Wallenius Wilhelmsen executives officially inaugurated their newest global facility in Georgia on 21 January. This state-of-the-art site serves as a strategic hub for the Norwegian carrier’s operations in the southeastern United States.
“This is a world-class facility and I am very impressed by what we have managed to achieve together with our partner Georgia Ports Authority (GPA),” stated Lasse Kristoffersen, President and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Wallenius Wilhelmsen is one of the largest RoRo carriers in the world and we want to thank Lasse Kristoffersen, John Felitto and Mike Derby for their decision to invest their future business model in Brunswick. This new facility will be an economic development engine for Glynn County, the Peach State and the Southeast. We wanted to build a facility designed for WW to suit their long-term growth needs,” mentioned Griff Lynch, CEO of Georgia Ports.
He added, “One of the most critical plays in football is the handoff. We’re making the handoff today to you on this special day and wish you and your customers success in the years ahead.”
By consolidating its Southeast port activities in Brunswick, the company has transitioned from a 344,000 square meters Equipment Processing Center in Pooler, Georgia, and port calls at Ocean Terminal, Savannah, to a newly customized 1.2 million square meters facility in Brunswick.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen COO for Logistics Services John Felitto stated, “Georgia Ports has been an integral partner who listens and is easy to work with,” citing an example of a 53’ wide road design necessary for the oversized RoRo equipment the facility will handle.
This new facility is designed to support the efficient import and export of vehicles, featuring scalability, flexibility, and an onsite Equipment Processing Center (EPC) tailored for heavy equipment handling.
“Every heavy machinery customer would like to have finish-to-order (FTO) activities close to the port to reduce costs, improve delivery velocity to customers and access to global markets. At Colonel’s Island, they’re able to perform last mile manufacturing activities inside the port with all the processing and buildings on the terminal to perform their FTO customization work,” commented Flavio Batista, Georgia Ports’ Chief Commercial Officer.
