Located in Ontario’s manufacturing heartland, the Port of Hamilton is well positioned to move heavy cargo as part of its increasingly diversified cargo mix. In 2012, the Port saw a tripling of project cargo volumes over 2011, including shipments of windmill components, rail cars and power plant pressure vessels from Ontario manufacturers to customers around the world.
This summer, Port tenant Hooper Engineered Vessels International (HEVI) shipped eight water gas shift (WGS) power plant reactors weighing 240,000 lbs each. “The project purchase order was received in May 2011,” explained Chris Hooper, Vice-President at HEVI. “Destined for the southern U.S., the equipment is integral to a state-of-the-art gasification/power plant facility. We are proud to celebrate another milestone out of the Hamilton facility.”
HEVI’s location on Pier 26 at the Port of Hamilton gives the company a competitive advantage, with access to over 500 feet of immediate deep water dock for barge and ocean shipments. From Hamilton’s strategically-located Great Lakes port, HEVI cargo has access to the Mississippi River, Atlantic Ocean, and global destinations. The Port of Hamilton enjoys robust rail, truck and marine connections, as well as an extensive lay-down area for equipment staging, indoor and outdoor storage, competitive stevedoring operations, ample shore crane lift capacity, forklifts and reach stackers.
Wind energy has also been an important driver of Hamilton’s growth in project cargo. More than two dozen of the wind energy installations planned for the south/southwestern Ontario region in the near term are within 200 kilometres of the Port of Hamilton. The Port has the experience, the facilities and equipment to be a key transportation hub for many of these upcoming projects.
“The Port of Hamilton is on-track to report another solid year for project cargo in 2013,” said HPA President & CEO Bruce Wood. “With a number of major shipments coming up this season, we are helping Ontario manufacturing compete and thrive.”