From 8/16/11 American Metal Market (AMM Daily/Corinna Petry)
CHICA--GO - Universal Trade Solutions Inc. (UTS) has opened a warehouse and
distribution facility in Orangeburg County, S.C., with its trucking partner
and parent company, Fraley & Schilling Inc.
Baltimore-based UTS chose to follow metal customers into the Southeast and
take advantage of export and inland freight opportunities cropping up in an
area served by the ports of Charleston and Savannah, said Tom Ferkany, vice
president of UTS and the eastern region for Fraley & Schilling.
The company recently bought a 110,000-square-foot warehouse in Orangeburg
that has 12 cranes rated from 5 tons up to 30 tons, and forklifts with
hauling capacities of between 12,000 and 55,000 pounds, Ferkany said.
UTS handled 6,000 containers in the Port of Baltimore last year-80 percent
imports, 20 percent exports.
From 8/16/11 American Metal Market (AMM Daily/Corinna Petry)
CHICA--GO - Universal Trade Solutions Inc. (UTS) has opened a warehouse and
distribution facility in Orangeburg County, S.C., with its trucking partner
and parent company, Fraley & Schilling Inc.
Baltimore-based UTS chose to follow metal customers into the Southeast and
take advantage of export and inland freight opportunities cropping up in an
area served by the ports of Charleston and Savannah, said Tom Ferkany, vice
president of UTS and the eastern region for Fraley & Schilling.
The company recently bought a 110,000-square-foot warehouse in Orangeburg
that has 12 cranes rated from 5 tons up to 30 tons, and forklifts with
hauling capacities of between 12,000 and 55,000 pounds, Ferkany said.
UTS handled 6,000 containers in the Port of Baltimore last year-80 percent
imports, 20 percent exports.
With the new site, UTS will start by servicing up to 10 customers in the
Southeast, all metal companies, and is looking to secure business with
automotive customers. It hopes to grow the business in the region by 20 to
25 percent within two years, Ferkany said. The Orangeburg facility is
currently served by 15 trucks, "but our goal is to be at 40 to 50 flatbed
trucks by the end of 2013."
UTS also will consider partnering with steel-processing companies in the
region to add value to its existing freight handling and warehousing
services. "We'll look at both partnering opportunities or consider our own
opportunities to perform steel processing, manufacturing, assembly or
fabrication (work). Because we have so many cranes, we can look at those
options," said Ferkany, noting that UTS' Baltimore location is not equipped
with cranes.
Rushville, Ind.-based Fraley & Schilling, established in 1955, has about 400
trucks and 550 to 600 trailers that operate out of Baltimore and terminals
in Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.
In Baltimore, UTS primarily handles aluminum, carbon flat-rolled steel,
steel bar products, tinplate and stainless steel products, according to
Ferkany. In Orangeburg, 15 percent of the metals business will be export and
import activity.
Charleston is the closest port to the Orangeburg site, with Savannah being a
secondary option, he said. Metal export opportunities have been rising over
the past five years with the growing consumption of emerging economies. And
as U.S. steelmakers consolidated and restructured their costs during that
period, it makes more economic sense for both parties to join the trade,
Ferkany said.
"U.S. producers are much more active in exporting product than they have
been over the past 30 years," and they need an experienced breakbulk,
containerized cargo and freight management expert, which is where UTS steps
in, he said. "With that growth in exports, we will partner with those
shippers to manage inland trucking and the loading of outbound (material)."
Because the cost of metal products has increased over the past few years,
the trend has been toward smaller but more frequent shipments, which means
more metal products going into containers, he said. For example, instead of
one 25-ton coil, shippers want to export five 5-ton coils, which can be
containerized more easily than a large coil. "That (skill set) coincides
with having a warehouse that takes containers in and out and having flatbed
trucks," Ferkany said. "It's a good match for us."
Billy Joe Armstrong, who previously worked for Worthington Industries Inc.,
Steel Technologies Inc. and Greer Steel Co., has been appointed to head the
South Carolina operation.