Page 120 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

In pursuit of new accounts, the company stuck to its own “build it and they will come” philosophy.
of Tobey Godwin, a phenomenal Crane Operator, who had joined Rukert Terminals in 1992.
A pattern of frigid air called a polar vortex brought severe winter weather to much of the country, including Baltimore, in 2014. Fifteen winter storms brought 40 inches of snow and a substantial boost to the deicing salt business. With eight truck scales available for four salt customers, employees loaded and weighed a new record of over 1,000 trucks in one day. Demand along the East Coast was so high that salt was transported as far as Connecticut. During the spring and summer months, the company welcomed 15 salt ships to resupply the stockpile.
As soon as the tenants’ leases expired in
2014, demolition began on the Canton Exchange office building that had been acquired in the land swap. Twelve years since its last physical expansion, Rukert Terminals was in desperate need of outside storage space. When paving was complete in April, break-bulk cargo like aluminum was moved to the new storage pad. The company had been discharging aluminum from Russia, Canada and India for decades. Aluminum stored at Rukert Terminals is transported to automobile factories and used to manufacture aluminum truck bodies and aluminum alloy wheels.
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Clinton Street Marine Terminal known as “Pier 1” opened in
1934, at a cost of $14 million. The state-of-the-art, two-level facility had the capacity to dock four vessels simultaneously. Until the 1980s, general cargo like steel products, rolls of paper and even bananas passed through the terminal located across from Rukert Terminals’ main office. After that, the two-story warehouse stood empty while the aged pier below served as a layberth for Naval Ready Reserve ships.
In September 2014, Rukert Terminals purchased Pier 1 from the Maryland Port
ABOVE: The 2014 Rukert Terminals company picnic provided an up-close view of a Blue Angels Air Show.
Rukert Terminals’ investment in infrastructure and equipment set the stage for further diversi- fication into novel commodities. Since 2013, the company had been in talks with potential customers about handling wood pulp, a semi-processed product used to make paper towels and toilet tissue. Wood pulp had been handled for many years by other terminals in Baltimore, but this would be Rukert’s first foray into the growing industry. Management realized that with some modifications and improvements, “R” building at Lazaretto was ideal for storing the pulp, which must be kept clean and dry. In pursuit of new accounts, the company stuck to its own “build it and they will come” philosophy. In January 2014, the company began a series of upgrades at Lazaretto. First, the existing railroad spur there was extended further into “B” berth. Then, a covered loading dock for railroad cars was installed on “R” building. With these improve- ments, pulp discharged from vessels could be stored in “R” building and then loaded out either by truck or rail to processing plants. Management was ready and waiting for an opportunity to do just that.
After 33 years at the helm, Joe Ey stepped down from his position as Manager of the Crane Department in January of 2014, though he continued to work for the company in various capacities for several more years. Management of the Crane Department transferred to the capable hands
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