Press

Source: The Monroe News

Federal grant money has been awarded to fund equipment upgrades and training geared toward attracting more cargo to the Port of Monroe.

The U. S. Department of Transportation’s America’s Marine Highway Projects Program announced Tuesday the local port will receive $1.1 million. Paul LaMarre III, port director, said the funds will be used to buy a crawler crane, which will move cargo and heavy equipment.

“The grant is symbolic (of the fact) the Port of Monroe is here to stay and we are in the cargo business,” LaMarre said. “We will relentlessly continue to develop a prosperous seaport for the City of Monroe and beyond.”

The Marine Highway Projects Program, which is administered by the Maritime Administration, works to expand the use of the country’s water systems, including the Great Lakes, which are connected to the St. Lawrence Seaway System via Lake Erie.

Each year the program awards grants to projects that have been identified as Marine Highway Routes. The port and the Lake Erie Shuttle Project, an initiative to spur economic growth in the region, received a Marine Highway Route designation in 2016. Port officials pursued the grant because it presented an opportunity to help fund a project that makes the local entity more competitive in the shipping industry, according to LaMarre.

“There are very few grant programs that exist specifically for port- related projects and equipment,” he said. “We thought it was prudent to apply for funding for what has the potential to be most costly piece of equipment the port will utilize.”

The port will purchase a Manitowoc MLC165 crawler crane, which has a maximum boom length of 276 feet.

“The key to attracting cargo to your terminal is efficiency and economics,” he said. “A crane can single handedly provide both of those things.”

A crane is expensive to rent, which created a disadvantage for the local port, according to LaMarre. Last year, DRM Terminal Service, the port’s terminal operator, spent about $500,000 on crane rentals, he added.

The addition of the crane enables the port to handle different kinds of cargo, LaMarre said, adding the Manitowoc model can be customized with different attachments and other types of equipment.

The port submitted the grant proposal Sept. 20 to the DOT. Once port officials sign an agreement, the port will have 24 months to use the funds provided by DOT.

The grant was awarded on the contingency that the port also generate additional funds to purchase the crawler crane — the grant program requires a community match.

The total cost of the crane, its installation and associated training is approximately $1.7 million. LaMarre said the port will use a combination of its own money, funds from DRM Terminal Services and financing to cover the nearly $600,000 still needed.

“We have a reasonable amount of time to come up with the local match funding,” he said.

The port worked with New Jersey-based grant writer Tiffany Torrey on the 10-page grant proposal. LaMarre said Torrey is respected within the maritime community.

“She is very familiar with the field in which we operate,” he said. “She has been highly successful with her applications for projects.”

Though the crane will be owned by the port, DRM Terminal Service will use it and handle its maintenance, which is a common industry practice, according to LaMarre.

In addition to the business the new equipment will help attract, LaMarre is looking forward to flying an American flag from the top of the crane. He also plans to fly a “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag, a motto LaMarre has used as a rallying cry as the port remains embroiled in a regulatory dispute with U. S. Customs and Border Patrol. During the War of 1812, Cmdr. James Lawrence of the American frigate Chesapeake ordered his crew ′ Don’t give up the ship’ after he was fatally wounded during a battle near Boston Harbor in 1813. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry won his naval battle with the British on Lake Erie three months later while flying a blue battle flag inscribed with those words.

For several years CBP has imposed regulations that have limited the port’s ability to handle international cargo. LaMarre contends the regulations, which were handed down by CBP’s Detroit office, are inconsistent with expectations at other Great Lake ports. An independent study determined those regulations have cost the port several millions of dollars in revenue each year.

With the aid of U. S. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and U. S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, LaMarre has been seeking to operate more freely in the international shipping business as he works to comply with requirements set forth by CBP.

Last year Peters brokered a meeting with CBP officials to address the issue.

He supported the port’s recent grant application, highlighting the importance of the maritime highway and its economic impact on the area.

“I was proud to support the Port of Monroe’s application for the grant, which will allow it to upgrade equipment, make more investments to continue growing and delivering the products families and businesses across Michigan rely on every day,” Peters said.

LaMarre said there isn’t a set date for the installation of the crane. Given what the port has faced in recent years, it’s not going to rush the process, he added.

