Car carrier shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen is expanding its terminal network and signing a 20-year lease agreement with the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) for the expanded port in Brunswick.
The contract for Brunswick also includes options for up to 30 years of concession, as Wallenius Wilhelmsen and the GPA announced today[ds_preview].
The background to this is, among other things, the recent expansion and modernisation measures in Brunswick. The shipping company intends to further expand its activities in the south-east of the USA. “Our expansion and new, long-term commitment to Brunswick strengthens our position as a preferred supply chain partner for North American customers in the automotive, equipment and general cargo industries, providing them with a complete package of market-leading end-to-end logistics services,” said shipping company CEO Lasse Kristoffersen.
“We are excited about the additional business from Wallenius Wilhelmsen at Colonel’s Island Terminal, where we are developing the nation’s premier gateway for all carriers handling cars and heavy equipment,” said GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch.
Expansion in Brunswick for cars and breakbulk
To increase capacity in Brunswick, GPA has developed an additional 130 acres of RoRo storage space and several warehouses to meet the processing needs on Colonel’s Island. An additional 300 acres are available for development.
The relocation of car and truck imports to Colonel’s Island will not only serve Georgia customers more effectively, but also bring the vehicles closer to high-volume markets. The shift will also help consolidate motor carrier fleets instead of splitting capacity between Georgia’s two ports.
For breakbulk and project cargo, new docks and a new 100,000-square-foot warehouse at Mayor’s Point Terminal in Brunswick will provide short- and long-term storage options. This modernization will help support rubber shipments from Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessels.
The breakbulk segment is of great importance to the shipping company. A large number of transports of project and heavy-lift cargoes are combined under “High & Heavy,” which currently ensures high capacity utilisation. Find out more in the HANSA PODCAST, where Carsten Wendt, Head of High & Heavy and Breakbulk at the shipping company, goes into detail about current developments, plans and the newbuilding order book (“nowhere near enough”).
New facilities for Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s Brunswick facility includes expansions and improvements to the existing terminal and Vehicle Processing Center (VPC). An important addition is the new Equipment Processing Center (EPC), which can store, adapt, assemble, train and distribute machines on behalf of machine manufacturers and their dealers. “The combination of services, coupled with the strategic advantages for the company’s shipping network, will bring invaluable benefits to Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s stakeholders in the future,” say the Scandinavians.
The Wallenius Wilhelmsen Group describes itself as “a market leader in RoRo shipping and vehicle logistics”. The company operates around 125 ships serving 15 trade routes on six continents as well as 66 processing centers and eight sea terminals.
