Grain terminal addition strengthens STL inland port

The St. Louis region’s position as the most efficient inland port in the United States has been strengthened following the recent addition of a new grain handling terminal on the banks of the Mississippi River in Cahokia, Ill., adding capacity in the area known as the Ag Coast of America.

The region garnered the title due to a 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River featuring 15 barge-transfer facilities that, at total capacity, can handle 150 barges a day – the highest level of capacity anywhere along the Mississippi River.

The addition of the 16th terminal, which was built by American Milling and purchased in December 2020 by Oakley St. Louis, LLC, a subsidiary of Arkansas-based Bruce Oakley, Inc., further expands the existing capacity with the ability to handle at least 1,000 more truckloads of grain daily. 

Bruce Oakley entered the market in 2019 with its purchase of Lange-Stegmann Company, its second terminal in the area. The acquisition gave Bruce Oakley control of Lange-Stegmann’s 60-acre site at Mile 182.7 on the Upper Mississippi River, which includes a barge dock, a rail yard with 23,000 feet of track, three locomotives, a truck and rail scale, and more than 153,000 tons of storage capacity.

“Bruce Oakley, Inc. is very excited to have a presence in the St. Louis area,” said Justin Oakley, vice president of Bruce Oakley, Inc. “For a commodity transportation and distribution company like Oakley, St. Louis is one of the most strategic locations on the river system. No other city connects river, rail, and road quite like the Ag Coast of America. Deep barge drafts, the lock-free and ice-free river to New Orleans, connection to the Class-1 railroads, and proximity to many industrial accounts that Oakley also services, make the Ag Coast a perfect location for us. Having the largest and most efficient fertilizer terminal in the area, complemented by a high-speed grain loading terminal, makes Oakley uniquely suited to add value to customers throughout the region.”

Other facilities on the Ag Coast include the Cargill Grain Elevator, which is one of the busiest grain elevators in the nation; the Bunge-SCF River Grain Terminal in Fairmont City, Ill., which is designed for more than a million bushels of permanent storage and can handle high volumes of multiple commodities simultaneously; and four facilities in Cahokia, Ill., operated by Consolidated Grain and Barge Company (CGB), Louis Dreyfus and COFCO International Growmark, which are the four highest capacity facilities in the entire inland waterway. Facilities operated by ADM, Gavilon Fertilizer, SCF, and Italgrani Elevator Company, along with America’s Central Port and the Municipal River Terminal in St. Louis, round out the 16 barge transfer facilities currently handling the tremendous volumes of agriculture and fertilizer products flowing through the Ag Coast.  

Growth on the Ag Coast is also supported by the recently completed reconstruction of Cargill Elevator Road, a vital link to the terminals in Cahokia, Ill. Trucks represent 87 percent of the vehicles traversing the narrow roadway, and prior to the reconstruction, traffic had been limited to one lane in each direction. Federal funding of  $800,000 through the IDOT Competitive Freight Program was key to advancing the $3.3 million project, which also received state and private funds.

“IDOT is proud to be working closely with our local stakeholders and businesses to improve the efficient transport of freight through our region,” said Keith Roberts, the acting Region Five engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation. “The recent Cargill Elevator Road improvements complement future planned work by the department, including the extension of relocated IL Route 3 south into Sauget and additional projects to improve reliability of the freight and commuter network along this vital regional corridor.”

One additional project, now partially funded, will help to address heavy traffic volumes on Illinois Route 3 at the A&S Railroad crossing in Sauget, which result in more than 55,000 hours of through-traffic delays annually. Calculating the cost of delay, a proposed grade separation project would provide annual cost savings of $1.5 million for passenger and commercial vehicle drivers traveling this area and improve truck traffic reliability, safety and efficiency benefiting barge and rail rates. The overall project has multiple benefits to the region in terms of improving access to the growing business community and encouraging future business development. 

Mary Lamie, vice president of Multi Modal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway enterprise, is excited about the continued investment in the Ag Coast and the infrastructure surrounding it.

“Handling nearly 450,000 tons per mile, the St. Louis region’s port system is almost two and a half times more efficient on its river usage than its closest competitor, according to the most recent rankings by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Lamie. “The added capacity and enhanced access provided by the newest terminal and infrastructure investments will come in handy given projections that 2021 will be a record year for corn and soybean exports from the United States.”