“With so much support for our continued prosperity for the American taxpayer, we would hope that (CBP) would recognize that the Port of Monroe deserves its resources and support,” LaMarre said. “All of our recent challenges have forced us to be patient. … We will ensure the (crane) is installed when it makes the most sense.′

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today announced that the Port of Monroe will receive a $1.1 million federal grant to expand its maritime commerce operations. Peters supported the Port’s application for the grant that was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s America’s Marine Highway Projects Program. The grant funding will allow the Port to purchase a crawler crane and train staff to use it, which will allow the Port to boost operations and meet the increasing demand for cargo service throughout the Great Lakes region.

“The Great Lakes are a vital transportation system and an invaluable economic resource for Michigan — and the Port of Monroe is an especially important economic hub for manufacturers, small businesses and the efficient transport of product goods throughout the region,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “I was proud to support the Port of Monroe’s application for this grant, which will allow them to upgrade equipment, make more investments to continue growing and delivering the products families and businesses across Michigan rely on every day.”

“The announcement that the Port of Monroe will be receiving a Marine Highway Grant to purchase a key piece of cargo handling equipment comes with great pride and admiration for our Port Team and community partners,” said Paul LaMarre, Director of the Port of Monroe. “It represents a critical step for our continued growth but also as an acknowledgement of our recent success. Senator Peters has been at the forefront of that success, and we’re grateful for all of his efforts including supporting our grant application. The unrelenting support of he and his team for the Port of Monroe and Great Lakes St Lawrence Seaway System is truly priceless to us and serves as further motivation to keep moving ‘full speed ahead’ as Michigan’s Gateway Port.”

Peters has led numerous efforts to support the Port of Monroe. This past August, through his role as Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters pressed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on an agency decision that has blocked the Port of Monroe from receiving certain types of international cargo. Peters also supported the application of Paul LaMarre to the U.S. Marine and Transportation System National Advisory Committee. Last year, LaMarre was appointed to the Advisory Committee for a term of two years.

Source: Freightwaves

U.S. Maritime Administration to provide $7.5 million for projects around the country.

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced more than $7.5 million in grants for nine “marine highway” projects.

“The America’s Marine Highway Program is dedicated to expanding the use of our inland waterways for freight movement,” said Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby.  “This round of grant funding will be used to continue that expansion and ensure that our waterways are used effectively.”

The nine projects are scattered across the U.S.

MARAD awarded $1,291,800 for the proposed Fernandina Express container-on-barge service between the Port of Fernandina, Florida, north of Jacksonville in Nassau County, and the Port of Charleston, South Carolina. The funds will support the purchase of marine terminal handling equipment in Fernandina essential for the efficient loading and unloading of cargo.

Christopher Ragucci, director of the Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County (OHPA) and CEO of Worldwide Terminals Fernandina, which operates the port, said OHPA and Worldwide have identified three exporters near the port that move forest products such as kraft liner board, high-end cellulose, and lignins that can be manufactured into chemicals and additives for manufacturing and construction. Those companies move products in containers by truck to Savannah, Georgia, for shipment to Asia and Europe. At the same time, he says, there are importers moving cargo through Charleston that currently move containers by truck to the region around Fernandina and Jacksonville.

“Those are two specific flows that we are in the process of trying to capture to be the core to start this thing,” he said, but he added that the service could potentially move cargo even further north or south if there is demand.

The goal is to shuttle loaded and empty containers between ports by water rather than moving them by truck. OHPA’s immediate focus is on international container movements, but he said the company would be happy to move domestic containers as well.

He said the port is negotiating with some tug and barge operators, but “if that does not bear fruit we would be prepared to try and operate it ourselves.”

Ragucci noted that while there has been interest in short sea shipping for decades, it has been slow to catch hold in the U.S., in large measure because of competitive truck rates and the convenience of trucks. However, he said there may be opportunities to move overweight, hazardous or less time-sensitive cargo by barge.

