Page 28 - Port of Baltimore Magazine - July/August 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
■
July/August 2013
J
ohn Griffin, Chrysler Group LLC’s
Port Operations Manager, recently
received a World Trade Center
Institute “Maryland International
Business Leadership Award.”
In light of this, we decided to see what
Griffin’s been up to lately.
Just back from a busy week out west,
he told us about his primary job respon-
sibility: making sure the flow of Chrysler
Group vehicles goes to the various coun-
tries importing them on a regular, timely
schedule. He is responsible for overseeing
all of the company’s ports in North America.
Eighty-five percent of Chrysler Group
vehicles coming in to the Port of Baltimore do
so by rail, the other 15 percent by truck, and all
of them get loaded out on vessels for export.
That’s after homologation— the modification
of cars to fit each country’s requirements
— takes place. Each vehicle takes from 40
minutes to four hours to process, depending
upon the country to which it is destined.
“The United Kingdom has the most involved
homologation of any country we currently ship
to,” Griffin said. “And in 2012, we exported to
121 countries out of the Port.”
The Port ships Chrysler vehicles to six
different regions across the world, from the
Middle East to Europe and from Australia
to Asia, requiring six different carriers to
convey them. “It’s about trying to manage
the right number of vehicles for the right
number of vessels,” Griffin said. Recent
increases in volume have generated
more than 13,000 cars in a peak month,
and he oversees about 400 workers in
North America — more than half based in
Baltimore — to complete the task.
Griffin’s proficiency at his job, including
his ability to keep track of all of those
details, is a prime reason he garnered the
PORT
PERSON
WTCI leadership award.
Larry Johnson of the Maryland
Port Administration (MPA) auto trade
development office, said, “John has been
instrumental in the success Chrysler has
experienced at the Port of Baltimore. His
innovations with tracking the vehicles as
they arrive at the Port and streamlining
the processing operation, in conjunction
with their processor AMPORTS, has been
exceptional.”
Johnson added, “John is very forward-
thinking and is always seeking an
advantage and a better way to enhance
the flow of Chrysler vehicles, from receiving
the cars to having them ready for shipping
to overseas markets.”
Griffin has been with Chrysler his entire
career. “I graduated from The College of
New Jersey in 1986,” he said, “and was
hired by Chrysler right out of school as
a product engineer in the Newark, Del.,
assembly plant.”
In 1994, he moved up to Chrysler’s
Technology Center in Auburn Hills, Mich.,
where he worked on current and future
vehicle design — most of which was in
the areas of convertible top and sunroof
systems, glass and glazing, and body
systems and sheet metal design. “It was
enjoyable, but the hours were very long,”
he said.
In 2005, he applied to work at the Port
of Baltimore so he and his wife could be
closer to their East Coast families. They
have three teenage sons and live in a
semi-rural part of Maryland where they are
involved in their church and in the boys’
sports activities.
So what challenges are coming up for
Griffin? “FIAT-branded vehicles have just
started coming into the Port in May,” he
noted. “From the exterior, they have a
compact size, but you get inside one and
say, ‘Where did all this room come from?’
Some very big people can ride in those cars.”
The Fiat 500Ls all go out on rail and
trucks throughout the United States. “There’s
not as much for us to do with those,” Griffin
said. “We do pre-delivery inspections and
basic transportation services.”
Griffin also added, “We hope to have
more exciting, new products in the future
so our volumes continue to grow.”
JOHN GRIFFIN
Chrysler Port Operations Manager a True Leader
BY MERRILL WIT T Y
Photography Courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
