PhilaPort development plan achieves important goal; Second automobile berth is re-born 
Inaugural ceremony celebrating first Hyundai Glovis vessel call.
Inaugural ceremony celebrating first Hyundai Glovis vessel call.
South Philadelphia - This morning at 0800 hours the M/V GLOVIS Comet commenced cargo operations at Pier 122. The arrival of the vessel from South Korea with its cargo of 2,176 Hyundai and Kia automobiles marks the first vessel to call the pier in twenty years, and gives The Port of Philadelphia a vital second berth for the importation and exportation of automobiles and roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) cargoes. "This is a true transformation story," stated Jeff Theobald, CEO of PhilaPort. "In conjunction with our customer:  Hyundai GLOVIS (Hyundai, Kia) tenant USD Group (Northeast Energy Terminal), the Teamsters and the ILA, we were able to retool the pier and put it back to work." "The arrival of the first vessel at Pier 122 is a result of our plan and investment for the port in Philadelphia to expand operations, grow jobs and provide even greater benefit for Pennsylvania's economy," said Governor Tom Wolf. "With its major economic impacts throughout the state, my administration understands the value of Pennsylvania's port asset in Philadelphia and will continue to ensure the benefits of this investment and expansion continue to provide dividends to the region and entire commonwealth." In November, Governor Tom Wolf announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would invest $300 million into port infrastructure designed to more than double container capacity, creating a total of approximately 17,020 jobs and further establish PhilaPort as a multi-product, full service Port including expansion of finished vehicle cargoes. Development of a vessel berth directly adjacent to the VPC (vehicle processing center) was a high priority for PhilaPort. Pier 122 was purchased by PhilaPort from Conrail in 2007. The arrival of this vessel is the culmination of many steps taken by the Port, its customers and tenants. Prior to 2010, The Port of Philadelphia was not known to handle finished vehicles.  Since that time volumes have grown significantly.  It is anticipated that the Port will handle over 200,000 cars in 2017. Hyundai GLOVIS happens to be receiving their one millionth vehicle into PhilaPort next month. "The second berth for roll-on roll -off cargo is critical to Hyundai GLOVIS for many reasons," stated Glenn Clift, President and CEO of Hyundai GLOVIS in the United States. "It allows for two vessels to call at The Port of Philadelphia at the same time. More importantly, it allows for us to attract U.S. export auto business and other third party businesses like machinery and farm equipment." "This second berth is strategically located adjacent to two major rail lines to provide safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport of these products over sea and land." "The added continuous land, berth, and rail capacity will bring long term efficiency gains to our customers", said Scott Cornell, Vice President - Ocean Carrier at Hyundai GLOVIS. He added, "GLOVIS is now initiating the plans to match customers' imports and exports from a shared port call." "With close proximity to the vehicle processing center, dual rail (NS, CSX) and the I-95 corridor, the deep-water Pier 122 facility is strategically positioned to help transform The Port of Philadelphia into a true destination auto port,"  said Kevin LaBorne, Vice President of USDG. "We are excited to be executing on our vision to create a world-class multi-modal, multi-commodity logistics terminal. Investing and improving infrastructure to handle a diverse mix of cargo better enables sustained economic growth, maximizing family-wage jobs and revenue for the region.  We value our strong relationship with PhilaPort, and look forward to future development opportunities and expansion at this facility." "In addition to capital improvements we value the amalgamation of labor that have made The Port of Philadelphia such a success", said PhilaPort's Jeff Theobald. "Both the ILA and Teamsters consistently exceed our customers KPIs (key performance indicators)." "We routinely meet with the customers of the Port," said William Hamilton, President of Teamsters Local 107. "We obviously value the jobs they bring to the region. We are always looking for ways to increase our productivity and provide a valued respected labor force."