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May/June 201 2
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The Port of Baltimore
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instructions directly to those that drive
them off the ship.
“Here at Mercedes-Benz, we place a
very high priority on training,” said Boudalis.
“Our focus is on providing the highest
level of customer experience — from the
processors’ perspective, that means taking
every step possible to ensure that we are
shipping the best vehicle you can get.”
Members of the team at the Baltimore
VPC are regularly deployed to the company’s
Regional Learning and Performance Center
in Montvale, NJ, to receive up-to-the-minute
diagnostic, technical, mechanical and body-
work training.
After clearing U.S. Customs, each new
Mercedes-Benz first arrives at the VPC
before being delivered to a dealership.
While at the VPC, every aspect of the
vehicle undergoes a close inspection under
bright lights.
The facility also can add accessories,
even at the last minute. “Let’s say a
customer has ordered a car, it is built to
the specifications and shipped here for
processing and delivery. But perhaps along
the way, they decide they want an accessory
they did not initially order. We can usually
accomodate them here,” said Boudalis. “So
our customers get the exact car they want.”
The Baltimore VPC handles nearly half
of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles that arrive
in the United States, as its mid-Atlantic
location is ideal to serve one of the largest
American consumer markets.
MPA’s Johnson said that there are 15
different haul-away truckers who deliver
vehicles from the Port.
Back at the Dundalk Marine Terminal,
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics handles up
to 150,000 cars annually at a processing
center on more than 80 acres. John
Felitto, President and CEO of WWL Vehicle
Americas Services, said that, along with
vehicle processing, WWL offers customers
the option of utilizing WWL’s ocean
transportation services with 150 years of
AWC
On the Scene
Tacoma, Washington-based Auto Warehousing Company recently signed
a lease with the Maryland Port Administration for 10 acres in the Fairfield
Terminal. The 50-year-old company will become the Port’s fourth auto
processor. “They are a West Coast firm and have wanted for some time
to have a presence on the East Coast,” said Lawrence Johnson of the
Maryland Port Administration.
AWC has 25 facilities throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico
providing port, railhead and plant processing facilities for multiple auto
manufacturers.
COURTESY OF WWL
COURTESY OF AMPORTS
shipping experience to its on-site marine
terminal.
“We also offer terminal services and
supply chain management on behalf of
manufacturers,” said Felitto. The 200
employees with WWL Vehicle Services
Americas provide auto processing and
technical services to a wide range of Asian,
European and American manufacturers.
Like the other Baltimore vehicle pro-
cessors, WWL places a priority on training
to achieve high quality and efficiency
standards. WWL leverages the expertise of
its employees by running internal programs
and contests seeking innovative ideas for
continuous improvement and streamlining
operations.
Felitto said that as an environmental
forerunner, WWL works across all parts of
its business to pursue greener alternatives
to its operations on both land and sea.
“One of the ground-breaking environ-
mental projects that WWL has implemented
at the vehicle services location in Baltimore
is a fuel tracking program in an effort to
make reductions to the facility’s total carbon
footprint,” said Felitto.