Page 22 - Port of Baltimore Magazine July August 2011
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The Port of Baltimore
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July/August 2011
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O
n the surface, Rukert Terminals Corp.
is a company built on concrete
terminals and gigantic cranes. Look
a little deeper and you see a proud
family tradition that has continued for
four generations. Along the way, the company has
been able to correctly gauge cargo trends while
also capitalizing on something called “Rukert luck.”
John Coulter, President of Rukert Terminals,
recalls a conversation with CEO Norm Rukert Jr.
prior to the opening of a new berth in 2009: “Norm
said, ‘Let’s spend the extra money and make it a
barge berth.’ I argued with him, ‘Why spend money
when we haven’t done any barge business for 20
years?’ We build the barge berth, and then Brandon
Shores [power plant] comes to us because they
use limestone in their scrubber to reduce coal
emissions. They want to do a 10-year deal with us.
…We discharge limestone from vessels, send them
the limestone in barges, and when it is filtered it
becomes gypsum, and they send us barges back
loaded with gypsum.”
Whether or not this is a case of “Rukert luck,”
it was a perfect fit for a company well versed in
handling bulk and breakbulk cargo.
“There’s always been a sense of ‘build it and
TERMINALS
Company Approaches Anniversary While Following Family Tradition
BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
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Photography Courtesy of Rukert
Left to right: Brown’s Wharf was purchased after WWII to handle dry goods; quite the character, “Cap” Rukert
also proved to be a visionary businessman; the newly opened B Berth in 1963.
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Specializes in
handling metals, ores,
fertilizers, alloys, and
other dry bulk and
break bulk cargoes.
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Services include
stevedoring,
warehousing and
transfer to and from
vessel, rail or truck.
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160 to 175 ships a
year call at five berths.
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A 130-acre facility
has 23 warehouses, one
million square feet of
inside storage space
and 60 acres of paved
outside storage space.
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165 employees.
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Family-owned and
privately operated
through four generations.
Rukert
Reaching
KATHY BERGREN SMITH
90