Raising the roofing industry despite a pandemic

Some, if not many, St. Louis-area businesses that serve the commercial real estate community have managed to do well despite the pandemic restrictions and frustrations of the past 18 months. Roofing Services & Solutions (RSS) is among them.

RSS was part of the MHS Legacy Group, a St. Louis company that also had operations in Nashville and Orlando, and a special projects division that worked around the country. The company was sold to TectaAmerica toward the end of 2019, according to Joe Lauberth, current RSS president and past general manager— just as hints of the pandemic were starting to appear. Lauberth and colleagues tried to buy the company but that didn’t work out; TectaAmerica had a better offer.

“I was skeptical at first, because parts of TectaAmerica were non-union and we’re a union shop, but we’re still a union shop, and I’m extremely pleased with the way things have gone,” Lauberth said. “It has worked out well. They allow us some autonomy. They have a lot of resources we can fall back on.”

In fact, 2020 — the first full year as a TectaAmerica company — was “exceptional; a record for RSS,” Lauberth said. Although he said that roofing is a very cyclical business, revenues have increased by 400 percent over Lauberth’s 15 years with the company. 

Success in the past 18 months of COVID-19 can be traced to following safety and health precautions while keeping the company doors open, projects moving and communication channels clear. Being designated an essential business, since roofing is considered part of the construction industry, was an important piece of that puzzle. 

RSS/TectaAmerica works in St. Louis primarily with public schools and municipal districts, although current clients include Boeing, Anheuser-Busch, Bayer (formerly Monsanto), Washington University and the Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital and the U.S. Department of Energy. 

One factor in recent success has been the arrival of Lindsay Pietroburgo as sales account manager with a primary responsibility for coop activities.

Pietroburgo graduated from Illinois State University and worked for State Farm Insurance as a field inspector for 13 years, with several promotions. She came to RSS/TectaAmerica in 2020 when she decided to look for an active role in construction and saw a posting at indeed.com. Thanks to her insurance background, she was familiar with issues that could affect building roofs.

“Roofing is the first line of defense in bad weather,” Pietroburgo said. 

Pietroburgo’s initial responsibility was to work on the company’s coop opportunities. Commercial public entities like schools and municipalities have to use public funds for roofing. The coop is a group of schools that can lets potential clients and providers bypass the traditional bid process but still follow guidelines.

“It’s a rigorous process to be approved and have a bid reviewed,” she said. “It’s still a bid process, but is faster by months.”

“This isn’t a new process, but it’s new to us,” Lauberth said. “It gives public entities an opportunity to get projects done efficiently.”

Pietroburgo is also focusing on expanding marketing efforts by developing relationships with colleagues and growing the company’s LinkedIn page, which she called invaluable free marketing. She has joined local chapters of CREW, BOMA, IFMA and other professional organizations in commercial real estate to boost company visibility; the company had been a member in the past and Pietroburgo is renewing those connections with an eye to expanding the company’s variety of clients.

“Associations provide connections to private companies, and we want to nail business from both sides: property managers and facilities management,” Pietroburgo said. 

Reminders for homeowner and condominium associations following the Surfside tragedy

The devastating partial collapse of the Champlain Tower South condominium building in Surfside, Fla. on June 24, 2021 is raising many legal questions about the condominium association’s responsibilities, transparency and potential liabilities in the events surrounding the catastrophe.

While it may take months, or even years, for these questions to be resolved in the courts, there are important actions that homeowners and condominium associations should take to protect themselves, their owners and their properties from avoidable tragedies and unnecessary losses stemming from inadequate maintenance and planning. Below are actions associations should consider:

• Seek Expert Advice. Hire and rely on experts in their fields for advice when needed and err on the side of caution when concerns arise over property or financial issues. Hire someone with expertise relevant to the issue(s) at hand and take their advice seriously. Share concerning reports with owners and residents, particularly when confronting life safety issues.

• Conduct a Transition Study. A key milestone for newer homeowner and condominium associations occurs when the property transitions from builder to owner control. It is wise to conduct a transition study so the Association’s board knows if the development it is taking responsibility for was properly constructed or if there are shortcomings that need to be addressed by the builder and/or Association. A transition study involves hiring a professional to review the property to confirm it was properly constructed according to the plans and complies with applicable building and municipal codes.

