150,000 tons of new cargo, up to 24 vessel calls will result

John H. Estey, Esq., Chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA), announced that the European paper company M-real, based in Finland, has selected the Port of Philadelphia as its primary U.S. port of entry for its high quality paper products. Effective May 7, Wagenborg Shipping B.V., a major forest products carrier, will begin delivering M-real’s cargoes to PRPA’s Forest Products Distribution Center at Piers 78 & 80. The facility is operated by Penn Warehousing & Distribution Company, Inc.

“High-quality paper has long been one of our signature cargoes at the Port of Philadelphia,” said Chairman Estey. “So it’s especially appropriate that such a significant piece of new business for our port has now come from that industry.”

The new cargo, which previously entered the US via the Port of Baltimore, will result in 18 to 24 new vessel calls per year at Piers 78 & 80, and about 150,000 metric tons of new cargo, according to projections. High-quality paper is shipped in heavy rolls in vessels designed especially for this sensitive cargo.

“The excellent reputation of Penn Warehousing & Distribution Company and its ILA/Teamster workforce, as well as the PRPA’s recent addition of a new warehouse specially designed for paper at nearby Pier 74, were major factors in M-real’s decision to relocate to Philadelphia,” said James T. McDermott Jr., PRPA’s Executive Director. This is great news for the Port of Philadelphia, and we intend to provide a high level of service and support for M-real.”

John Brown, president of Penn Warehousing, welcomed the news. “We are delighted by M-real’s decision to come to the Port of Philadelphia,” he said. “Our labor force is specially trained for this work, and our facilities are designed to insure the safety and integrity of the cargo. We look forward to a productive working relationship with M-real.”

PRPA will provide further information about M-real cargoes moving through the Port of Philadelphia once vessel calls commence in May.