Page 29 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 5 - 2022

help the customer if I haven’t had ample experience in these roles. I think the core of what’s helped Belts is ultimately the constant reminder of the principles of integrity, grit and service.”
A Distinguished History
Belts is the one of the oldest warehousing and distribution companies in the mid-Atlantic region, founded in 1845
at Belt’s Wharf in Fells Point. Belts was originally the terminal warehouse for the shipping fleet of prominent Baltimore merchant C. Morton Stewart, and primarily stored and handled green coffee imported from South America. Over the next century and a half, Belts expanded its storage, fulfillment and packaging services, eventually adding transportation services to the mix as well.
When Skip Brown joined the company in 1960, Belts was still a multi-story 1800s brick waterfront warehouse in Fells Point handling steamships, barges and “lighters” of mainly canned corned beef, sugar and coffee. Then, in the 1980s, when more goods began to be shipped in containers rather than break bulk, Skip transitioned the company into
a modern, multi-dimensional logistics and transportation company, purchasing efficient one-story warehouses in Dundalk, Curtis Bay and Elkridge, along with a small fleet of tractors and trailers.
Upon reaching obsolescence, the original warehouse was eventually sold, and its site is now part of a waterfront condominium named “Belt’s Landing.”
BELTS LOGISTICS SERVICES AT-A-GLANCE
ADDRESS: 1820 Portal Street, Baltimore, MD 21224
LEADERSHIP:
S. Allen Brown IV, President;
Christopher Brown, Vice President
YEAR FOUNDED: 1845
Having been a presence in Baltimore for 175 years, Belts uses its home field advantage to deliver efficient, value- added services to its customers in areas such as shelf-stable food products, beverage alcohol, shoes and apparel, grocery items, electronics and consumer goods. Belts also finds innovative space solutions for them, as evidenced by the company’s development of several large distribution centers for Fila USA.
Additionally, Belts also has operating and processing authorities in Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) 73 and 74 in Maryland, which allows for imported products to be stored and manipulated in a tax free or tax deferred environment.
Finally, for more than 30 years, Belts has been operating the Centralized Examination Station (CES) for the Port of Baltimore, where some containers arriving from foreign ports are inspected for trade compliance by U.S. Customs & Border Protection.
Striving for Excellence
“From our many years of operation, we understand and appreciate the benefits of instituting redundant systems and processes that will catch issues before they become problems,” Allen said. “With these systems and processes in place, we diligently pursue the goal of becoming a zero-defects company. Our tradition of high standards and personal accountability has combined with an experienced group of operations and administrative managers to generate high morale, pride and esprit de corps within our workforce.”
Belts’ experience and diligence has also enabled it to ride out the current supply chain challenges. “We have increased our flexibility as a company by adding a second shift to one of our facilities and flexing the hours that some of our employees work at the other facilities to extend our hours of daily operation,” Allen said. “We also have the ability to coordinate closely with Belts Transportation Services (an asset-based drayage fleet) and Belts Intermodal Corporation (a non-asset- based transportation brokerage) to schedule container pick-ups and drop- offs in such a way as to minimize or avoid additional demurrage and per diem charges for our customers.”
Like most companies, Belts is always looking for opportunities to grow, but the core of its business will remain with Baltimore and its Port.
“Belts has two facilities that
are less than two miles from the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port
of Baltimore, along with a third
facility that is right in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington corridor,” Allen said. “We are fortunate to be part
of the Port of Baltimore community, which shares information with each other and assists fellow businesses when possible; for example, sharing business leads or getting hands-on help with a temporary overflow situation.”
As Belts’ leadership looks to the future, its high standards of service and accountability are sure to carry the company into another century of success. 
COURTESY OF BELTS
www.beltslogistics.com
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