The other grant recipients are:

• The Paducah-McCracken container-on-barge marine highway project. MARAD said a $480,000 grant “will be used to support the purchase or lease of facility and transportation equipment at a Baton Rouge facility that will be used to load and unload containers.” The grant was sponsored by the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority in Kentucky.
• The Baton Rouge-New Orleans container shuttle. The grant of  $1,040,000 will be used to purchase six purpose-built barges and lease one towboat. The vessels will support a growing container service between Port Allen — across the river from Baton Rouge — and New Orleans. The grant application was sponsored by SEACOR AMH, which has seen its business grow rapidly with the boom in exports of plastic resin from U.S. producers.

• The Lake Erie Shuttle. More than $1.1 million was awarded for a project sponsored by the Port of Monroe, Michigan. The funds would be used for the purchase and installation of a crawler crane and the training associated with its use in the port to support the Lake Erie Shuttle Service. That service was described in an earlier MARAD publication as a proposed service to carry cargo for Ford Motor Company and other shippers between the Port of Monroe, Michigan, Cleveland Ohio, with the possibility of adding Detroit and Buffalo to the rotation.
• Expansion of barge services along the Columbia River between four locations: Port Morrow — near Boardman — and Portland, both in Oregon, and Vancouver and Longview, both in Washington. The $1,623,200 grant will support dredging and other improvements to marine terminals in Port Morrow.
• Development of an operational plan by the Port of Houston Authority for a  container-on-barge service between terminals. Funding totaling $180,000 was awarded for a study.
• Additional equipment to support the Port of Virginia’s container-on-barge service on the James River between Richmond and marine terminals in Hampton Roads. About $190,000 was awarded for equipment in Richmond.
• A new trestle and combination dock/ramp to support the loading and unloading of barges and research vessels at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a commercial space launch facility located at NASA’s Wallops Island facility. MARAD awarded a $96,425 grant to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority.
• Conversion of two vessels used in the Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service from diesel to hybrid-electric propulsion. MARAD is providing $1.5 million to help pay for the conversion, which it said will result in a significant reduction in emissions.

Source: MarineLink

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday announced more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. The funding, provided by MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program, will go toward enhancing existing services in Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington

“This $7.5 million investment will improve our country’s vital fuel-efficient waterway transportation system, which makes an important contribution to exports and economic growth,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

The America’s Marine Highway Program supports the increased use of the nation’s navigable waterways in order to relieve landside congestion, provides new and efficient transportation options, and increases the productivity of the surface transportation system. The program works with public and private stakeholders to achieve these goals.

“The America’s Marine Highway Program is dedicated to expanding the use of our inland waterways for freight movement,” said Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby. “This round of grant funding will be used to continue that expansion and ensure that our waterways are used effectively.”

Projects receiving funding are:

Florida, South Carolina – M-95 Fernandina Express Container on Barge Service (awarded $1,291,800): Sponsored by the Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County, the grant will support the purchase of marine terminal handling equipment essential for the efficient loading and unloading for the Fernandina Express container barge service between the Port of Fernandina and the Port of Charleston. The route the service will operate has demonstrated potential for growth and the creation of an estimated 110 jobs.

Kentucky, Louisiana – Paducah-McCracken Container on Barge Marine Highway Project (awarded $480,000): Sponsored by the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority, the grant will be used to support the purchase or lease of facility and transportation equipment at a Baton Rouge facility that will be used to load and unload containers. The Paducah-McCracken Container on Barge Marine Highway service will be centrally located at the confluence of five inland waterways and operate to the international export ports of Louisiana.

Louisiana – Baton Rouge-New Orleans Shuttle of the M-55 (awarded $1,040,000): Sponsored by SEACOR AMH, the grant will be used to purchase six purpose-built barges and lease one towboat. The vessels will be used to support the growing Port Allen to New Orleans container shuttle. In addition to increasing the shuttle’s capacity, this award will help stimulate the U.S. shipbuilding industry on America’s inland waterways.

Michigan – Lake Erie Shuttle (awarded $1,101,735): Sponsored by the Port of Monroe, the grant will be used to support the Lake Erie Shuttle Service, including the purchase and installation of a crawler crane and the training associated with its use.

Oregon – Port of Morrow M-84 Barge Service Expansion (awarded $1,623,200): Sponsored by the Port of Morrow, the grant will be used to support the expansion of barge services from the Port of Morrow to Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington; and Longview, Washington. The expansion will include the enhancement of two marine terminals that will ultimately allow the port greater access to the region, increasing the economic potential in this rural area.

