TradePort Logistics LLC and MDH Partners LLC have announced plans for a 100-door transload facility and a 650,000 square-foot fulfillment center at the Savannah River International Trade Park. The two developments are expected to bring more than 400 full- and part-time jobs to the Savannah area, and serve a growing demand for logistics space.

TradePort Logistics is a new company that counts among its founders Savannah native and longtime warehouse developer George Powers.

Powers founded American Port Services in 1987, and took the company from 50,000 square feet at its start to 13 million square feet with locations in the Midwest, and on the East, West and Gulf Coasts before selling APS in 2005. Powers and former APS Executive John Edwards stayed on after the sale, with Powers leaving in 2007, and Edwards parting with the company recently to help form TradePort.

MDH Partners LLC is an Atlanta-based real estate investment company formed in 2005 by CEO Jeff Small. MDH has a portfolio of over 13 million square feet of properties, across seven states from Virginia to Florida

Powers, President and CEO of TradePort, said the reason to invest in the Savannah market is simple.

“The Georgia Ports Authority has created a great port facility with their strategic investments, superior management philosophy and execution. This, in turn, has attracted a larger share of cargo than ever before, and these shippers need facilities and services,” he said. “The Port of Savannah is known for its efficiency, cost-effectiveness and flexibility. From Savannah, our customers can reach their consumers in the shortest period of time, and speed to customer becomes more important every day.”

Powers said a main selling point for the Savannah River International Trade Park is its proximity to the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal. The trade park is less than five miles from the port, and just one mile from Interstate 95.

“The turn times for our drivers to pick up a load and return an empty container is a major differentiator,” he said. “At the park, we expect excellent turn times.”

As for mode of operation, at the 650,000 square-foot warehouse, Powers said TradePort is willing to lease the structure out to a single retailer, or separate the building for multiple customers.

“We hope to provide logistics services to the tenant, or even be the tenant ourselves and offer the full package to an importer.”

TradePort’s service offerings  will include; Port Drayage, Transloading , Import/Export Consolidation and Deconsolidation, Warehousing. As needed, TradePort will also arrange for transportation to the cargo’s final destination. The company will provide pick & pack, palletizing, stretch wrapping, packaging and any similar value-added service a shipper might request.

“Our 100 door transload facility will allow for the most efficient flow across the dock from container to awaiting trailer,” Powers said. “The number of doors and the accompanying trailer parking capacity are  other key  advantages.”

At full build-out, the 100-door, 70,000 square-foot transload facility will feature approximately 500 trailer parking locations.

“Where warehouse clients will order products in large quantities and keep an inventory on hand to serve their stores and customers, the transload facility will serve shippers that need to move their goods very rapidly through to ultimate destination,” Powers said.

Powers said market forces have led to greater demand for transload facilities.

“Retailers have been limiting the amount of inventory they keep on hand to hold costs down,” he explained. “This leads to a practice of less storage and more transloading, or flow-through shipping. Additionally, e-commerce has added to the urgency of getting freight to its destination ever faster.”

TradePort Logistics’ transload facility will be complete in May 2018, and will go into service as soon as construction is finished. TradePort anticipates that the larger warehouse will be complete in September 2018. It might take more time for the warehouse to go into full operation.

“We are actively contacting potential customers and expect to have our transload building completely spoken for, well in advance of its completion,” Powers said.