From Suffolk to the world: Suffolk economy benefits from Port of Virginia – The Suffolk News-Herald

From Suffolk to the World: Suffolk’s economy benefits from Port of Virginia

Published Friday April 21, 2023 7:17 pm

The Port of Virginia is growing and its continued development is giving Suffolk an economic boost.

Announcements of new projects scheduled to begin or open in 2023 tied to the port facilities will bring in excess of $200 million in investment and the development of more than 3 million square feet of new construction and expansion.

POV spokesman Joseph D. Harris said that with the investments being made at the facilities, it’s also important to have development outside the fence line to support them.

In 2022, POV had its most productive year on record, having processed more than 3.7 million TEU – 20ft equivalent units – up 5.1%.

“We made real progress in 2022 and it was another very solid year for volumes,” said Virginia Port Authority CEO and executive director Stephen A. Edwards. “Our level of service and performance continues to improve and our key performance indicators for trucks, chassis, railcars and ships have improved each quarter.”

The port achieved three of its four best months for container volume in 2022, with trading volume peaking in May at an all-time high of 341,611 TEU.

The dividends from this growth flowed in Suffolk with the announcement of five projects to begin or be completed in 2023, along with the development of the new Port 460 project, which received approval at the end of the year.

Announced in coordination with the Port of Virginia, these projects came throughout the year and include:

• February: UNIS Co., a 910,000 square foot new building in town. Investment in the development was not announced, but the company spent $867,100 on the property. There was no estimate of the number of jobs it would create when it opened in 2023.

4May: Birdsong Peanuts, adding approximately 10,000 square feet to the facility and doubling the size of the offices with a $25.1 million investment. No estimate of the number of jobs to be created.

4July: Massimo-Zanetti Beverage, a $29.1 million investment to expand its facilities that will create 79 new jobs. Extension size not specified.

4October: Lowes invests $75 million in a new 1.2 million square foot facility that will create 100 new jobs.

4December: MSI, a $61.5 million investment for a new 550,000 square foot facility that will create 80 new jobs.

While Harris said there is no data on the volume these operations will bring to POV in Suffolk, he said they are being developed because of the proximity and availability of the port’s facilities.

Suffolk Director of Economic Development Nic Langford said the Port of Virginia is one of the key economic engines for the Hampton Roads area.

“The port’s recent growth and plans for future expansion continue to provide a pipeline of new projects ranging from industrial, logistics, commercial, mixed-use and multi-family projects,” Langford said. “The new developments will create jobs and contribute to the tax burden that a city the size of Suffolk needs to continue providing quality services to its citizens.”

He went on to say that this provides funds for emergency services, police, fire departments, public schools, roads, water, sanitation and storm sewers, and quality of life projects such as parks, trails and libraries.

“They are all connected in one way or another to the Port of Virginia and other regional economic engines,” Langford said.

The port’s website lists 10 current businesses using its services, covering more than nearly 1.4 million square feet of space in Suffolk. These include California Cartage Co., Cargoways Logistics, Coastal Logistics Group Inc., General Service Co. Inc., Georgia Partners Cold Storage, Mar-Ja Inc., Pacorini, Suffolk Cold Storage, Virginia Cold Storage and Windspeed Logistics/Cowan Systems.

Harris credited the Suffolk leadership with their interest in working with Port of Virginia many years ago for the development the city now faces.

In his 22 years at POV, he has seen the relationship between city and port develop.

Harris recalled that Suffolk officials came to the POV’s leadership years ago to explore opportunities for development through trade building.

Suffolk was boosted by its first business cluster, known as the coffee cluster, to emerge here.

A successful coffee producer based here and others followed suit after seeking their success, Harris said. He further explained that these productive clusters are often how places grow and develop, pointing out that there are others in the region that also build on port availability.

Companies “see one take off and thrive, and others will follow,” he said.

Additionally, Harris attributes the success Suffolk is seeing to a “very progressive business climate”.

“I owe this open-minded approach to projects to Suffolk,” he said.

Harris said the logistics business is growing, as is the Port of Virginia. He said the growth experience was a “natural progression for Suffolk and the region”.

He pointed out the advantages of logistics, which offers year-round work, good pay and good benefits.

Suffolk and the region are good locations because of the labor available. He noted that many people who are in the area but are leaving the military have a good chance in those positions — whether it’s in a facility or in technology, processing the orders to get them where they’re going.

Development in Port of Virginia

Harris said the Port of Virginia has many improvements underway to make it the best facility in the country.

The port’s focus on its sustainability program and on becoming a net-zero carbon emissions operation by 2040 has also been advanced. New investment projects involving electrical equipment coupled with clean-only power purchase agreements are putting the port on track – and in some areas ahead of schedule – to meet its 2040 target.

“To ensure we remain an economic engine, we are investing billions of dollars to create one of the fastest growing and most technologically advanced port complexes in the world,” Edwards said. “Now we combine this investment with a 21st century approach to sustainability. The Port of Virginia is committed to becoming a net-zero operation by 2040. Since announcing this signing last year, we are off to a really good start and are making progress.”

Edwards attributes the successful year to several factors: an experienced operations team, constant preparation, efficiency, consistency and the Virginia model.

“We own and operate the Hampton Roads terminals and chassis pool and this allows for quick decision making that ensures we are doing the right thing for the customer, within the capabilities of the operation,” said Edwards. “Users of The Port of Virginia have come to understand the Virginia Model, its benefits and the role it plays in our success cannot be overstated.”

The port is expanding its assets and expanding the benefits of the Virginia model by investing in both long and short-term projects aimed at increasing efficiencies, capturing more cargo and preparing for the future. These projects include:

• NIT North: Renovate, expand and modernize the north berth at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), adding 1,400,000 TEU capacity. These include the installation of new ship-to-shore cranes and a reconfigured container yard supported by remote-controlled, semi-automatic, rail-mounted gantry cranes. This operation will mirror our operations at NIT’s South Berth and Virginia International Gateway. This project will be completed in two phases: Phase I in 2025 and Phase II in 2027.

• Dredging: Deepening (to a minimum of 55 feet) and widening the Port of Norfolk and trade channels to safely accommodate fully loaded ULCVs (Ultra Large Container Ships) and to allow safe movement of these ships in both directions. Planned completion in 2025.

• NIT Central Rail Yard: Expansion of the Central Rail Yard at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) to accommodate an additional 470,000 annual TEUs. When completed, the terminal will be able to accommodate 1,100,000 rail TEUs per year and the port will have an annual rail TEU capacity of more than 1.8 million units. Planned completion in 2024.

• Offshore Wind: The Port is in the process of preparing Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) to become the US East Coast logistics center for the offshore wind industry. The Port has leased PMT to two companies who will use the terminal as a staging and pre-assembly area for the components needed to develop a large offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach. The terminal will be ready for occupancy in 2024.

“We listen to our customers and cargo owners and are always looking for ways to improve the way we dispatch ships and move cargo,” said Edwards. “If we do this well, confidence in The Port of Virginia will grow. The results are growing volumes and expanding businesses that are helping propel the state’s economy and job creation across Virginia.”

A recent economic impact study conducted by the College of William and Mary shows that the Port of Virginia helps create more than 400,000 jobs, generates $92 billion annually in total economic impact across the Commonwealth, and is a significant factor in ranking of Virginia is CNBC’s “Best State for Business” in 2019, 2020 and 2021.