Dockside SU2008.indd - Port Freeport

Gulf Chemical
has long history
of supporting
Freeport, its port
Ever since opening its Freeport facility three
and a half decades ago, Gulf Chemical
& Metallurgical Corp. has relied upon
Port Freeport for shipment of the essential
materials it derives from recycling of spent
catalysts from petroleum refiners.
“We do have choices of other ports, but
I have no desire to support anything but
our local port,” said Jay Jaffe, vice president
of catalyst acquisitions at Gulf Chemical,
which was formed in 1947 and has had its
key facility in Freeport since 1973. “There
are other ports that would like our business,
but they can’t compare with the service we
get from Port Freeport.”
P O R T F R E E P O R T 3 D O C K S I D E
The vital metallic materials that Gulf Chemical
exports to Asia from Port Freeport typically are
transported in 1.5-metric-ton bags, or “super sacks,”
on flatbed trucks that move at the pace of more than
1,000 runs over a three- to four-day
period between Gulf Chemical’s
Freeport facility and the dock.
Port officials have coordinated
efforts with Gulf Chemical
leaders and other stakeholders in
development and implementation
of procedures that facilitate the
swift movement of these trucks
through port gates and the efficient
loading by stevedores of the cargo
onto oceangoing vessels.
“Gulf Chemical is a local industry
that has gone out of its way
to support its local port with
its exports,” said Port Freeport
Executive Port Director/CEO
A.J. “Pete” Reixach, Jr. “We have
worked together to find logistics
solutions, and we’re both enjoying
the rewards of our partnership.”
Gulf Chemical also continues to play
a major role, in conjunction with the
Port, in significant community events,
including the annual Take-A-Child
Fishing Tournament that is hosted
by Port Freeport and the Coastal
Conservation Association - Texas
for which Gulf Chemical has been
a platinum sponsor since the event’s
inception in 2001. Gulf Chemical
also was top-level sponsor of Port
Freeport’s March golf tournament,
which benefited Junior Achievement
of Brazoria County.
Gulf Chemical’s Freeport facility,
located just 2 miles from Port Freeport
docks, employs some 175 people in
an around-the-clock operation.
Operations such as those of Gulf Chemical are
instrumental in usefully coupling the increase in
North American oil refining with growing global
demand for steel and related products.
Captain Kovacsik Stefan accepts a maiden voyage plaque from Port Freeport
Managing Director Phyllis Saathoff aboard the M/V Tasman Chief on May 30.
P O R T F R E E P O R T 4 D O C K S I D E
As the world’s largest recycler of spent catalysts
– more than 2 billion pounds since 1973 – from
the oil-refining industry, Gulf Chemical extracts
commodities such as molybdenum, vanadium, nickel
and cobalt. These materials, because
of their high strength and ability
to resist heat and/or corrosion, are
valuable in the making of stainless
steel and various alloys used in
specialty steel, automotive and
foundry industries.
Gulf Chemical is a strong proponent
of numerous recycling initiatives,
from recycling of office paper and
aluminum cans to a new effort to
collect unused hotel amenities and
donate them to local women’s and
homeless shelters and the Texas
Port Ministry that serves mariners
calling at Port Freeport.
Gulf Chemical’s operations are
slated to soon expand to a facility
in Fort Saskatchewan, a suburb of
Edmonton, Alberta, and company
officials are looking at how Port
Freeport’s extensive rail connection
may be used to facilitate links
between the Canadian and Texas
facilities. Company officials also are
looking forward to the opening of
Velasco Terminal containerized
cargo operations at Port Freeport,
which should play a role in serving
the firm’s European customers.
Gulf Chemical is a subsidiary of
Eramet, a global leader in mining
and metallurgy based in Paris,
France. Eramet has a workforce
of about 15,000 employees in
more than 20 countries on five
continents. The strategy of
sustainable development
using innovation,
investment and
continual improvements in safety
and performance are the benchmarks
that Eramet conveys to its customers,
employees and shareholders.