Significant achievements during Taylor’s time at JAXPORT include the completion of the Mile Point project, on-dock rail facility serving the Blount Island and Dames Point Terminals; berth, dock and rail upgrades and three new 100-gauge electric container cranes which entered service in December and the signing of the Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin the deepening of the Jacksonville channel to 47 feet.
“I am proud of my tenure at JAXPORT and I look forward to watching their successes in the future. Together with FDOT and Governor Rick Scott, we have made great strides to ensure the Jacksonville port is increasingly competitive”, said Taylor.
Effective today, the JAXPORT Governing Board has appointed Eric Green, the organization’s Senior Director of Government Affairs its Acting CEO.
“We look forward to working with Brian in the private sector in the future. We have every confidence in Eric’s ability to take our efforts to the next level and enable JAXPORT to fulfill its promise of economic development and job growth for the community,” said JAXPORT Board Chair Jim Citrano.
Change of CEO at Jaxport
Liebherr offshore cranes accessing new markets
“It is a great honour to work with both DEME and COSCO on such a revolutionary project, and fits well in to our company strategy,” says Gordon Clark, Sales Director Liebherr Offshore Cranes. “We see a promising future in the heavy-lift sector, with growth in both the green energy sector and also offshore decommissioning,” concludes Clark.
The Liebherr offshore crane division made the strategic decision in 2016 to extend its range of heavy lift cranes to better position the company in the expanding decommissioning and offshore wind markets. Both of these are expected to produce high volumes of work in the offshore sector in the coming years.
“The extension to our heavy crane range allows us to compete in a sector with only a few players that have had little competition of late, and we look forward to winning some of that market share,” says Leopold Berthold, Managing Director Liebherr Maritime Cranes. “The Liebherr Board and the Liebherr Family were supporting this development during last year, so winning this order is proof we are heading in the right direction. It will be another important string to further promote diversification and provide access to new growth potential,” Berthold adds.
The Group’s maritime hub in Rostock is perfectly suited for the manufacturing of such huge offshore machines. Steel construction, assembly, installation/loadout and testing will be fully processed in the facility on the Baltic Sea.
“We have a long and successful relationship with Liebherr, and this new HLC crane is the best tool for our new development plans for heavy lift offshore applications such as installation of wind power generation plants. For this purpose cranes with very long outreaches, high lifting heights, and huge lifting capacities are needed,” a DEME spokesperson says.
Apart from the main crane, the order also includes two of Liebherr’s RL-K 4200 knuckle boom cranes and an offshore crane simulator.
“We have completed many offshore and ship projects with Liebherr in the past, so it will be great to work with them on this new venture,” a COSCO spokesperson finalises
Gantrex and OLEO sign distributor agreement
Oleo industrial buffers provide effective energy absorption solutions for a wide range of applications including dockside cranes, steelworks, mining, warehousing and energy.
Maarten Impens, Gantrex Group CEO, commented: “Having worked alongside Oleo for a number of decades in North America, we are pleased to further strengthen our ties with Oleo with the signing of the new distributor agreement in other key markets. Gantrex has a solid local presence in industrial markets around the world, which is what we bring to the table in this renewed partnership. What I admire in Oleo is their commitment to quality and their devotion to customer service, and that’s what makes us a perfect fit.”
Grégory Le Brasseur, Oleo’s Commerical Director for Rail & Industrial, commented: “Having worked with Gantrex for a number of years in North America and Belgium, Oleo International is delighted to announce the signing of our latest distributor agreement with Gantrex which will extend our relationship to another 109 countries. We are impressed by Gantrex’s strategic vision for the future to reach out to a greater number of customers worldwide and together become, a powerful force in the industrial sector.
By working together with Gantrex in this extended way, we will capitalise on a rare business opportunity which is built on existing trust and a genuine desire to work together between two well-matched partners.”
Financial results reward Marseille Fos strategy
Since 2014, a heightened drive to complement the port’s longstanding oil & gas activity has seen increases of 12% in ro-ro volumes, 10% in passenger numbers and a notable 7% in containers. Box throughput outstripped the European growth average with rises of 4% in 2015 and 3% in 2016 to reach last year’s port record of 1.25m teu – which coincided with another 300,000m2 of logistics park developments coming on stream.
Meanwhile internal and external costs fell 4.8% from €117m in 2014 to €111.4m in 2016, helping the gross operating surplus to almost double over the two years from €22m to €42.1m. Investments during this time totalled €135m and are now being followed by a 2017-2019 spending programme designed to further enhance the port’s position as a motor of the regional economy supporting 41,500 direct and indirect jobs.
Saluting the 2016 results, the port’s supervisory board noted that the advances had been achieved after a period of challenges such as the world financial crisis and difficulties in the European oil refining sector. Despite this context, Marseille Fos had redefined itself as a multi-purpose gateway and enhanced its investment capacity to demonstrate its ability to prepare for future challenges. Work on drawing up the next strategic plan, covering 2019-2023, will start this year.