and trucking for both domestic and international markets. With the PSA fully executed, the Port and CDC Inc. will now enter into a 60-day due diligence period, with the intention to finalize the sale before the end of the year.  Once the sale is finalized, the Port will conduct additional environmental, permitting, engineering, and design work prior to initiating construction.

With the closure of the Georgia Pacific Mill and impending closure of the Shutter Creek Correctional Institution, the region has seen a significant number of jobs lost.  “With this facility back in service, it is anticipated that it will bring with it the addition of well-paying family wage jobs to the area including longshore labor, yard workers and cargo handlers, as well as additional rail line crews,” said John Burns, Port CEO.  The site could be ready to move a limited amount of cargo initially following the conclusion of phase I construction as early as mid-2023 if not sooner.

The Port is currently working with multiple businesses with interest in moving products and commodities through the Port of Coos Bay to avoid congestion and its associated costs and inefficiencies found at other West Coast Ports.  Through ownership of this facility, the Port will have access to a wharf, yard footprint, and rail service to facilitate regional economic development in a more effective manner -- and with it the jobs and economic diversity that will help the region and State to thrive.

This project has been championed by both the State and Federal legislative delegations.  Congressman Peter DeFazio fought to include funding in the amount of $4.5MM in the reconciliation bill.  These funds will be utilized to build out rail infrastructure on site, as well as to conduct improvements to the wharf infrastructure.  Senator Dick Anderson and Representative Boomer Wright were both instrumental in securing funding to acquire the property through the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, both allocating $2MM respectively. The hard work and commitment of both our State and Federal Delegation to the long-term success of the region were instrumental in the success of this project.

SOURCE: Port of Coos Bay