Page 11 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

T he Rukert story began in 1921, when my great-grandfather W.G.N. “Cap” Rukert and
his brother George used a risky loan to start a
moving and storage company mere feet from their father’s modest bakery in West Baltimore. Their new family
business, called the Atlas Safe Deposit and Storage Company, found early success in the Roaring Twenties economy.
Cap had experience working on the waterfront, so it wasn’t long before he expanded into stevedoring and terminal operation in Fells Point. By 1930, the uptown and waterfront operations were no longer compatible, so the brothers divided the business. Cap retained the marine terminal, renaming it The Rukert Terminals Corporation.
Looking to expand and seeing the potential in nearby Canton, Cap then set his sights on the Clinton Street shoreline. He
spent the next 40 years acquiring and developing our Pier 5 and Lazaretto Terminals and establishing Rukert Terminals as a major industrial presence in Canton. Cap Rukert died in 1974 at the age of 87 but is remembered as a maritime pioneer with a relentless drive to modernize and attract business to the Port of Baltimore. The trail he blazed has been followed by three more generations and counting, bringing us to this moment — 100 years as a family-owned and operated company in the port city of Baltimore.
The founder’s son, Norman Rukert Sr., led Rukert Terminals for another decade until his death in 1984, leaving a double legacy. More than a businessman, my grandfather was a local historian, committed to celebrating and preserving Baltimore’s rich maritime heritage. In the last decade of his life, he wrote a series of five books about the Port of Baltimore and surrounding neighborhoods.
In 1981, Norman Sr. compiled the first six decades of Rukert Terminals history into The Rukert Story: 60 Years of Private Enterprise. My first task as we approached our 100th anniversary was to revisit and update that book. Next, I set out to pick up where my grandfather left off by gathering the next four decades of our company’s history. This process included interviews with and gracious support from employees, retirees and three generations of the Rukert and Nixon families.
As I wrote, our President John Coulter took on the daunting task of sorting through thousands of photos to select the images that best illustrate our story and capture our spirit. Thanks to John, much of our history is already displayed in our unofficial company museum called the “Cap Center.” This space holds a century of documents, photographs and memorabilia. It also houses Cap’s favorite chair and Norman Sr.’s desk, where he wrote the story of the Port of Baltimore and where I write today.
My father Norman Rukert Jr. (Norm) had large shoes to fill when he joined the company full-time 61 years ago. As the third generation, Norm and his cousin George (Bud) Nixon Jr. took the blueprint and lessons learned from Cap and Norman Sr. to grow the company exponentially. Rukert Terminals, founded as a small family business, grew into a world-class marine terminal under their leadership. Their capable stewardship fulfilled Cap’s dream that the company would reach 100 years and pass to future generations.
Family-owned and operated businesses that prosper into the fourth generation are uncommon, making our 100th anniversary
a feat as well as a milestone. My brother Shaun Rukert and cousin Andrew (Andy) Nixon are Vice Presidents of a healthy and growing company. That growth has brought complexity, especially in a fast- paced and global marketplace. Today, Shaun and Andy help steer the business through 21st-century challenges while carrying out Cap’s original vision: building a better and more complete marine terminal to serve customers and bring the world to Baltimore.
More than its buildings, piers or equipment, Rukert Terminals’ most valuable asset has always been its talented and hardworking employees who embrace difficult work in a less than glamorous setting. The knowledge and relationships these employees accumulate over time is the foundation of the company’s success and longevity.
This is the story of the first 100 years of Rukert Terminals — a proud Baltimore business where maritime history and tradition thrive alongside innovation and progress.
SAMANTHA H. RUKERT — July 2021
INTRODUCTION
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