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LATEST: GLOBAL TRADERS ON THE MOVE

LATEST: GLOBAL TRADERS ON THE MOVE

Following a national search, seaport and economic development leader Jonathan Daniels was named the new chief executive & port director at Port Everglades, Broward County, Florida. Daniels came to Port Everglades from the Port of Gulfport, Mississippi where he had been the executive director since 2013.

Joseph Dzierzawski has been named president and CEO of Beumer Corp., the Somerset, New Jersey-based U.S. subsidiary of Germany’s Beumer Group. He is now fully responsible for the business lines Conveying & Loading Systems, Palletizing and Packaging Technology, and Sortation and Distribution Systems in the North American market.

Meanwhile, Christian Schneider is Beumer’s new director of People & Culture, which puts him in charge of employer branding, recruiting, university marketing and more. He will work out of the company’s Beckum, England, headquarters.

Denver-based OmniTRAX, one of the fastest-growing railroads in North America, appointed Robert Walker as its chief financial officer. For the past 10 years, Walker served as chief operating and financial officer at The Madison Companies and affiliates. OmniTRAX, an affiliate of The Broe Group, also recently added industry veteran Federico D. Díaz Page to its Industrial Development team. Diaz Page was most recently executive vice president of Texas Pacifico Transportation Ltd., a short-line rail operator in Texas. And Justin Strickland just joined OmniTRAX as director, Economic Development. He comes to the railroad after more than 12 years with the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission in Albany, Georgia.

Ruan tabbed Jeff Harpole to be the Des Moines, Iowa-based 3PL’s new vice president of Operations. Leading national retail and grocery accounts for Ruan, Harpole most recently served as vice president, Transportation for Dollar General.

Steptoe & Johnson LLP has added Jeff Weiss as a partner who will practice in the Washington, D.C.-based law firm’s International Trade Group. He spent more than 15 years in senior legal, policy, diplomatic, negotiation, and political roles in the U.S. government across three administrations, including at the White House, USTR, and Commerce. And last but not least, UK-based global logistics provider GEODIS appointed Tomy Sofhian as the managing director of Indonesia.

program

OmniTRAX Pledges Promotion of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Program (ESGR)

Sr. Director of Operations at OmniTRAX, Jason Cathey,  confirmed the company’s support of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program (ESGR) during an official pledging ceremony at the Pentagon earlier in December. OmniTRAX is one of several dozen rapidly growing rail industry players to jump on board in supporting the program.

“The support OmniTRAX is giving the ESGR program, combined with their human capital management programs designed to attract and retain vets, guardsmen/women and reservists, will dramatically strengthen the talent pool in the extended rail industry for decades to come. We’re glad to be a part of their comprehensive efforts to ensure a vibrant and growing industry,” said Michele Malski, Founder and President of SPRING.

Veteran employment software company, FASTPORT aided in the facilitation of OmniTRAX’s active support for the ESGR program. FASTPORT is best known for assisting military personnel find career opportunities along with Succession Planning for Railroads Investing in the Next Generation (SPRING). Information in the announcement confirmed all three companies successfully created a registered apprenticeship program for conductors as a result of their collaborative support.

“We are constantly expanding our outreach to hire both veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserve. This program fits our goals of investing in the future generations of railroaders while supporting our country’s military,” said OmniTRAX CEO Kevin Shuba, who is also an Army veteran.

a&r logistics

OmniTRAX Joins with A&R Logistics at Atlanta Waterfront Terminal

OmniTRAX, Inc., one of the largest privately held transportation service companies in North America and an affiliate of Denver-based The Broe Group, and A&R Logistics, North America’s largest provider of integrated dry bulk logistics solutions for the chemical and plastic industries, are opening a new transload facility in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Waterfront Terminal, located adjacent to the Fulton County Railway (FCR) tracks southwest of downtown, will initially enable the contents of 10 rail hopper cars to be simultaneously offloaded to trailers, with expansion expected. A&R will use the depot to transfer plastic pellets shipped by rail from resin producers across the country onto specialized pneumatic trailers and then transport the product to extruders throughout Georgia and neighboring states.

“The new Atlanta Waterfront Terminal is a great location for A&R, complete with access to the interstate system and great opportunities for growth,” says OmniTrax CEO Kevin Shuba. “We look forward to working with the A&R team to ensure the facility safely reaches its full potential.”

