Marchand's legacy: From sleepy Southern port to powerhouse

http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2009-12-13/marchands-legacy-sleepy-southern-port-powerhouse


Marchand's legacy: From sleepy Southern port to powerhouse


Port chief's 15-year tenure ends with his retirement this month

Posted: December 13, 2009 - 7:18amPhotos

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Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Doug J. Marchand (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

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Next Doug Marchand announces during his State of the Ports address in September that he'll step down as executive director of the GPA at the end of the year. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)

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Next Governor Sonny Perdue thanks Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Doug Marchand, right, for his service to the state for the past 15 years. Marchand announced he was retiring at the State of the Ports address in September. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)



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By Mary Carr Mayle

As executive director of the fourth-largest deepwater container port in the country, Doug Marchand is accustomed to wearing many different hats.



But in the coming year, the 62-year-old Marchand, who will retire at the end of this month, is going to try on a few different ones - golfer, fisherman, gardener.



"I've always wanted to try my hand at gardening but never had the time before," he said. "I'm really a frustrated vegetable farmer at heart."



That being the case, there's one thing you can be sure of, said Georgia Port's board chairman Steve Green.



"If Doug Marchand plants a vegetable garden, you can bet it will be the highest producing, most efficient garden in the neighborhood," Green said, laughing. "It will grow the biggest pumpkins and the juiciest tomatoes, all in perfectly straight rows.



"Doug puts his heart and soul into everything he undertakes. He doesn't do anything halfway."



Indeed, since his arrival in Savannah from the Port of Galveston, Texas, in 1995, Marchand has been widely credited with taking Savannah's deepwater terminal from a sleepy Southern port to an international powerhouse.



"When Doug first got here, we were a relatively small port as far as containers go," said longtime GPA board member Hugh M. Tarbutton of Sandersville. "And coming from Galveston, which is known more for grain and breakbulk, Doug hadn't had a lot of experience with containers, either.



"But Doug Marchand has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to seeing the big picture," Tarbutton said. "He was absolutely the right man at the right time for Georgia Ports.



"What he's done in the last 15 years is truly remarkable. He's made us a world-class player."



Gov. Sonny Perdue agreed.



"Doug Marchand's commitment to innovation has earned Georgia recognition throughout the international shipping industry," Perdue said in September, when Marchand announced his retirement.







If you build it ...



Marchand is credited with developing the beneficial cargo owner or port retail concept in the maritime industry. His strategy increased the number of distribution warehouses in proximity to the port and leveraged the presence of shipping customers to attract such international retail customers as Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Ikea and others.



"Doug had the vision, which he turned into a strategy, which he turned into results," said Rick Winger, president of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. "We've been in lock-step with that vision pretty much from the beginning."



As Marchand began wooing shippers, Dick Knowlton, Winger's predecessor at SEDA, began looking at the need to acquire large tracts of land to offer those shippers warehousing and distribution center services. And Crossroads Business Park was born.



A dozen years later, the Port of Savannah has grown to become the fourth-largest container port in the nation and is recognized as the fastest growing container port in America, Perdue said.



It's a ranking made all the more impressive considering that only the mega-ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California and the massive, multi-terminal complex that is the New York/New Jersey Port Authority do more container business than Savannah.







No stone unturned



During Marchand's 15-year tenure, the number of containers shipped through the Port of Savannah has quadrupled, from 600,000 in fiscal year 1995 to 2.4 million last year.



But he wasn't simply sitting back, watching the numbers grow.



He also implemented the industry's first customer-focused operation protocol.



"The worst thing we could possibly do is become complacent," Marchand said earlier this week.



Complacency is the last thing port stakeholders have come to expect from Marchand.



"Doug never leaves a stone unturned when it comes to attracting cargo to Georgia," said Robert Morris, GPA's director of external affairs.



"He instilled in us a drive to make Savannah No. 1, and we've come darn close."



Morris said Marchand is able to focus on all aspects of day-to-day operations while never losing sight of the big picture.



And Marchand's big picture is an ambitious one - his 2015 Plan, a major $1 billion capital improvement blueprint begun in 2005, is designed to expand the Port of Savannah's container capacity from 2.5 million to 6 million.



Those who know Marchand well say there's little doubt he will leave the port with the tools necessary to achieve that goal.







A broader reach



Marchand's influence extends beyond Georgia's deepwater ports, Green said.



"Doug's focus and determination to attract cargo to Savannah and his successful implementation of a customer-focused operation have not only helped GPA attract some of the retail industry's largest and most dynamic players, it set new standards for the shipping and maritime industry," Green said.



Case in point: Four years ago, the Port of New York/New Jersey launched the Portfields Initiative, a project to develop a system of distribution warehouses patterned after Savannah's successful operation.



Joe Bonney agreed.



"Doug has an excellent reputation throughout the port and shipping industry," said Bonney, executive editor of the Journal of Commerce, the definitive trade publication of the shipping world.



"He's well-liked and well-respected - I've never heard anyone say a negative word about him - and he's delivered results.



"Doug took over when Savannah had just lost half its cargo base after U.S. Lines went bankrupt. He and his staff were able to replace that business and expand on it. He cultivated good relationships with customers and oversaw the planning of modern facilities and a strong operations and marketing team," Bonney said.



"Savannah is internationally regarded as a successful, soundly managed port, and Doug can claim a lot of the credit."



THE MARCHAND FILE Title: Executive Director, Georgia Ports Authority since 1995. Education: Graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Family: Married to Brenda Marchand and a father of two, son Jack and daughter Kristen. KEY GPA ACCOMPLISHMENTS: -- Grew the Port of Savannah to the nation's fourth-largest container port. -- Quadrupled the number of containers handled by GPA. -- Nearly quadrupled the number of auto and machinery units imported and exported by GPA. -- Under his leadership, the port supported 286,786 jobs, contributed $2.8 billion in state taxes and reported $14.9 billion in income. -- Created the Beneficial Cargo Owner concept, which increased the number of distribution warehouses and leveraged the presence of GPA's ocean carrier customers to attract international retail customers such as Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Ikea and others. -- Implemented an industry-first customer focus operation protocol. -- Led GPA to financial self-sufficiency.

-- Led the charge to deepen the Savannah River channel from 42 feet to 48 feet to accommodate the larger ships that will call on the port once the Panama Canal Expansion is completed in 2014.

Begun more than 10 years ago, GPA's $545 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project - by far the largest and most open civil works project in the history of the region - is now awaiting a series of final approvals.

Source: Georgia Ports Authority