• Conduct a Reserve Study. Associations of any age should consider conducting a reserve study to fully understand their long-term financial obligations to properly maintain their property. A reserve study typically involves 1) hiring a professional to review the property and the community’s governing documents, 2) laying out the maintenance, repair and replacement costs of the items that are the Association’s responsibility, and 3) funding the association’s reserves to be able to pay for known future expenses.

• Scheduled Maintenance. Regularly schedule inspections of the property to look for items requiring association maintenance, repair and/or replacement, and act on the items needing work. As the Surfside tragedy has painfully shown, deferring important maintenance can lead to disastrous consequences. Even lesser deferred maintenance can have serious implications. Discretionary aesthetic repairs, on the other hand, are typically not required maintenance items and are often within the board’s discretion.

• Maintain Proper Insurance. Properly insure both the property and the association board. Consult with an insurance broker who is knowledgeable about homeowner and condominium associations to be sure you have the right and sufficient coverage in place. Hire experts and contractors who also maintain proper insurance and are experienced in handling properties like yours.

• Be Transparent About Financials and Additional Assessments to Owners. Nobody likes increases in assessments; however, our homes are the biggest investments most Americans make. It is important that the Association is properly funded to handle current maintenance needs and to reserve for future anticipated needs. Costs increase for all businesses over time, including for the regular operational and maintenance expenses for homeowner and condominium associations. Associations must be realistic about their financial needs. Boards should regularly share budgets and other related financial records with the owners that show the community’s overall financial situation and explain future financial needs. Transparency and open communications go a long way in reaching broad owner consensus to keep the association fully and properly funded.

Upfront planning by association boards and owners for long-term property maintenance is a wise investment that can protect the association, its owners and their property investments from issues down the road.

Stephen G. Davis is an attorney with Carmody MacDonald P.C. in St. Louis and represents more than 200 Homeowner and Condominium Associations throughout the St. Louis area. He is also an active member of the Community Associations Institute – Heartland Chapter.

Ladue School District kicks off $126 million building program

S. M. Wilson & Co. has officially broken ground on Ladue School District’s Future-Ready Schools building program in St. Louis, Mo.

S. M. Wilson is serving as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the district’s $126M Proposition L bond referendum, passed by the community in April. Projects include renovations and additions to Ladue Middle School, Old Bonhomme Elementary School and Spoede Elementary School.

On June 16, students, parents, staff, board members and residents from the local community came out to celebrate three separate groundbreaking ceremonies to mark the beginning of construction.

“We are excited to celebrate these milestones with our community because that’s who this is about: our community,” said Ladue School District superintendent, Dr. Jim Wipke. “This is a significant step toward providing the future-ready schools that all of our students deserve and sharing our gratitude with a community that invests in the education of its children.”

S. M. Wilson has been working with Ladue Schools for 13 years, serving as the Construction Manager for four building programs. Previous projects include construction of the district’s Early Childhood Learning Center, renovations and additions at Ladue Middle School, Reed Elementary School, Conway Elementary School and Old Bonhomme Elementary School. Most recently, S. M. Wilson completed the $67M renovation and addition to Ladue Horton Watkins High School.

“We are honored to work with Ladue School District once again. Our goal is to deliver beautiful schools for the students, staff and community to support the District’s mission: ‘Together, we will empower every student to become a passionate learner and achieve his or her highest potential,” said S. M. Wilson project director, Mike Hanner.

Ittner Architects and Perkins+Will are the project architects. Construction is set to be complete by the end of 2023.

Shared space in Chesterfield a win-win

Two West St. Louis County companies are relocating to the same Chesterfield office space, joining forces to provide complementary financial services.

The America Group, a financial advisory company, and Chas. W. DeWitt Insurance Agency, a business and personal insurance solutions provider, will be moving to 390 S. Woods Mill Road, according to JLL, who represented the firms on their search for new office space.

The companies will move into the shared 12,000-SF office in August, after renovations are complete. The companies’ goal is to create a hub of financial planning and insurance experts — a one-stop shop where clients can find answers in all areas of financial support and planning.

