Page 29 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART I THE RUKERT STORY
In the late 1930s, Cap stayed in Fells Point and farmed out his son to Canton to handle operations at the new facility. When he had occasion to call Norman, the office employees wondered why he used the phone. They used to say that all Cap had to do was to open his window and yell out the window facing Canton—Norman would be able to hear his father’s booming voice loud and clear, without any help from a telephone speaker. This is one of many anecdotes about Cap’s imposing presence and strong set of lungs.
On December 28, 1938, the State of Maryland incorporated Rukert Marine Fertilizer—a division created by the company to conduct the business
of steamship agency, freight forwarding and
customhouse brokerage. Rukert expanded further into the fertilizer business when it acquired the American Nitrate of Soda (also known as sodium nitrate) account. To accommodate the work, Cap was forced to lease additional space from the Canton Company at Pier 10. In 1940, Cap leased property from the Western Maryland Railway at its Lazaretto Depot, located directly across the river from Fort McHenry in Canton. Shortly thereafter, Rukert bought out Zeman and Company, which handled
a Chilean nitrate of soda account at the Canton Company’s Pier 8. Both new accounts required stevedoring of the bulk material, plus bagging and distribution. On December 11, 1941, the Board of Directors met and decided to change the name of
ABOVE: Rukert Terminals’ first brochure from the late 1930s
FACING PAGE: (left to right) The extension of Jackson’s Wharf in 1933. Pier 5 in 1940, after the construction of the twin peak buildings.
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