By Leo Quigley, AJOTIt’s been a year of milestones for Maher Terminals of New Jersey. First, the privately owned firm was purchased by Deutsche Bank. Second, the two Maher terminals in New Jersey were amalgamated into one large terminal. And, third, the Maher-operated container terminal in Prince Rupert, Canada, was officially opened and, with it, a new container transportation corridor between Asia and Chicago-Memphis. The purchase by RREEF Infrastructure, the US management arm of Deutsche Bank, retained the Maher family name and kept Brian Maher on as Chairman and CEO and Basil Maher as President. The deal also kept the company’s offices in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. At the time of the purchase, David Kerry, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager with RREEF, said the firm was looking forward to operating in both Port Elizabeth – the largest independent multi-user container terminal in the United States - and the Port of Prince Rupert. Brian Maher also lauded the purchase saying the backing of Deutsche Bank provides Maher Terminals with a better opportunity to compete on a global level. “Their vision of growth and value creation will lead us in the future as we grow our existing terminal business and compete for additional capacity in the North American market,” he said in a prepared statement. As part of the deal RREEF Infrastructure agreed to invest at least $114 million in capital expenditures at the terminal facility. Frans van Riemsdyk, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Maher told AJOT that RREEF Infrastructures has a long-term view of the container business and, “is very bullish in the opportunities we have in New York and New Jersey as well as in Prince Rupert.” Port consolidation involved two existing facilities, the Fleet Street terminal and the Tripoli Street Terminal, that were consolidated into one 445-acre terminal according to a master plan that was put in place in 1998. The new consolidated terminal offers shippers 10,000 feet of contiguous berth space, 16 container cranes and more than 180 straddle carriers. Van Riemsdyk said that with the expansion and modernization of the two combined facilities, it is now North America’s largest marine terminal. “It’s a big, big place,” van Riemsdyk said, “with lots of capacity to handle the largest ships afloat and the largest ships planned, quite frankly.” Most recently, Maher Terminals took part in the official opening of Fairview Container Terminal, the first container terminal located at the Port of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia. While considerably smaller that Maher’s US East Coast terminal, Fairview shows promise as it offers shippers the shortest route between Asia and North America and an uncongested express rail corridor between Canada’s Northwest Pacific corner and Memphis, Tennessee. The recent opening of Phase One of the terminal offers shippers one of the deepest harbors in North America and three Ultra-Post Panamax cranes, with a capacity of 500,000 teus per year. Phase Two of the terminal, to be completed by 2009, will expand this initial capacity to two million teus annually. As well, a second, similar, container terminal is being considered for nearby Ridley Island. Van Riemsdyk said Maher looked at three things before putting their money and expertise into the Port of Prince Rupert. First, the depth of water available and the fact that Prince Rupert harbor is one of the deepest in the world, Second, proximity to Asian markets and the fact that the port, located on the Great Circle Route, is closer to Asia than any other North American port. “Last, but not least,” van Riemsdyk said, “is the fact that Canadian National Railway has this northern line that is only operating at about 10% of its capacity. “We’re ready to go and eager to go,” he said. Centerm boasts highest density per working acre of any terminal in North America. When Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, visited Vancouver, Canada, in September last year he promised to