Advisors with the firms offer financial planning, tax planning, business and personal insurance, employee benefits and health/Medicare insurance, allowing clients to align their financial decisions in those areas and avoiding conflicts or gaps in coverage.

“The benefits of shared office space can be quite valuable, particularly for companies working in the same or complementary industries,” said David Steinbach, managing director of JLL St. Louis. “For DeWitt and The America Group, they will benefit from shared expenses and more efficient communication, but even more importantly their clients will benefit from having these services aligned in one central location.”

Chas. W. DeWitt Insurance Agency was founded in 1925 and is currently located in Ballwin, Mo. DeWitt started its business relationship with The America Group in 2011 when Ross Pfeifer, DeWitt’s vice president, began offering financial planning services to clients of DeWitt through The America Group.

In January 2021, Pfeifer, Aaron Stewart and Jeff Seeburger became co-owners of The America Group. Seeburger, who now serves as president, admires the numerous advantages of the new space —including its size, location and their ability to integrate services to clients.

“The workspaces and office layout as well as the kitchen are Class A space,” Seeburger said. “We stepped into a practically turnkey, Class-A situation thanks to JLL.”

Commercial real estate focuses on bounce-back

As pandemic restrictions are lifted throughout the St. Louis area, companies are focusing in on how to return to offices and learn from lessons of the past year and a half.

In a May 19 session hosted by the IFMA St. Louis Chapter, panelists Meghan Graves, human resources manager with PARIC Corporation, and Allison Dionne, lead workplace strategist, Spire, discussed how their businesses are preparing for the newest aspect of the COVID-19 experience. Dave Davis, business developer with Ideal Landscape Group, sponsored the session. Kevin Sullivan of PARIC served as moderator.

Panelists agreed that employees, clients and customers are eager to return to the office, but that doing so requires due diligence about local, state and national guidelines about safety, some of which goes back to how they responded pandemic when the pandemic began.

When it began

For some companies, the pandemic required balancing their own policies with those of some clients. They could send office staff home to work remotely, but still had to provide clients such as healthcare institutions with onsite services. Workarounds included setting up task forces, setting precedents for who would be needed at client locations, and establishing protocols for entering buildings and restricting travel. 

Workarounds included setting up task forces, setting precedents for who would be needed at client locations, and establishing protocols for entering buildings and restricting travel. 

As an essential business, PARIC had to make similar adjustments for its distributed workforce of office and field workers in several states. “There were a lot of working pieces,” said Graves. “We engaged with IT to make sure people could work from home. It was pretty seamless. We were guided by safety. We set up a COVID response team with representatives from all parts of the company to stay on top of challenging guidelines.” Sometimes it seemed as if those guidelines changed from minute to minute. 

Spire also had a varied workforce to manage. “Once we sent everyone home, we still had two service centers up and running that we had to keep safe,” Dionne said. “We developed cross-function teams and safety procedures. Teams had to scramble to respond at all hours and over weekends. Now it’s second nature, although we’re seeing fewer calls.” 

Maintaining morale and recruitment

For these companies, the impact on morale, recruitment and turnover was minimal, primarily because they quickly recognized what employees would need. Spire rolled out emergency leave for field workers who suddenly had school-age children at home. “We’re considering a hybrid approach (now) and are taking into consideration what other companies are doing,” Dionne said. 

Reinforcing the value of work-life balance was one of the few positive takeaways of the pandemic for PARIC.

“We were already well-positioned for balance in our employees’ lives, and added unlimited personal time off,” Graves said. “A financial assistance fund for employees helped morale because they didn’t have to worry about how they would get work done and bills paid. The reality is that it’s hard to work remotely without collaborating and relating to colleagues in person, so we set up virtual coffee talks and happy hours. People now realize they have leverage and are considering different options — they’re choosing us because we have that flexibility, which will continue to be important in the future.

Companies also made a point of praising their workers who were based in medical facilities to support hospital systems and found that the best morale-booster was getting back to normal.

Vaccination policies

None of these companies are mandating that employees be vaccinated as they return to their offices, but all are strongly encouraging doing so. “We’re providing information about efficacy and our leadership’s commitment, which is what we usually do about health issues,” Graves said of PARIC. Plans are for an onsite clinic to make it as convenient for employees to get vaccinated, with the incentive that fully vaccinated employees can take off their masks and stop doing social distancing.

