GPA’s Intermodal Terminal Appalachian Regional Port Hits Growth with Navis N4
Port continues decades old partnership with Navis to expand inland terminal operations supporting economic growth in the region
Oakland, CA — October 14, 2020 — Navis a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, today announced that GPA’s Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) has reached 260% growth and hit 27,132 lift moves, a record for its new terminal. As an over 20-year Navis customer, GPA grew its business and opened ARP, its first intermodal terminal, with Navis as its TOS partner to aid in its expansion, automation and rail business goals.
In 2018, GPA expanded into inland terminals when they opened ARP, taking the site from a greenfield location to a thriving intermodal terminal to support key regions within four states – Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. The goal of the project was to provide a logistics solution inland that would fill a need in the area, grow the local economy and focus on sustainability efforts by taking trucks off long-haul routes and replacing them with rail services. As the terminal scaled its operations, it added local jobs and attracted major companies like GE to open warehouses in the region, resulting in greater economic development for Georgia and an increase in demand at the terminal. From inception, GPA determined Navis would be the best option for a TOS at ARP due to its innovative features, rail functionality and ability to handle operations as the business grows. In 2020, ARP has hit several key business and operational goals with support from N4. This year, ARP moved more than 48,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units, doubled its cargo to 5,601 in September and has confirmed plans to add six new storage bays by the end of the year, increasing TEU capacity at the terminal by 15,000 per year.
“Despite the pandemic, this year has been a record year for ARP. We have seen operational, financial and company growth and as a result, we currently have plans to increase capacity on terminal.” said Wesley Barrell, Terminal Manager at ARP. “Navis has been a great partner to us and its TOS has played a significant role in our operational success. We are confident that Navis has the capabilities to handle our shifting business needs as we focus our efforts on further developing our intermodal operations in the near-future.”
In addition to hitting several important milestones, ARP’s goals were to increase efficiency and streamline operations at the terminal for better results. Using N4 TOS, ARP was able to integrate automated gate functionality, Expert Decking for more optimized yard planning and provide a user-friendly portal to its employees and customers through the technology. Due to the success they have seen using N4, GPA’s on-dock mega rail project, Port of Savannah, will be running on N4 TOS when it is complete next year.
“GPA has an impressive record of success, reaching company and regional economic milestones, regularly. As a longtime GPA partner, we have been there to support their team as they build business models from the ground up on new sites, and are excited by their company’s vision for the future,” said Chuck Schneider, Chief Customer Officer at Navis. “We are thrilled to provide N4 to support ARP’s operations and look forward to collaborating with their team on upcoming projects where rail will be a key driver of growth and success, to help them flourish for years to come.”
For more information visit www.navis.com.
