Page 132 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

the tenant’s lease expired, the former Free State Steel building, constructed in 1912, was demolished. Rukert Terminals planned to utilize the three-acre space at Haven Street and Holabird Avenue as an outside storage pad. Within a year, the parcel was paved and in service for the storage of lumber and other cargoes. Rukert Terminals also installed a new railroad crossing and gate into the property, which is now known as “F” pad.
With 20,000 tons arriving by vessel each month, the company continued to improve efficiency of the wood pulp operation. In April 2020, the company extended and realigned an existing rail spur into Lazaretto. In September, a new spur was added. The pulp facility at “R” building now featured three parallel rail spurs, allowing employees to load two rail cars at a time from one side.
On a chilly February day in 2021, the Canton Community Association placed a historic marker on South Clinton Street near the Lazaretto Terminal. The marker highlights Rukert Terminals’ role in
the development of the Clinton Street waterfront, beginning with Cap Rukert’s vision to modernize
it in the 1930s. A visiting reporter in the 1980s noted that “a walk around Rukert Terminals gives a glimpse of how hard work, history and love-of-city penetrate the area.” The historic marker keeps that sentiment alive.
As the COVID-19 crisis entered its second year, business at Rukert Terminals accelerated. Too busy to celebrate and hampered by pandemic restrictions, the company postponed its 100th anniversary events until 2022. At the beginning of the global pandemic, some international ports closed to traffic, forcing shippers to send cargo to other places. The displacement of containerized cargo disrupted the supply chain. Next, as the economy started to rebound, many industries