Page 123 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

employees keeps operations at Grays Road running smoothly and efficiently.
The Grays Road acquisition in 2015 opened
a new chapter in the history of Rukert Terminals. Since its founding in 1921, the Rukert family business had always operated within Baltimore City limits. Grays Road is located across the city line in Baltimore County, making it the company’s first and only property in a neighboring jurisdiction. This is only fitting; the acquisition hinged on manage- ment’s willingness to think “outside the lines.” Once Rukert Terminals moved beyond its self-imposed boundaries on South Clinton Street, it unlocked new prospects for continued expansion and changed the trajectory of the company.
After much anticipation, in September of 2016, Rukert Terminals discharged its first wood pulp ship, the M/V Teal Arrow, at Lazaretto.
Employees spent two days unloading bales of wood pulp for Eldorado of Brazil, one the largest pulp producers in the world. Each 550-pound bale of pulp is wrapped in white paper. Eight bales are unitized and held together with wires, bringing the total weight of one package to 4,400 pounds. Employees use lift trucks with a clamp attachment to grasp, lift and move the packaged pulp.
Management and employees soon discovered the many advantages of the wood pulp business. First, because pulp is used to make household staple goods like paper towels, demand is steady throughout the year, regardless of weather or even economic downturn. As such, pulp ships arrive on a regular schedule. Once transferred to the warehouse, pulp moves out via truck or rail in a predictable fashion. Next, the neat and clean packages of wood pulp are a welcome change for employees who are accustomed
BELOW: Wood pulp being unloaded at Rukert Terminals
PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE