This organization has prepared itself for a new wave of growth.

New York Container Terminal has been preparing its business foundation for additional volume to hit the New York Harbor. In the last four years, New York Container Terminal (NYCT), New York City’s only major container facility, has invested $44 million in cranes, grounding space, and technology to facilitate increased volumes.

“We have a clear eye on our future and long-term value. We stepped up and demonstrated our commitment to this facility by investing millions of dollars ourselves,” said Jim Devine, president and CEO.

NYCT is a full service container and general cargo handling facility, which has one of the highest volume cargo capacities of any facility in the New York Harbor. Strategically located on Staten Island, the terminal occupies a 187-acre tract of upland area. It is readily accessible to major truck routes, and has capability for on-dock rail service connecting to the North American inter-modal rail network.

Last year, the company grew its volume 16% in terms of lifts, meaning the number of containers it lifted to or from vessels to a point of rest either on the facility or a vessel. This year, Devine anticipates on growing another 31%, bringing the facility to full bloom. “We’re well poised for further expansion,” Devine said.

Speeding up the process
According to the chief executive, the growth stems from new services coming to the harbor. To accommodate that growth, NYCT has made a number of investments, one of which is an automated gate operation system. Because the facility dates back to 1970, Devine felt it was necessary to update the company’s old processes. Optical character recognition enables sophisticated cameras to read container numbers on the side of a container and translate the characters into a computer screen input, which will automatically display the containers that are presented at a gate. Through a series of cameras and radio communications, this significant improves the time trucks are sitting in lanes to accommodate greater gate traffic.

“We would move about 1,700 trucks in the old mechanical fashion, which constitutes a relative good day’s work,” Devine said. “Today, with the same physical footprint, we can do about 3,000 transactions in the same amount of time, which gives us tremendous improved throughput.” The chief executive also worked to increase the grounding space in the yard, adding more square feet to pick up and put down containers.

NYCT’s level of investments hasn’t gone unnoticed. For the last two years in a row, the company has been awarded by the Bi-State Trucking Association the best in class terminal operator in the harbor, meaning truckers have scored the company above the five other facilities in the harbor in terms of ease of doing business, speed of picking or dropping of containers, and departing.

“We’re a desirable place to be,” Devine said. “Our industry is about how many moves per hour we can do—to and from a ship—during a period of time. We’re the best in our area when it comes to efficient labor and productivity.”

Safety first
NYCT’s level of productivity wouldn’t be possible without effective and motivated employees, and that starts with a strong emphasis on safety. “This is an industry that has historically been rated at the top in terms of injuries and deaths since the very beginning,” Devine said.

Devine enforces the use of personal, protective equipment, such as hard hats, vests, and footwear, all of which are provided to employees and paid for by the company. “We bought more than 400 highly visible fluorescent jackets with liners at $125 a piece for our workforce. We make sure they have first-class equipment, free of charge, and enforce that they work it so they understand the importance of our program,” Devine said.

Employee feedback is highly valued at NYCT. As the company re-engineered its facility, employees’ input went into the design. Work teams solicit input from laborers, addressing issues as simple as renovating the facility’s light fixtures at the facility because employees complained it was too dark. “When they complain about something, we give it a thorough airing and act on it so they understand they have a place at the table in terms of directing what we do here. It creates a sense of ownership amongst our people,” Devine concluded.