The fifth annual Georgia Logistics Summit last week in Atlanta drew a record 2,090 registered attendees from 30 states and nine countries to the Georgia World Congress Center to connect and learn how to grow their businesses.
Not surprisingly, a fair number of those participants came from Savannah’s thriving maritime community, home to the nation’s fourth-largest container port.
“This is where our market is,” said D.J. Powers CEO Rhett Willis, surveying the elbow-to-elbow crowd milling around the exhibits — including his — set up just outside the third-floor ballroom of the World Congress Center.
“I may not walk away with new business today, but down the road, someone will remember talking to us and give us a call,” he said.
“It’s all about exposure and making connections.”
At the “Global2Local” booth, sponsored by global logistics provider Kuene+Nagel Inc. and Savannah-based regional provider Coastal Logistics Group, the two companies were celebrating the announcement of their new affiliation.
“Our customers are demanding more and more from their supply chain,” said John Balcombe, director of supply chain solutions for K+N.
“What we are doing here is marrying our global ocean and air freight capabilities to the intricate added-value work Coastal Logistics does within the walls of its warehouses.”
Other Savannah-area exhibitors included Savannah Re-Load, Distribution Services International and Matson Logistics, which proudly proclaimed its services “From Shanghai to Savannah.”
Among Savannahians attending the two-day event were David Sink and Danny Chase with Colliers International; McLeod Rominger with the Colonial Group; Steve Cass and Jay Neely from Gulfstream Aerospace; Colin McRae and Mary Siceloff from the law firm of HunterMaclean; Rich Hallman of Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung; Regina Morgan and Jackson Westberry from Peeples Industries; Ben Goldberg of JIT Warehousing; Billy Robinson and Robert Dowd of Port City Logistics; Andy Smith of R.B. Baker Construction; Ladson Hancock from Savannah Port Services; Savannah Economic Development Authority President and CEO Trip Tollison; World Trade Center Savannah’s Leigh Ryan; Georgia Ports Authority’s Curtis Foltz and others.
Representing the region were F.J. Fenn and Sean Register from the Bryan County Development Authority, Ashley Morris from the Liberty County Development Authority and Wally Orrel from the McIntosh County Development Authority.
An emerging India
The USA India Business Summit will host a two-day conference Monday and Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Savannah on “India Supply Chain Markets and Opportunities.”
The conference, which is designed for strategic business planers, consultants and senior academics, will offer insight into business opportunities and profit potential afforded by the expansion and globalization of India’s supply chain.
The conference will include a presentation on and tour of the Georgia Ports Authority as well as keynote speeches and panels on India’s supply chain and the challenges and opportunities it offers for U.S. companies.
Presenting partners include GPA, the Georgia Tech Center for International Business Education and Research and Georgia College. World Trade Center Savannah is also a partner.
Cost of attendance is $155 for either day or $275 for both. To register, contact program chair Ani Agnihotri at ani@usaindiabusinesssummit.com or call 404-394-6678.
The ‘Liberty Ship’
The sponsors of a historical marker honoring a WWII Savannah ship are looking for survivors of its sinking.
The Georgia International Trade Center and Maritime Authority will dedicate a marker to the SS James Oglethorpe and its role in the Battle of the Atlantic on Hutchinson Island on May 22.
The marker will tell the story of the first Savannah-built “Liberty Ship” freighter, the SS James Oglethorpe.
Ths ship was sunk when several German U-boats simultaneously attacked its convoy in the North Atlantic on St. Patrick’s Day 1943.
It is believed that up to 30 members of the Oglethorpe’s crew survived the initial German torpedo attack on the ship.
The Authority is seeking both these survivors and descendants and loved ones of the 41 sailors and officers who lost their lives to be honored at the dedication.
If you or someone you know served on the SS James Oglethorpe, please contact event co-organizer Michael Jordan at 912-713-8411 or mj@cosmosavannah.com.
To learn more about the Oglethorpe, the Savannah shipyard where it was built and see historic video clips and photos, go to www.savannahlibertyships.com.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GCT CMA CGM JAMAICA Today
GCT PUSAN Today
GCT CSAV LUMACO Today
GCT ZIM MONACO Today
GCT PRESIDENT JACKSON Today
GCT UASC SHUAIBA Today
GCT EVER DELIGHT Today
OT SALOME Today
OT GRANDE GABON Today
GCT NEW DELHI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT AXEL MAERSK Saturday
GCT MSC BARBARA Saturday
GCT MSC RITA Saturday
GCT AL ABDALI Saturday
GCT BUSAN EXPRESS Saturday
GCT YORKTOWN EXPRESS Saturday
GCT E.R. DENVER Sunday
GCT AMELIA Monday
GCT VERACRUZ EXPRESS Monday
GCT E.R. DENMARK Monday
GCT MSC KRYSTAL Monday
GCT NYK JOANNA Monday
GCT KLAND EXPRESS Monday
GCT YM PORTLAND Monday
GCT HALIFAX EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT NYK DAEDALUS Tuesday
GCT MOL EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT MAERSK MERLION Tuesday
GCT HANJIN NAGOYA Tuesday
OT SAUDI HOFUF Tuesday
GCT ZIM COLOMBO Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI GLORY Wednesday
GCT MOL PREMIUM Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND RACER Wednesday
OT SAGAR SHAKTI Wednesday
GCT ISLANDIA Thursday
GCT CSAV LEBU Thursday
GCT RANJAN Thursday
GCT MAERSK MALACCA Thursday
GCT CMA CGM WHITE SHARK Thursday
GCT ZIM MEDITERRANEAN Thursday
GCT CSCL NEW YORK Thursday
GCT MAERSK VIRGINIA Thursday
GCT OOCL OAKLAND Thursday
OT TYSLA Thursday
OT TUGELA Thursday