“That will be a big morale boost,” she said.

Spire is among companies providing paid company time as an incentive for employees to get vaccinated and also lets them earn points toward cash rewards at the end of the year. The mask mandate and social distancing restrictions have been lifted. 

For companies whose client sites are in the healthcare sector, staff who don’t have exposure to patients may be able to go maskless. Others have begun incorporating new indoor air quality equipment in their facilities that will probably be a permanent change and plan to increase the workload handled by their plumbing systems.

Changes and impact

Like many area commercial entities, PARIC and Spire are taking the return to the office with care and caution.

“Nothing is finalized yet,” said Dionne. “We’re bringing everyone back slowly, with three days a week in the office and working from home the other two. We’ll continue evaluating that hybrid approach over the summer.”  

“What will change forever is our approach to remote work and flexibility guidelines. We’re taking a hybrid approach as it makes sense for the type of work people are doing. Nothing is set in stone yet,” said Graves. 

The lasting impact of the pandemic is expected to include somewhat reduced workforces overall, more flexibility and work-from-home options, enhanced technology to support new ways of working and communicating, and continued alertness to potential health effects on office and field work. 

St. Louis Regional Freightway releases Q2 2021 Industrial Report

As global and domestic markets recalibrate in the pandemic recovery environment, it has never been clearer just how important freight logistics and a healthy supply chain are to keep the economy moving. Demand for distribution space continues to grow, and a new report released by the St. Louis Regional Freightway reveals the southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri region is rebounding from the uncertainty of 2020 and is well positioned to assist distributors and developers meet that demand. 

The St. Louis Regional Real Estate Market Indicators & Workforce report focuses solely on bulk industrial buildings that are vital to the freight and logistics supply chain. The data highlights the strong market fundamentals in the St. Louis region, recent trends in construction and development, and the latest labor figures that demonstrate the presence of a highly skilled workforce ready to meet the needs of the bi-state region’s robust supply chain logistics, distribution and manufacturing industries. 

Key Takeaways from the Report  

• Construction has rebounded from the uncertainty of 2020, with construction completions already totaling more than 1.8 MSF (over 70% of total completions from 2020) with an additional 1.6 MSF under construction, which is close to pre-pandemic levels.

• Speculative construction activity levels are at 2.2 MSF for 2021, which equals speculative activity in both 2018 and 2019, a clear indication that developers believe the St. Louis market remains a strong place for industrial growth.

• Bulk distribution buildings (more than 250,000 SF) remain the fastest growing sector in the St. Louis inventory.

• The direct average asking rent for the entire St. Louis, MO-IL MSA market is at $3.76 per square foot for Q2 2021, which is close to 2019 rates but is a nearly $0.50 drop from five years before during Q2 2017.

• Madison County in Illinois and North St. Louis County in Missouri represent the largest inventory of bulk buildings within the region with 68.8% of the building stock. When one factors in that an additional 6.9% of the bulk buildings are in neighboring St. Charles County (MO) to the west, it reinforces the locational advantages of being along the Interstate 70 corridor are a key driver of that concentration.

Examples of how the St. Louis region is supporting successful industrial developments are highlighted through a spotlight on the major redevelopment and investment in former and current auto manufacturing sites in the area. Following a $1.5 billion investment by General Motors into growing its Wentzville Assembly Center in 2019, the plant now employs 4,300 workers. The transportation and warehousing industry grew 11% faster in the five-mile radius around the GM plant than the national average.

Meanwhile, an estimated $550 million has been invested in developing both the Fenton Logistics Park and Aviator Business Park (at the sites of the former Chrysler and Ford auto plants respectively). Today, these redevelopments have collectively generated more than 3,150 jobs with more to follow at Fenton Logistics Park as the final four buildings are fully built out. 

“Aside from the region’s locational advantages and exceptional freight network, the developers of both projects cited the available workforce as a contributor to the success of the redevelopments,” said Allison Gray,  vice president, Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners, which developed the report. The fact that the St. Louis region has more workers in Production Occupations and Transportation/Material Moving Occupations than Louisville, Kansas City, and Nashville is an indication it can continue to deliver on the workforce front.

