Sunday, September 09, 2007

Quickload Terminals ready to get to work


Quickload Terminals looking forward to adding their contribution to the success of the container port as things begin to ramp up towards the beignning of operations.

The company that has been given the contract to operate the container examination facility is excited about next weeks Grand opening of the container port and looking forward to getting down to work. Matt Holland, the head of operations for Quickload Terminals did a bit of reminiscing for the Daily News about the process from the opening conversations to next weeks opening.

Thursday’s Daily News featured some details on the Terminal’s operations and what they expect in the future.

KEY PORT PLAYER IS EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Pages one and three


One of the key players in the daily operations of the soon-to-be open Fairview Container Terminal is Quickload Terminals, which will be building and operating the Container Examination Facility.

Quickload’s head of operations, Matt Holland, is excited about the grand opening next week, but still remembers how it felt back when Quickload won the contract in Prince Rupert.

“When we entered the bidding process and were awarded the contract, we were extremely excited because we’d thought we had invested a fair bit of time and energy building relationships and drafted what we thought was a very compelling proposal,” said Holland.

“So it was quite a day for us to get it, and it’s been a scramble since I have to say.”

Holland says the company is a firm believer in the city of Prince Rupert, and hopes that being involved early on and showing commitment to the project will lead to even bigger things down the road.

Since first traveling here four years ago, he has been able to witness the ongoing transformation of the project itself, and the people involved.

“I’ve personally been coming to Prince Rupert since 2003, and the change in the town since I first started flying up, and talking to the Port Authority about prospects and projects, has been unbelievable,” said Holland.

“When I first arrived, it was a pretty quiet place, and the port was great concept but it seemed more abstract than anything else.”

Quickload is a recently-formed venture between Holland and a company called Kilmer Van Nostrand, which aside from being a significant shareholder in Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment has a history in British Columbia in the realm of cement and aggregate plants.

The Quickload partnership is focused on making investments and operating businesses in the marine logistics world, and is currently focused on supporting projects that will move product and containers through the port efficiently, starting with the Container Examination Facility.

“We’ve been working hard trying to get the facility organized and up and running, and we’re feeling like our bit in getting Fairview to be successful is well in hand,” Holland said.

“We’re hoping that we can contribute to making Fairview what will be the best port on the West Coast of North America.”

After discussions about how big the Container Examination Facility had to be, where to locate it, what the operating capacity would be, and how they would measure performance of the facility once operational, it became clear that Fairview would require a much larger facility than first thought.

“So we needed something to tide us over, and the Watson Island facility is a fantastic facility, we’re really excited about it actually, I think for many people it’s opened their eyes to what Watson Island can actually become,” said Holland. “I think there are lots of assets there that could be used for the port, and I suspect people will begin to look at Watson as a place to establish marine activity that will support the port.”

Quickload has already begun preparing their site on Ridley Island that will become the permanent bonded warehouse to be used by CBSA officers for the inspection of containers by June of 2008.

“We’re going to build a team of individuals who can lead our organization within Prince Rupert, and that initially means that the permanent container examination facility is going to grow from a 40.000 square foot facility into a 120,000 square foot permanent facility, said Holland.
“That pace of growth will be determined by how many additional carriers sign up to the port and so on.”

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