Kingston Wharf 75th Anniversary

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2020 22 56 acres of land that was reclaimed as part of the NewportWest Project. When the company moved to NewportWest in 1966, it welcomed its first vessel – the SS Santa Rosa – at its new deepwater berth facility. At Newport West, KWL occupied Berths Five to Nine, and theWestern Terminal operations covered Berths One to Four. Whatever his retrospective view about the move out of downtown Kingston, Mr Johnston agrees that Kingston Wharves has grown and thrived at its NewportWest location. In 1994, KingstonWharves Limited merged withWestern Terminal and assumed control over that opera- tion and its four berths, allowing KWL to occupy all nine deepwater berths up to today. The following year, KWL listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange as it raised capital to expand its operations. As the new millennium dawned, KWL would experience another critical shift, namely, when the ownership structure changed. GraceKennedy Limited gave up its controlling interest in KWL, after 60 years of operating the wharf. “This development allowed KWL to, in essence, manage itself, and Grantley Stephenson became the new CEO, the first not to be appointed by GraceKennedy,”Mr Johnston noted, pointing to this ownership change as another defining moment. Another pivotal moment, ac- cording to Mr Johnston, came in the mid-2000s. “KWL bought out the private stevedores. Port Services Ltd, Jamaica Fruit and Shipping, Maritime and Transport, Transocean and others had ste- vedoring companies at the time. Grantley Stephenson as the CEO resolved the issue concerning ste- vedoring at KWL by buying out the stevedores, opening the door for the company to carry out its own stevedoring functions on the Port of Kingston. This led to greater ef- ficiency and more cost savings,”Mr Johnston recalled. THE JAMAICA PRODUCERS GROUP By 2012, as the company sought additional financing for its expan- sion, Jamaica Producers Group (JP) provided the answer, injecting capital and gaining major interest in the company. This development is identified as another defining one in the history of the organisation. CEO of the Jamaica Producers Group and current Chairman of KingstonWharves, Jeffrey Hall, who structured the deal to acquire the major stake in KWL, underscored the significance of that moment and JP’s subsequent role in the growth and development of the port com- pany. JP’s initial stake was 20 per cent, with an additional 22 per cent acquired by 2014. “Certainly, the JP Group saw the natural synergies to be derived from that major alliance. We have been involved in KWL since the inception, as one of its original shareholders, and we had developed confidence in the depth and vision of the man- agement team, then led by Mr Grantley Stephenson. However, with our increased stake, we had the ability to make a greater mark on the organisation and impact its strategic direction,”Mr Hall noted. Mr Hall disclosed that JP initiated the move to have long-standing customer Seaboard acquire shares in KWL.“When Seaboard purchased an interest in KWL, it cemented the strategic partnership with a key customer, and this gave added confidence to the bold investment programme,” the chairman said. “The Jamaica Producers Group brought to the table global business expertise and a clear commitment to the maritime industry, as well as a fresh perspective and a vision for moving forward,”Mr Hall observed. He noted that JP’s move to bring greater alignment with the organi- sation’s business model was a sem- inal step that strengthened KWL’s governance structure, empowered management and helped promote profitability. MODERNISATION AND EXPANSION Robert Kinlocke, the last managing director under the GraceKennedy era, started a mod- ernisation move. Among other steps, he bought equipment to assist in receival and delivery. The investment paid off as the company was able to recoup the investment in three years. This was the catalyst for the company to invest greatly in equipment and get involved in the lucrative stevedoring operation, starting with a few car vessels. Grantley Stephenson, who served as CEO from 2003 to 2019 (eight of those years as executive chairman), presided over a significant period of modernisation of KWL that was instrumental in the turnaround of the port terminal and its modern standing. Kingston Wharves purchased its first crane in the post-GraceKen- nedy era in 2004, a GottwaldMobile Harbour Crane, which strength- ened its stevedoring operations. Before that, cargo was loaded and offloaded using the ships’ cranes and rented equipment. That first crane was only the beginning, as Kingston Wharves would go on to acquire five additional mobile har- bour cranes, including two state-of- the-art Liebherr Cranes purchased within the last five years. KWL is now a well-equipped company that is driven by digital technology. In 2007, three years after the ac- quisition of the first crane, Kingston Wharves undertook another major infrastructural development pro- ject. This time it was the redevel- opment of Berths Eight and Nine at a cost of US$26 million, financed through a loan from First Caribbean Bank. Completed in 2009, the PLEASE SEE HISTORY , 30 KINGSTON WHARVES 75TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY CONTINUED FROM 20