A second spotlight on the Illinois Route 3 Corridor in southwestern Illinois showcases its strength as the backbone of a 60-mile long logistics and manufacturing corridor that spans from north of Alton in Madison County to south of Waterloo in Monroe County and has access points to six Class 1 railroads, five airports with capacity, four interstates with national access, and America’s third largest inland port.

“We’ve enjoyed the fruits of the corridor and been part of it for nearly 150 years,” said Mike Patton, general manager of U.S. Steel, an integrated, flat rolled steel manufacturing operation in the heart of the Illinois Route 3 corridor. “But one thing that’s been fairly constant is we rely heavily on getting product to us, as well as shipping our product, and being geographically located in the Midwest, as well as having all of those transportation ways, if you will, there’s been a huge advantage for this facility and one of the reasons we’re still here.”

Information about nearly a dozen prime industrial sites along the Illinois Route 3 corridor and dozens of others across the bi-state region can be found in the Featured Real Estate Sites Map that rounds out the latest report. The map can also be found on the St. Louis Regional Freightway’s Website at www.thefreightway.com.

“With more than 51 million square feet of modern bulk inventory supported by a strong labor force and an exceptional freight network that provides tremendous optionality to move goods into and out of the region via river, rail, truck and runway, the bi-state St. Louis region is well positioned to deliver as demand for bulk distribution space to meet growing consumer demand increases,” said Mary Lamie, vice president of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway.

The report was released on the final day of FreightWeekSTL 2021, which was held May 24-28 and featured industry experts and leaders in freight, logistics and transportation. The week-long event was delivered by St. Louis Regional Freightway, The Waterways Journal and Bi-State Development. To see video from each of the FreightWeekSTL 2021 panel discussions, visit www.freightweekstl.com.

Holland Construction Services celebrates 35 years

Thirty-five years ago, Holland Construction Services began as one man’s vision to build a construction company based on integrity, trust and long-lasting relationships. Today, the company has grown to become one of the most respected and sought-after contractors in the St. Louis region and Southern Illinois.

Bruce Holland, founder and CEO, began the company in 1986 as a full-service general contracting company and quickly grew as one of the Midwest’s pioneers in the Construction Management delivery method. His goal was to give honest bidding, transparency, and in turn, develop trusted relationships with both his clients, and the subcontractors and architects they worked with.

“A core part of our business philosophy from the beginning was handling projects with integrity,” said Holland. “Over 35 years, 90 percent of our business is repeat clients. I think that’s because our team always operates with empathy by putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes, and making sure we are listening to what is important to them, whether that be a completion date, or something that has historical significance. We deliver without excuses and make it happen.”

Part of the company’s success can be attributed to its adaptability. Over the years, the company’s areas of expertise have continued to evolve and expand from primarily retail projects in the beginning, to schools, healthcare facilities, multifamily, senior living, recreation, public safety and industrial projects.

As a result, the company now has a footprint throughout the St. Louis and Southern Illinois region on a variety of significant developments. Several high-profile projects completed in the past few years include the new 144-bed HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and medical office building (MOB) and new 94-bed Memorial Hospital East and MOB both in Illinois; Volpi Foods new meat slicing and packaging facility in Union, MO; numerous luxury apartment complexes across the St. Louis area (Whispering Heights in Edwardsville, Villages of Twin Oaks, Chroma Apartments near downtown St. Louis, and Encore at Forest Park); recreation complexes for the cities of Bridgeton and Fairview Heights; and senior living communities in O’Fallon, IL as well as in the Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio areas.

“We have a growing Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) Department that has played a vital role in our ability to tackle larger, more complex projects,” said Mike Marchal, Holland president. “Over the years, our adoption of technology across all departments has allowed us to catch issues before they become problems and to deliver on our clients’ objectives with certainty.”

Holland fosters a family-friendly culture and has introduced unique programs throughout the years to encourage a work/life balance. In 2016, as part of their 30-year anniversary, Holland introduced a 3-week paid sabbatical program available to employees for every five years at Holland, along with a stipend to use for their trip. Additionally, in keeping with Bruce Holland’s life-long personal commitment to community philanthropy and involvement, Holland encourages volunteerism and opportunities to give back, establishing the Holland Employee Charitable Foundation (HECF) several years ago with the mission of helping others in the community. The firm’s charity golf tournament, The Klondike Klassic, has raised more than $225,000 for local charities, now topping $25,000 annually.