Texas – Houston Gateway and Gulf Container on Barge Central Node (awarded $180,000): Sponsored by the Port of Houston Authority, the grant will support the development of an Operational Plan. The planning efforts and outcomes from this study will provide the necessary data to establish a business case to support shipping container movements by barge between terminals.

Virginia – James River Expansion Project (awarded $189,840): Sponsored by the Port of Virginia, the grant will be used to purchase equipment in support of the existing James River Expansion Project on M-64. The equipment will help the Richmond Marine Terminal provide a more efficient barge service operation to current and potential customers.

Virginia – Wallops Island M-95 Intermodal Barge Service (awarded $96,425): Sponsored by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, the grant will be used to design a new trestle and combination dock/ramp to support the loading and unloading of barges and research vessels at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). The project will improve public safety, generate jobs in a rural area, and increase the site capabilities of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

Washington – Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service (awarded $1,500,000): Sponsored by the Washington State Ferries, the grant will be used to support the conversion of one of the two ferries used in the Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service from diesel to hybrid, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions.

Port of Monroe builds efficient, cost-effective transportation hub through public-private partnerships

Source: Great Lakes Seaway Review
Written By: Janenne Irene Pung

Port building is happening, with cargo up about 40 percent from 2016 to 2017, and the 2018 increase in overall tonnage expected to range between 30 to 40 percent.

The first port in the Great Lakes to be accepted into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection program (CBP). The first port in Michigan to receive state funding for commercial dock improvements. The first and only Great Lakes public agency to take over managing and marketing cargo.

These are a few of the results Michigan’s Port of Monroe is experiencing from efforts to build a port from nearly the ground up. For 30 years, the port was run by a public commission. There was no director and much of the port’s 600 acres was leased for non-cargo purposes. Dredging had been insufficient and the dock wall was in disrepair.

It all began to change when Paul LaMarre III was hired as Port Director in 2012. He set about “reclaiming land in the wild west.” With regional support, he began an aggressive approach to improving port infrastructure and boosting cargo through innovative public-private partnerships (P3). “Since hiring Paul, the port has be- come an operational asset important to industry. We had drifted away from what a true port operation is,” said City of Monroe Mayor Robert Clark. “His leadership and experience has gotten us to where we are today, which is evidenced by our getting the Pacesetter Award three of the last five years.”

The Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Awards are given by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to U.S. ports registering increases in international cargo tonnage. During the 2018 presentation in July, Deputy Administrator Craig Middlebrook made the following points:

The Port of Monroe saw a 123 percent increase in international cargo tonnage moving through the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the Seaway compared to the 2016 season. Highlighting their activities last season, the port paired with Spliethoff Lines, handling the majority of components for Michigan’s largest construction project in 2017—the Arauco Fiberboard Plant in Grayling, Michigan.

The port also constructed a new Riverfront Dock with $4 million in state funding, adding to its capabilities.

“I know we will continue to see big things happening at Monroe,” Middlebrook said when presenting the award.

Recruiting and investing. When LaMarre joined the city-run port, he knew he needed to build a team to make the level of impact he planned. Grassroots efforts began with inspiring city and county officials. He enlisted a seasoned entrepreneur, Tony Gray, as his terminal operator. At nearly 70, Gray continues as President of DRM Management and keeps step with LaMarre’s relentless march forward.

 

Monroe County and the Port of Monroe sit in the epicenter of a growing logistics cluster made up of Southeast Michigan, Northwest Ohio and Southwest Ontario.

 

“When I sat down with Paul and listened to his vision, I saw the fit,” said Gray, who admits he enjoys a challenge. “When seeing our ability to grow this business, I wondered how many people get an opportunity to develop a port. I saw it as a chance to build something long-term for my employees.”

Through creative negotiations that could extend 30 years, DRM began investing in the port. It helped finance dredging, partnered in negotiations with DTE Energy to maximize the partnership, created more laydown space, constructed an indoor storage facility and purchased the big equipment needed for oversized and heavy-haul cargo, like the wind turbine components and a natural gas pipeline.

