SteelTown
Dec 9, 2009, 12:24 PM
Hamilton: goods movement hub?
Newly formed committee charged with setting up body to market region as transportation gateway
December 09, 2009
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/687101
Local business leaders and academics are setting the wheels in motion to make Hamilton a transportation and goods movement hub.
The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics and private industry players, has struck an advisory committee charged with setting up an independent body to market the region as a gateway.
If done right, it could mean big money and it's one of the pillars of the city's economic development strategy.
The region's road, rail, air and marine links, along with its proximity to major U.S. and Canadian markets, could land up to 60,000 jobs and $4.8 billion in economic spinoffs over 20 years, according to an MITL report released in June.
The institute recommended setting up a standalone umbrella marketing group as a key first step.
"The MITL study was a critical component because the fact has been proven that this is a natural gateway," said advisory committee chair Demetrius Tsafaridis.
"It's all here, we have to put it to work and build a marketing arm to sell it."
To kick off the drive to bring more industry stakeholders into the talks, the chamber hosted a luncheon yesterday with keynote speaker Chris Gutierrez, president of Kansas City's SmartPort.
SmartPort is a non-profit group established in 2000 and funded by its members.
It covers 18 counties across two states and is charged with selling Kansas City, Mo., as a good place to set up shop for rail, river, air and truck transportation, logistics and warehousing.
He said focusing on goods movement has meant major bridge and highway improvements and attracting many new corporate residents. For instance, outdoor gear-maker Coleman recently settled into a million-square-foot facility.
"We've changed the market for industrial deals in Kansas City," Gutierrez said.
The critical factor is being ready to move quickly. The Coleman warehouse was finished 10 months after the first phone inquiry was made.
"By the time companies realize they need a distribution centre, they need it yesterday. ... You have to be open for business."
There are now three intermodal logistics parks under way in the region, said Gutierrez, including the transformation of a 565-hectare former air force base.
"These three projects alone, with the jobs and economic development they'll bring, will have a $1-billion projected impact on Kansas City."
Gutierrez says Hamilton is ahead of the game, compared to Kansas City's progress in the same time frame.
"You've leapfrogged the five or six years it took us to develop an action plan," he said.
"I applaud your progress. There is real leadership here. You recognize the opportunities in freight transportation and logistics and you have an opportunity to take it to the next level."
He urged stakeholders to push forward aggressively, something echoed by Hamilton International Airport CEO Richard Koroscil:
"There is a lot of competition out there and a lot of players coming into the game. We have to get moving forward."
The advisory committee has some seed money from private sources and has applied for federal funding through the Southern Ontario Development Agency, said chamber CEO John Dolbec.
The goal is to bring more local players into the process, including major retailers and manufacturers, freight and trucking companies and anyone else linked to transportation.
Ongoing funding will be mostly private, says Tsafaridis, president of CareGo, which includes warehousing, transportation and supply chain management firms.
The advisory committee is kicking around a name for the new organization and will eventually hire someone to lead it.
Newly formed committee charged with setting up body to market region as transportation gateway
December 09, 2009
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/687101
Local business leaders and academics are setting the wheels in motion to make Hamilton a transportation and goods movement hub.
The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics and private industry players, has struck an advisory committee charged with setting up an independent body to market the region as a gateway.
If done right, it could mean big money and it's one of the pillars of the city's economic development strategy.
The region's road, rail, air and marine links, along with its proximity to major U.S. and Canadian markets, could land up to 60,000 jobs and $4.8 billion in economic spinoffs over 20 years, according to an MITL report released in June.
The institute recommended setting up a standalone umbrella marketing group as a key first step.
"The MITL study was a critical component because the fact has been proven that this is a natural gateway," said advisory committee chair Demetrius Tsafaridis.
"It's all here, we have to put it to work and build a marketing arm to sell it."
To kick off the drive to bring more industry stakeholders into the talks, the chamber hosted a luncheon yesterday with keynote speaker Chris Gutierrez, president of Kansas City's SmartPort.
SmartPort is a non-profit group established in 2000 and funded by its members.
It covers 18 counties across two states and is charged with selling Kansas City, Mo., as a good place to set up shop for rail, river, air and truck transportation, logistics and warehousing.
He said focusing on goods movement has meant major bridge and highway improvements and attracting many new corporate residents. For instance, outdoor gear-maker Coleman recently settled into a million-square-foot facility.
"We've changed the market for industrial deals in Kansas City," Gutierrez said.
The critical factor is being ready to move quickly. The Coleman warehouse was finished 10 months after the first phone inquiry was made.
"By the time companies realize they need a distribution centre, they need it yesterday. ... You have to be open for business."
There are now three intermodal logistics parks under way in the region, said Gutierrez, including the transformation of a 565-hectare former air force base.
"These three projects alone, with the jobs and economic development they'll bring, will have a $1-billion projected impact on Kansas City."
Gutierrez says Hamilton is ahead of the game, compared to Kansas City's progress in the same time frame.
"You've leapfrogged the five or six years it took us to develop an action plan," he said.
"I applaud your progress. There is real leadership here. You recognize the opportunities in freight transportation and logistics and you have an opportunity to take it to the next level."
He urged stakeholders to push forward aggressively, something echoed by Hamilton International Airport CEO Richard Koroscil:
"There is a lot of competition out there and a lot of players coming into the game. We have to get moving forward."
The advisory committee has some seed money from private sources and has applied for federal funding through the Southern Ontario Development Agency, said chamber CEO John Dolbec.
The goal is to bring more local players into the process, including major retailers and manufacturers, freight and trucking companies and anyone else linked to transportation.
Ongoing funding will be mostly private, says Tsafaridis, president of CareGo, which includes warehousing, transportation and supply chain management firms.
The advisory committee is kicking around a name for the new organization and will eventually hire someone to lead it.