“There has been a world of positive changes since we started the company but the thing that impresses me the most is the quality of people we have and watching them grow and expand their careers, “said Holland. “The special culture we have created here has allowed for the planned growth of our people and our company, year by year, while also creating an environment where individuals can grow professionally and have the ability to give back.”

Holland is led by founder and CEO Bruce Holland, President Mike Marchal, and Vice President & Project Executive Doug Weber. Marchal, who joined Holland in 1997 and became president in 2011 after working his way up through the ranks, believes all the important ingredients are in place for continued growth nationally.

“We are in the process of finalizing plans to open an office in St. Louis this year,” said Marchal. “Also, based on our previous work with several clients who are also expanding their businesses, we have opportunities for strategic growth in other areas around the country including Ohio, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona. We are a growing company, but our reputation of integrity, creating opportunities, and helping our community are the lifeblood of our business and Bruce’s legacy, and that won’t ever change.”

For more information, visit Holland’s website at www.hollandcs.com.

Global supply chain disruptions felt across Midwest

Delays and higher shipping costs have impacted consumers coast-to-coast and underscore the need for new shipping alternatives - can the St. Louis region deliver?

Striking images of dozens of container ships berthed outside of already congested West Coast ports, plus photos and video showing a 1,300-foot-long container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, have landed supply chain industry news in the forefront for consumers in recent months.

While the visuals may be what has caught the attention of people who normally do not give much thought to the movement of freight, the ripple effect of these global incidents on the heels of supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt nationwide and in the St. Louis region. It also is reinforcing the importance of having a resilient supply chain and calling attention to the role the St. Louis region could play in providing options for shippers in this evolving environment.

Panos Kouvelis has looked extensively into this subject over the past year, interviewing multiple local and global companies with complex supply chains. He found resiliency in the supply chain comes down to two things.

“When we think about resilience, we say redundancy and flexibility. Those are the two things you've got to build,” said Kouvelis, director of the Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation (BCSCI) in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Redundancy and flexibility might have helped avoid some of the early pain when the COVID-19 pandemic started and consumers grappled with shortages of toilet paper, sanitizer and paper towels; but those proved to be just a minor annoyance. The global supply chain disruptions experienced in recent weeks are having a much more significant impact.

Due to the shortage of semiconductor chips, General Motors announced in late March it was idling the General Motors Wentzville plant for two weeks, starting March 29. The move affected not just the more than 3,500 employees at the St. Charles County facility, but also the associated suppliers, not to mention the nearby restaurants for whom GM employees are core customers. Other consumers throughout the region are finding their orders for furniture, TVs, laptops and countless other household goods not only delayed, but ultimately costing more as higher shipping costs are getting passed along to end consumers.

As Kouvelis and his colleagues reviewed the pandemic year to see its impact on the manufactured durable goods global supply chains, they feared supply shocks and expected some temporary pandemic pain; but, surprisingly, it was strong consumer demand coming back that caused the most disruption. As summer came, and most Americans became adjusted to a life with limited or no access to dining services, sports venues and other entertainment, gyms and restricted air travel, they turned to projects for their houses, kitchens, cars, in-home entertainment devices, exercise equipment, power tools and boats.

“The demand for those products came back at a speed of recovery and level nobody expected,” Kouvelis said. “And the shortages were compounded by severe shortages of products such as semiconductors, the essentials of ocean and trucking transportation – shipping containers, and raw materials, such as aluminum, titanium and even stainless steel.”

Adding to the high demand were the delays due to continued congestion at the West Coast ports and the even more recent disruption caused by the blockage in the Suez Canal that backed up more than 400 other ships carrying millions of tons of cargo for days. Kouvelis said he expects the shortages will be longer lasting, resulting in consumers having to wait longer and pay higher prices to get their durable goods.

Such challenges actually bode well for the St. Louis region, where the strength of the existing freight infrastructure and innovative collaborations are providing even more reasons for shippers to consider routing freight through the bi-state area. In fact, it appears a hallmark of the St. Louis region’s freight network is its inherent flexibility and redundancy.