Over five years, DRM’s investments are approaching $4 million. “It sounds like a lot of money, but it goes quickly,” Gray said, noting how the indoor storage building represents a quarter of the investment. As money is spent, contracts are won and expenditures recovered. Port building is happening, with cargo up about 40 percent from 2016 to 2017, and the 2018 increase in overall tonnage expected to range between 30 to 40 percent.

“As one project leaves, another comes through the door,” Gray said. “We’ve been very lucky.” Ideas become contracts. One area of gain serves as an example of P3 innovation. When renegotiating the contract with DTE Energy, LaMarre reclaimed 60 crucial acres along the water and assumed management and marketing of the coal plant’s byproduct, synthetic gypsum.

 

 

The acreage is now valuable, dockside laydown space. The synthetic gypsum is a sulfate material created as scrubbers clean the plant’s exhaust from burning coal to provide power for the region. The byproduct is a harmless compound used to make building products, such as drywall, cement and plaster. For years, the utility had been paying a trucking company to
haul the gypsum to a wallboard company.

LaMarre now moves up to 600,000 tons of gypsum annually across the docks, much of it being barged to Port Colborne, Ontario. It is then sold to companies like USG, Georgia Pacific and LaFarge to create building materials. More recently, the port has added the plant’s fly ash to a similar agreement, creating a market and moving an additional 80,000 tons a year. According to Port of Monroe Commission Chair Dale Bose, this is exactly what the commission values about the port’s approach to business development—a commitment to working with local companies on win-win solutions.

While the deal may sound like it was wrapped up with a good idea and a conversation, it began with LaMarre commissioning a study with the University of Michigan, renegotiating a contract that reclaimed lakefront property, drumming up customers and passing the opportunity to the DRM team to create efficiencies in moving a sticky substance with nearly 8 percent moisture. With practice and the use of hoppers and rib belts, the team is loading the Pere Marquette in about four-and-a-half hours.
Growing companies. Like the area industries, DRM is partnering with the port in building its future, keeping 35 employees busy at the port. In addition to waterborne commerce, the terminal operator oversees rail and road cargo movements (see page 37 for the port’s intermodal amenities). And with two reach stackers and conveyor systems onsite, purchased to win contracts that have come and gone, the team is equipped for more containers, wind turbines and nearly any type of bulk and breakbulk.

“The community and the commercial industry always recognized we had road transportation with I-75 and the rails that go through the City of Monroe, but they didn’t always recognize how close it was to our waterborne transportation,” said City of Monroe Mayor Robert Clark. “They didn’t take advantage of it. Now, it’s clearly recognized.”

“Monroe County and the Port of Monroe sit in the epicenter of a growing logistics cluster made up of Southeast Michigan, Northwest Ohio and Southwest Ontario. That said, logistics-centered businesses, along with advanced manufacturing and agricultural processing, are target industries for the county in our attraction efforts,” said Tim Lake, President &
CEO of the Monroe County Business Development Corporation. “Being able to market water, rail and road—the three main modes of freight movement—is highly beneficial to the county. Even when a company may not require direct port access, knowing it’s available close by assists us in landing a project.”

“The port went from being a liability to an asset,” Brose said. Partnering with CBP. Last season, the port began contracted shipments of containers coming from Europe. An official interpretation of how containers are classified for inspection disrupted the service.

 

Monroe is also developing an International Maritime Container Operation.

The contract involved components for constructing the $400 million Arauco Manufacturing facility in Grayling, Michigan. While the port staged the inbound domestic and international marine shipments, some of the cargo had to be diverted to Cleveland for customs clearance. Through discussions and meetings, LaMarre was determined to find a resolution—a critical step in being able to build the port’s cargo base. He and the commission envision the port as a gateway for international traffic, a market being targeted for business.

As a result, he applied for and became the first port in the Great Lakes accepted into the CBP Reimbursable Service Program. He joins the ranks of companies like DuPont, The Home Depot, Jacksonville Port Authority and Royal Caribbean Cruises, which are among the selectees.

The program is designed to help customers receive the services they need amid record increases in passenger and cargo volumes, which are outpacing CBP personnel. The shortage is causing cargo backups. The program creates a partnership between CBP, private sector and government entities, allowing CBP to provide additional inspection services upon stakeholders’ requests. Those seeking services essentially pay for them above their tax base, covering the salaries and expenses of up to five full-time officers.

