The Delaware River has the fifth largest port complex in the US for total waterborne commerce. With its main stem stretching 331 miles from Hancock, NY, out to the Atlantic Ocean at Cape May Point, NJ, it plays host to shipping port operations in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
Within this shipping Mecca is the South Jersey Port Corporation, one of the oldest port authorities in the country. Tracing back to 1834 when the Port of Camden, NJ, was established, South Jersey Port Corporation was created in 1926 and put the City of Camden on the map as a world-class port. Through the decades it has grown to four terminals including Beckett Street, Broadway, Port of Salem and the new Port of Paulsboro that handle both international and domestic cargo. It's also landlord to 30 tenants.
Several years ago, when containerization rose as a more popular mode of shipping, South Jersey Port Corporation decided to go a different route.
"We were always involved in break bulk. While other port authorities were putting so much infrastructure into cranes for containerization, we decided to stick with break bulk and found our niche. It's worked very well," says Joseph Balzano, South Jersey Port Corporation Executive Director and CEO. "I don't think the business would have succeeded like it has if we had focused on containerization like others."
Today, South Jersey Port Corporation ranks number one in the country for plywood shipments, used in everything from homes to kitchen cabinets, and is also a major cement and steel handler. Nine months out of the year the port receives steel from Europe, Korea, Russia, Japan, Ukraine and Spain, and distributes it throughout the Northeast and Pennsylvania.
In the winter months, when the Great Lakes freeze, the port receives shipments bound for Midwest auto industry customers. Del Monte Fresh Fruit has had operations at the port's Broadway Terminal since 1989 for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The dry-dock formerly belonged to New York Shipbuilding, which constructed hundreds of navy ships including the Savannah - the first nuclear-powered sub, and the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier.
In 1999 the company and South Jersey Port Corporation completed the construction of a 76,500sq ft temperature-controlled warehouse, more than doubling the port's fruit handling capacity and enabling growth to rise to more than 520,000 tons of imported fresh fruits annually. South Jersey Port Corporation is Del Monte's largest distribution center when the St. Lawrence Seaway freezes.
"We're a niche shipper and also handle the cocoa beans coming from West Africa and Indonesia for chocolate manufacturers like Hershey's and Blommers; and furnace slag from Italy called GranCemÙ," says Kevin Castagnola, Assistant Executive Director.

WORLD-CLASS PORT OPERATOR
Overseeing South Jersey Port Corporation is Balzano, who possesses superior instincts for how to manage for success. He has been with the port authority since 1951, accruing more than half a century of experience. After a run as Deputy Executive Director of Operations and Facilities, Balzano was appointed Executive Director and CEO in 1988, a post he holds to this day. He's responsible for the $32-$35 million program that sees 60,000 ships a year bringing materials directly to South Jersey Port Corporation's ports.
Though the port authority had record years for revenue from 2003-06, it's felt the current economic downturn like the rest of the industry. "Unfortunately we have a double-edged sword. In 2006 we had the largest tonnage year in the history of the port," says Castagnola. "Things were great from 2003-2006, when we had $4 million, but then all of sudden the economy fell out. In the last three years, 2007, 2008, 2009, a majority of steel, plywood and slag shipments have slowed as the construction industry has slowed down.
"Even though there's less tonnage than before, we're still coming out ahead of our previous years. They're trying to have more shovel-ready jobs - I think this will have the ripple effect of buying and moving more goods," he says.
Balzano also ultimately oversees the port authority's relationship with its tenants, including Canyon Yard Steel. He says that South Jersey Port Corporation gives shippers a one-stop-shop concept not only by importing and exporting easily, but through its warehousing, logistics and customer service.

UPCOMING PROJECTS
South Jersey Port Corporation has invested in several studies for the design and development of the Port of Paulsboro as well as construction projects at Broadway to increase capacity. For the latter, they're in the process of rehabilitating and reconstructing Broadway's Pier 1 to enhance business.
"We have niche cargo coming into a relatively dense neighborhood," says Marlin Peterson, Marketing Director. "There's a proposed port district roadway that would connect Beckett and Broadway by existing infrastructure. As the economy rebounds and traffic picks up, it would be a way to meet the cargo demand without negative impacts to adjacent neighborhoods and businesses."
For the Port of Paulsboro project, the first phase - remediation - is nearly finished. The port is located on a 200-acre parcel of land owned in partnership with the County of Gloucester, who ultimately retains it through the local borough.

GREEN INITIATIVES
According to Peterson, the Port of Paulsboro's remediation includes upgrading a solar array that feeds power to a groundwater treatment plant. Analysis is also being done on solar panel placement at the Beckett and Broadway terminals for optimum electricity offsetting.
South Jersey Port Corporation has also invested in electric cranes from New Cox to reduce emissions. It's using an EPA Cares grant to put emission retrofits on the rest of its equipment and its small fleet of trucks.
Adjacent to the Broadway terminal is a co-generation plant that once belonged to the NY Shipbuilding Corporation. Jones says South Jersey Port Corporation grandfathered it in, which allows it to buy electric power from third party suppliers and to sell it to tenants at clean, affordable power rates.
SECURITY AND NICHE MARKETS
South Jersey Port Corporation has roughly 90 people working directly for the port and terminal operators employ another 1,000. The port authority also had a hand in the creation of 2,500 jobs for private companies and auxiliary businesses. And, according to an outside study, South Jersey Port Corporation has "indirectly induced more than 20,000 jobs, be it delivery truck drivers, the gas stations they fill up at, etc.," Castagnola adds.
Surveillance cameras and access controls at the gates were added, and a grant from the federal government allowed South Jersey Port Corporation to meet the mandate for worker IDs under the Maritime Transportation Security Act. Those without an ID must be escorted by those in possession of one. Card reader installation is upcoming.
"We also need to work with each tenant because they have their own security systems," Peterson adds. "We work closely with the Coast Guard and a variety of people up and down the river on security plans. There are emergency drills."
Continuing to upgrade security is among South Jersey Port Corporation's continuing goals. Says Peterson. "Five years from now we'd like to see all four terminals with significant activity because our cargo volumes have returned."
To encourage growth, South Jersey Port Corporation is targeting new commodities, such as offshore wind turbine parts, in order to find niche markets they could profit from.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

NAME: South Jersey Port Corporation

CEO: Joseph Balzano

OPERATIONS: Port authority

ESTABLISHED: 1834

EMPLOYEES: 90

www.southjerseyport.com