Page 26 - Port of Baltimore Magazine November/December 2016

PORT BUSINESS
B&E Storage Finds Room
to Grow at the Port
COMPANY HANDLES PAPER, ALUMINUM, FOREST PRODUCTS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL CARGO STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHY BERGREN SMITH
When Greg Williams was looking for
a new location
for B&E Storage,
a warehousing
and distribution provider, he knew
he wanted to be close to the
Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port
of Baltimore where many of his containers landed. He also knew he needed rail service and a good floor for paper storage. It took two years of searching and researching.
In 2014, he found everything
he was looking for and more at the Point Breeze complex literally in
the terminal’s backyard. The space affords 350,000 square feet of under roof storage, easy access to the terminals and a rail siding that was expanded into the warehouse.
“This location has worked out very well for us,” said Williams.
As B&E grew into the new space, Williams diversified the
once paper-centric warehouse. The company handles far more than paper today. There is aluminum, other forest products like lumber and plywood, palm oil and other bulk and agricultural cargo.
“We provide our customers with a full menu of services,” said Williams. “We are an asset-based warehousing and distribution company.”
Import customers can request to have their containers picked up, stripped, warehoused and shipped
out again for delivery. For customers arranging their own pick up, there is
a drop lot with 24-hour-a-day access. Exporters similarly can get their products to the port and ready to get on the ship with one call to B&E Storage. Each customer has one point of contact that serves as their dedicated customer service representative.
“Our customers tell us that they sleep better at night because of the service B&E provides,” said Williams. “Everyone here is very hands-on. If there is a question about something in the warehouse, the customer service rep will just go out and check on it personally.”
Williams realized that as volumes increased, cargoes diversified and his client base became more global, he
needed to up his technology game. He hired IT specialist Mark Spence to develop and maintain technology solutions to keep the ball rolling. With customers from China, Brazil and Europe, all using different coding systems to mark their shipments, Spence needs to keep the scanning
B&E STORAGE AT A GLANCE
FOUNDED: 1985 HEADQUARTERS: 2500
Broening Highway, Baltimore FOUNDER: Greg Williams EMPLOYEES: 45
www.bnestorage.com
[24] The Port of Baltimore ■ November/December 2016