“In the first three years of the program, CBP has entered into over 60 agreements, providing more than 368,000 additional processing hours at the request of our partners—accounting for the processing of more than 8 million travelers and over 1.1 million personal and commercial vehicles,” according to CBP. In outlining its needs, the Port of Monroe cited CBP’s clearance of various inbound and outbound international bulk and breakbulk cargoes. Those cargoes include the synthetic gypsum and fly ash from DTE Energy and salt crossing the docks.

Monroe is also developing an International Maritime Container Operation. With completion of a $5.4 million public investment in the dock, the port plans to introduce regularly scheduled liner service(s), similar to what’s in place in Cleveland, Ohio. The Monroe team is already providing office space for a representative of Spliethoff, the European based company moving scheduled cargo through the Cleveland-Europe Express.

“The project is identified by the State of Michigan and U.S. Department of Transportation as a critical step in creating a premier Great Lakes cargo transportation center at the Port of Monroe,” LaMarre said.

The Port of Monroe proposes to ship and receive cargoes in traditional six-sided steel containers and various forms of breakbulk. The service will build on what’s happening in Cleveland, providing Spliethoff with another port option to move the boxed exports of regional companies. Because of draft, 150 40-foot containers can be moved per ship every other week, with the potential of becoming a weekly service.

CBP staff would travel the 35 miles from the Detroit Customs and Border Protection Marine Office to provide the inspections, according to LaMarre. The port would issue a request for services two hours prior to vessel discharge and continue for two hours after discharge. The service would also be needed for loading.

“There are more cargo opportunities out there,” LaMarre said. “It’s just a matter of identifying them.” Tug service and
ship repairs. Over the summer, the port entered into an exclusive partnership with The Great Lakes Towing Company in Cleveland
to serve as home base for the Wisconsin, the oldest active tug on the Great Lakes. The partnership also includes the towing company’s affiliate, Great Lakes Shipyard, moving a floating drydock to Monroe.The agreement is expected to allow for more responsive and efficient harbor assists, icebreaking and outside towing of cargo projects. Having a tug onsite will also lower costs.

As a result, the towing company hopes to gain marketshare. The Wisconsin was reassigned from the Port of Milwaukee, which had a three-tug grouping. She is now part of the Detroit-Toledo group operating for The Great Lakes Towing Company and her crew will rotate within that coverage area.

The change, at this time, does not require hiring additional crew or accruing extra expenses for the company that operates 30 tugs in 11 Great Lakes ports. “It’s a tight river and it makes sense,” said Joe Starck, President of The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard.

The floating drydock—with its 300-ton capacity—is undergoing some upkeep before being moved to the port by tugs. It has been out of the water and not being used since the company purchased its 770-ton marine travelift. While the drydock will only service smaller boats, like research vessels, ferries and dinner boats, the partnership brings skilled ship repair people to the port to offer fabrication and repair for a variety of vessels. The port will seek winter layups of lakers and have the partnership in place for any work they may need.

As a deepwater port with 3,000 linear feet of improved dock space, extensive laydown area and centralized location on the Great Lakes, this new collaboration capitalizes upon strategic positioning, an underserved regional market and longstanding industry partnerships, according to the towing company.

“The goal for winter season is to get at least one major layup project,” Starck said, noting the company will initially send workers from Cleveland to work in Monroe until the business can support local employees. “We are going to grow our business as Monroe is a growth port. Paul has done an amazing job building the tonnage through that port and this is an opportunity for us to be part of that.”

“The team assembled here in Monroe is as compatible a public service team as I’ve seen in action,” Brose said, who worked in community development through MSU Extension for decades. “Paul is a natural at connecting and reacting. He’s intuitive to the commission’s needs and preferences. This has been the perfect storm in terms of bringing the right people together at the right time.”

With long hours and relentless speed, LaMarre considers his situation a privilege. He is supporting the region he calls home and the industry he loves. People are as important as the bottom line. Partnerships are a way of life. He is involved locally and at state and federal levels on behalf of the port and the Great Lakes/ Seaway shipping industry.

“I am here for the sustainability of the Great Lakes/Seaway system for the long haul,” he said.