Page 127 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE
STILL TRUCKING AFTER 100 YEARS: RUKERT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
IN 1921, CAP AND GEORGE RUKERT PURCHASED A NEW THREE-AND- A-HALF-TON FEDERAL MOTOR TRUCK FOR THEIR FLEDGLING MOVING AND STORAGE BUSINESS. TRUCKS BEARING THE RUKERT NAME HAVE BEEN MOVING CARGO AROUND BALTIMORE AND BEYOND EVER SINCE.
The trucking arm of Rukert Terminals, once known as Rukert Fast Freight, has grown considerably over the last 30 years. Now called Rukert Transportation Services (RTS), the department managed by Scott Damasiewicz has a fleet of 25 Peterbilt tractor trucks and employs 25 full-time drivers and three support staff.
Rukert Terminals’ location, just blocks from 1-95 north and south, is ideal
for a trucking operation. Drivers move cargo in 20- and 40-foot containers within a 250-mile radius from Baltimore. RTS drivers make daily trips to
the nearby public terminals to pick up loads discharged from container vessels. Approximately 35 percent of these containers are delivered to Rukert warehouses, with the rest going to outside customers in the Mid-Atlantic. RTS celebrated its best year ever in 2020, when drivers moved a total of 11,329 loads, almost double the number of moves in 2000.
A success story within a success story, RTS is highly respected in the Port of Baltimore. Its stellar reputation is built on excellent relationships with many of the local freight forwarders and customhouse brokers. RTS drivers and staff are professional, experienced and even award-winning. RTS driver
Scott Malozi is a three-time winner in the flatbed division of the Maryland Truck Driving Championships. In 2015, Scott placed 18 out of 50 in the National Championships.
span between 1987 and 2017, the company’s total acreage, square feet of covered storage and number of employees all tripled!
Rukert Transportation Services (RTS),
the company’s trucking arm, has also grown considerably, especially since Trucking Manager Scott Damasiewicz joined the company in 1993.
In 2017, RTS drivers moved a record high of
1,036 containers in one month within 250 miles
of Baltimore. Trucking’s strong performance throughout 2017 helped the company compensate for a disappointing 50 percent decrease in bulk tonnage that year. The RTS fleet of trucks was upgraded in 2017 when the company signed a six-year lease for new Peterbilt trucks with clean- burning diesel engines. Management had tradition- ally preferred to own, rather than lease, its trucks. However, in the early 2000s, the company made the shift to leasing. This allows the 15-person crew in the Mechanics Shop to focus on maintenance and repair of the company’s 40 vehicles and 400 pieces of heavy equipment.
In August of 2017, Charles “Scott” Nixon, Cap’s great-grandson and a member of the Board of Directors, died at the age of 50. Less than a year later, the Rukert and Nixon families mourned a second loss. In June of 2018, Norm’s sister MaryLynne Rukert Solomon died at the age of 78. She had served faithfully on the Board of Directors for decades.
General cargo tonnage reached a new high
in 2018, due in part to a 35 percent increase in pulp tonnage from the previous year. Rukert Terminals’ designated warehouse, rail capability and handling methods had attracted more pulp accounts. Employees were now loading 150 railcars per month for three pulp customers. To accommodate the growing business, the company added 33,375 square feet of additional space onto the south end of “R” building. Then, the asphalt
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