“The key to the Atlanta Waterfront Terminal is flexibility,” adds Dan Jaworski, chief commercial officer at A&R, which provides a comprehensive suite of services including transportation, warehousing, packaging and fully outsourced logistics management. “The location allows our trucks to get anywhere in the metro Atlanta area quickly and efficiently, plus the site is expandable to fit our growing needs.”

Winchester & Western Railroad

Winchester & Western Railroad Acquisition Confirmed

A $105 million acquisition of the Winchester & Western Railroad (WW) is confirmed to close sometime around Q3 2019, between affiliates of OmniTRAX and the Broe Group according to information released this week.

OmniTRAX and Broe Group are participants in the definitive agreement to acquire the Winchester & Western Railroad from Covia Holdings Corporation which currently operates throughout Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia. The acquisition ultimately expands OmniTRAX’s short-line reach into the east coast markets, adding access to 100 million people per transit day.

“OmniTRAX has been growing at an average annual rate of 20+ percent for the past five years and the acquisition of this strategic distribution hub is a deliberate step toward enhancing the continued growth and strength of our thriving network,” said Kevin Shuba, OmniTRAX CEO.

OmniTRAX‘s Precision Scheduled Short Line Railroading – known for decreasing operational costs, is one of the strategies expected for the WW upon closing of the acquisition. Its point-to-point delivery approach will increase performance, service, growth and safety.

“Our expansion into these dynamic markets with a diverse, established customer base and strong regional economic partners offers tremendous growth potential and we have high expectations for economic impact and job production,” Shuba concluded.

Environmentally-Friendly Locomotive to Enhance Quality of Life in Stockton

A new EPA Tier-4 compliant locomotive built by Knoxville Locomotive Works was unveiled today by privately held transportation service company, OmniTRAX and the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad (STE).

“This new state-of-the-art locomotive is the result of hard work by many individuals from the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Central District, OmniTRAX, KLW and other stakeholders, and will enhance the quality of life in Stockton and nearby communities. The Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad wouldn’t have been able to replace its old locomotive without their determined effort,” said Kevin Shuba, CEO of OmniTRAX.

The new unit’s energy efficiencies support the overall goal of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Central District’s (UAPCD) Locomotive Program that provided a grant for the purchase. UAPCD’s grant program provides funds for the replacement of older locomotives for newer, environmentally-friendly ones.

“Despite major reductions in emissions, the Valley continues to face difficult challenges in meeting federal air-quality standards,” said Samir Sheikh, the Executive Director / Air Pollution Control Officer of the Valley Air District. “It will be difficult for the Valley to attain the standards for ozone and particulates without these innovative low-emission locomotive projects.”

“This project is a major step in our efforts throughout the Valley to improve public health through financial incentives to reduce pollution.” “Improving the health and quality of life in disadvantaged communities such as around the Port of Stockton is important to me and the Air District,” said Stockton City Councilmember and Valley Air District Governing Board Member Christina Fugazi.

OmniTRAX Gears up for Economic Development

OmniTRAX and Georgia-Pacific are partnering up in an effort to increase railway transportation efficiencies for OmniTRAX’s new plant based in Albany, GA starting in 2019 upon completion of new construction.

In addition to the Georgia-Pacific partnership, the company plans on adding railway track connection from the new facility. The railway will connect to the mainline of the Georgia & Florida Railway, stretching 222 miles from Albany to northwestern Florida regions. The main connection will start in the nearby Albany-Dougherty Industrial Park.

Companies such as Miller Brewing, Flint Hills Resources and Procter & Gamble are among others that utilize the GFRR.

“Georgia-Pacific is a great partner for OmniTRAX and the GFRR, and the new plant will allow us to show case our customer service expertise even more. We also appreciate the support of the local, state and federal governments to make this project happen in Southwest Georgia and are pleased to be a part economic growth in the region,” said Kevin Shuba, CEO of OmniTRAX.

The new facility will primarily produce lumber and wood chips estimated to create a total of 300 million board-feet each year of lumber. In addition to being a Broe Group affiliate, OmniTRAX is noted as one of the largest privately held North American transportation services.  Georgia-Pacific is known for making household brands such as Brawny® paper towels and Dixie®  tableware and cups.

Source: RAM Communications