A group of international maritime industry leaders associated with transportation pioneer Malcom McLean has kicked-off a campaign to collect artifacts, historical data and documents for a public museum and research center about the history of containerization in the maritime world.
The McLean Container Center at Kings Point, NY (MCC@KP) seeks to acquire, preserve and share material with historians, industry, researchers, students and public. The center is named for the late Malcom McLean, whose 1956 shipping innovation is credited with revolutionizing world commerce and accelerating the pace of globalization.
"The story of the container industry is a spectacular one," said Center Chairman Paul F. Richardson, "but for all the immense benefits it has brought to the world, it's still less understood than it should be.
"The shipping container is called the box that changed the world - and not just maritime commerce. It changed global economies, societies and cultures too."
Containerization "does not receive the recognition it deserves" said Helen Delich Bentley, a member of the MCC@KP board of directors. "With the possible exception of the Internet, nothing can touch containerization for the change it produced in the world during the last century."
Bentley, a former US Congresswoman and Chairman of Federal Maritime Commission, delivered the keynote speech during the MCC@KP's May 24 dedication in which she urged a call to action to acquire artifacts.
The McLean Container Center will be maintained at the American Maritime Museum and Bland Library at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.
