Page International in Savannah and the Kearney Companies, based in New Orleans, on Tuesday announced a joint venture to establish what they called cutting-edge warehouse services at the Port of Savannah.
The agreement calls for the facility to be located at 6030 Commerce Blvd. in Garden City, less than two miles from the Georgia Port Authority’s main container terminal, and it will have direct rail service with CSX. The operation is expected to add about 20 local jobs once the rail service with CSX is fully operational around April 1.
David W. Kearney, president of the newly formed Kearney Page Warehouse Services, LLC, said the joint venture marks a major expansion of The Kearney Companies’ third-party logistics services.
“We are proud to continue to develop cutting-edge logistics solutions with Page International and CSX, two companies with which we have enjoyed longstanding partnerships,” Kearney said. “This joint venture builds on our commitment to provide our customers with efficient supply chain options and further integrates us into the nation’s freight transportation infrastructure through CSX’s services.”
The new facility primarily will support containerized shipments of export paper, cotton, lumber, metals, food products and consumer goods and will be served five days a week by CSX.
Page International Vice President Patrick Page said his company has continuously searched for ways to expand services to its clients.
“We feel that with partnering with The Kearney Companies that we take a giant step in that direction,” Page said. “In working with their New Orleans operations, we have become very familiar with The Kearney Company’s unsurpassed expertise and customer service in the warehousing and transloading area.
“We are indeed excited about this joint venture and look forward to elevating it to greater heights in the upcoming months and years ahead.”
Tuesday’s announcement said the new facility, by shifting freight to rail from other shipment modes, will improve their customers’ environmental footprint because shipping via rail takes traffic off the highway system and minimizes fuel consumption and transportation costs.
Derrick Smith, vice president of emerging markets for CSX, said the railway is pleased to have the chance to serve the new warehouse and to support commerce at the Port of Savannah.
“CSX is committed to working closely with customers to identify new opportunities, help locate facilities and provide reliable transportation solutions to better connect them to the global supply chain,” Smith said.