Hide Article Text (OCR)
Portland sets sights on Guinness, whiskey1 Port director wants to lure alcohol away from S.C.WARRENPOINT, Northern Ireland — The director of ports in Maine’s largest city would like to boost traffic in Portland Harbor by diverting Guinness stout and Bushmills whiskey from South Carolina.Jeff Monroe and other Maine transportation officials also are looking for insight into how they can make trade more cost effective and profitable for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.One strategy Monroe has been pursuing on Gov. John Bal dacci’s trade mission to North era Ireland is to shift the spigot of alcoholic beverages north from its current flow toCharleston, S.C.The historic concern has been that drinks freeze while sitting on northern docks for several ^winter days, waiting for truck de livery. But Monroe thinks he could overcome that problem with a temperature controlled, .. 75,000 square foot building to1; house the beverages until they Htead to customers across the * i Northeast.“We’re big consumers,” Monroe told Warrenpoint port officials in a meeting Wednesday. “We’re trying to tap into that market.Part of the reason for seeking new customers is that freight volume through Portland has dropped dramatically in the last two years, following the closure of three major paper mills. The loss of that business has caused exports at the port to fall from 65 percent of its volume in 2001 to a projected 35 percent this year.So, Monroe is looking for new business to help support the Port of Portland and the jobs it sustains.The key is to find trading partners with whom to swap shiploads of merchandise, and Monroe spent Tuesday with port officials from Londonderry and Wednesday with managers from Belfast and Warrenpoint, making his case.Warrenpoint, which is located at the southeast tip of Northern Ireland, handles about 2 million tons of cargo a year.In comparison, Portland han dies about 750,000 tons of bulk products a year, in addition to 30 million tons of oil products.The problem right now for Maine is that little at Warren point is outbound. After the demise of Delorean cars, North era Ireland’s economy has fo cused more on services such as legal work and does little manu facturing for export.That leaves the well respected Bushmills single malt whiskey dominating the export market.
Newspaper Details
Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US
Fri, Oct 24, 2003
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
GB 16 Oct 2018
Other Publications Near Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth Hampton Union
Portsmouth Exeter News Letter
Exeter News Letter
Portsmouth Herald and Times
