Commodity: Crane
Customer: Watco Terminal & Ports Services
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Houston, Texas
One of Watco’s newest offices is in Joplin, Missouri, and houses a new branch of Watco Supply Chain Services (WSCS). The team there excels at helping our Customers transport their commodities domestically and internationally, sometimes those Customers are other divisions of Watco.
That was the case recently when the Baton Rouge, La., terminal purchased a new crane for its facility. The old crane needed to be disassembled and removed from the property before the new crane could arrive and be erected. It was decided that the old crane would be moved to Greens Port Industrial Terminals in Houston, Texas, but the next challenge was getting the crane there. That’s when Baton Rouge Terminal Manager Geron Crotwell decided to get WSCS involved.
“The Supply Chain Team was great. I didn’t have to worry about finding truckers, lining up truckers like I did in the past. They took care of everything so I could focus on getting the crane ready and preparing for the new one,” Crotwell said.
WSCS has a database of more than 25,000 carriers that can be contracted to move our Customers’ freight. The team vets the carriers by looking at factors like their safety ratings, how long they’ve been in business, and their insurance policies. If they meet the WSCS requirements, they can be set up as an active carrier. This is what Account Manager Ryan Frazier looked at before hiring a group to transport the crane for Watco Terminal & Ports Services (WTPS).
“We’d done a few smaller loads for them, and we went to work on it. It was a unique type of move being oversized, but we started reaching out to carriers that had done this type of thing for us in the past. Once it all came together, it was about making sure everyone got in there at the right time and got the best rate while providing the full solution to Watco as a whole,” Frazier said.
It took seven trucks to haul the disassembled crane. The plan was to get it loaded and off the Baton Rouge property on a Friday because the new crane was arriving on the following Monday. Six trucks arrived on time and were loaded successfully. One driver was held up at a previous stop, but was able to get loaded first thing on Monday and begin the trek to GPIT.
“We don’t like having those snags, but they do happen sometimes. Fortunately, we were able to adapt and complete the move without any other issues. Both Houston and Baton Rouge were thrilled that we were able get it taken care of with minimal mishaps,” Frazier said. “We feel good about being able to help out when we can. We definitely don’t want to have to reach outside of our own network if we can do the job ourselves.”
Crotwell has used WSCS before. Prior to moving the crane, he needed a bucket delivered from the Vicksburg, Mississippi Terminal, and WSCS assisted in shipping that to Baton Rouge.
“We’re getting so big and so large now, sometimes you don’t think to use another part of the company. If you don’t use it, you forget about it. I’m glad I didn’t because they’ve been a prayer answered. They’re a great part of the company and took care of everything,” Crotwell said.
The Joplin WSCS office has a history of assisting other Watco properties. When Director of Locomotive Support Tex Inman was piecing together the new switcher for the Zwolle, La. Mechanical Shop, some of the parts he needed were at the Junction City, Kansas, shop. He called WSCS to help get them to Zwolle.
“When we’re working for our Customers to broker trucking shipments for them, most of the time we just see that piece, we don’t see the end product. So, it was cool, in that regard, seeing that switcher and say that we took the engine down that they needed to get it running,” said Branch Manager Will Bailey.
They also work closely with the Zacha Terminal in Dallas, Texas on freight from Nucor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Recently, the team also brokered trucks for Trafigura Trading. They’re taking zinc ingots from Watco’s Port of Memphis operation to Millington, Tennessee.
“We’re trying to make more connections between Watco Companies and Watco Supply Chain. There’s a lot of opportunity for collaboration between different sides of the company and we want them to know what Supply Chain does and that the team can help,” Bailey said.
If you’d like to contact the WSCS Joplin Team, they can be reached at joplinops@watcosupplychain.com.