“You have so many assets. You have the network of the roads; you have the rail and then you have the Mississippi River. And then of course, the airports as well,” said Kouvelis. “But, again, I think the use of the intermodal and the heavier use of the river is the flexibility that you can offer that sometimes is not fully exploited.”

That is changing with the 2020 launch of Container-on-Barge (COB) services from America’s Central Port and  advancing plans to bring innovative Container-on-Vessel (COV) services to the St. Louis region and the Midwest. Kouvelis is enthusiastic about the proposed services, noting that, as a logistics person, everything is about the 20-foot containers and how you move them and how having them sitting around is a not a good thing.

“If we manage to basically use the transit capacity in a way that we get to free up, for longer trips, the intermodal and the river and the other assets that should be used instead of the truck, that will basically relieve bottlenecks at the ports and start moving things towards the middle of the country,” said Kouvelis. “And that's where we get a big, big advantage with this type of initiative.”

Through his research over the past year and ongoing relationships with global companies headquartered in or having a significant presence in the bi-state St. Louis region, Kouvelis also noted there are tremendous examples of supply chain resiliency among them.

He cited Emerson, which has headquarters in St. Louis and facilities in the bi-state area, and credited it as one of the most resilient companies in the region. He said one thing that has made Emerson more resilient over time is a change in their supply chain strategy. He said Emerson had been very heavy on sourcing from Asia but, over time, it developed a regionalized supply chain strategy. It strives to have a supply chain in North America for North America and in Asia for Asia and operate in Europe for Europe. These more regional supply chains have been an effort to bring things closer to the market. As a result, Emerson either has its own facilities or it has suppliers that are in the region to positively impact lead times.  Kouvelis believes this is good for the St. Louis region, as it might bring more manufacturing closer to the region, especially since it is an environment that will make investments in infrastructure.

Kouvelis called attention to Bunge, which has gradually increased its presence in the bi-state region to leverage its logistics advantages, especially the river. Its new headquarters is located in Chesterfield, Mo., a research and development center is located in St. Charles County, and its barge loading/grain facility is located in Fairmont City, Illinois, part of the Ag Coast of America.  He also cited AB-InBev, and how the pandemic reinforced that the beer business is a logistics business.

“From a logistics business perspective, they are really the best,” said Kouvelis. “They don't want to change St. Louis from being the logistics hub. They have moved marketing functions and finance functions to New York. But the logistics have stayed in St. Louis.”

He pointed to AB Mauri® North America, the yeast manufacturer based in St. Louis, which saw demand increase by an estimated 400% during the pandemic, and highlighted Bayer, Millipore Sigma and Belden, which all have a strong presence in the region and share the common thread of resiliency in their supply chains -- resiliency that has been years in the making. All of the companies Kouvelis has been engaging with have been willing to talk about their best practices for dealing with supply chain disruptions, sharing important knowledge for the benefit of all, without revealing private information.

Kouvelis believes other companies can learn from these corporations and he shared several key takeaways. Companies need some redundancy in their assets, either in facilities or in the inventories. They should consider a more diversified footprint, potentially having facilities in different areas as much as possible. He suggests supply networks also have to be very diversified, either at the global level or even within the different regions where a business operates. When something happens, companies should have the operational flexibility to switch assets or to find alternatives, which can require that businesses have a little buffer. 

“One part of that is distribution, so there are advantages in having multiple alternatives,” said Kouvelis. “I think that the transportation alternatives that the St. Louis Regional Freightway is creating are a major advantage for companies.”

Mary Lamie, vice president of Multi Modal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of its St. Louis Regional Freightway enterprise, is excited about the work that Kouvelis is doing with these organizations.

“Kouvelis’ supply chain resiliency collaboration with private industries prior to COVID-19 has demonstrated the value of knowledge sharing within a specific industry, the value of redundancy and flexibility, and a region’s ability to work together to leverage human capital and logistics assets,” said Lamie.

“The St. Louis region has a great positive business climate and thanks to forward thinking global and national corporations anchored in the St. Louis region, we’ll continue to lead the nation through the COVID-19 and future supply chain disruptions.”