THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160303
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 79 lines
The Virginia Port Authority is pursuing a deal with Perdue Farms Inc. that could make Hampton Roads one of the largest poultry ports in the nation.
The port authority has already begun razing an old warehouse on Pier 3 at Norfolk International Terminals to make way for a cold storage warehouse that could store tons of chicken parts waiting to be shipped.
``We think we have the opportunity to attract Perdue here,'' said Joseph A. Dorto, chief executive and general manager of Virginia International Terminals Inc., the company that operates the port authority's marine cargo terminals. ``We've been talking about this for two years.''
Perdue's move here is not assured until the company announces it, Dorto said.
The operation would create an unspecified number of jobs at the warehouse and provide work for area longshoremen loading ships.
Based in Salisbury, Md., Perdue is the top chicken producer of the East Coast. It ships most of its chicken destined for plates overseas through the port of Wilmington, N.C.
A spokesman for Perdue was unfamiliar with the rumored move to Hampton Roads and could not reach the appropriate Perdue executives for comment.
The spokesman, Richard C. Auletta, declined to say how much poultry Perdue exports.
While some people in the port community call Perdue's shift to Hampton Roads a ``done deal,'' Dorto said many details have yet to be ironed out, including who will operate the warehouse.
The port authority is going ahead with the improvements to Pier 3, formerly known as Sewell's Point Docks, to make the move even more attractive to Perdue and anyone else who ships frozen or refrigerated products.
``We're trying to attract poultry, we're trying to attract fruit, we're trying to attract meat, fish - anything that goes in a refrigerated freezer,'' Dorto said.
The improvements include demolishing the old warehouse, strengthening the pier, building a refrigerated warehouse and widening the apron between the pier's edge and the warehouse to allow more efficient loading and unloading, Dorto said.
The new warehouse will be about 75,000 to 85,000 square feet and could be expanded, Dorto said.
The Virginia Port Authority is pursuing a deal with Perdue Farms Inc. that could make Hampton Roads one of the largest poultry ports in the nation.
The port authority has already begun razing an old warehouse on Pier 3 at Norfolk International Terminals to make way for a cold storage warehouse that could store tons of chicken parts waiting to be shipped.
``We think we have the opportunity to attract Perdue here,'' said Joseph A. Dorto, chief executive and general manager of Virginia International Terminals Inc., the company that operates the port authority's marine cargo terminals. ``We've been talking about this for two years.''
Perdue's move here is not assured until the company announces it, Dorto said.
The operation would create an unspecified number of jobs at the warehouse and provide work for area longshoremen loading ships.
Based in Salisbury, Md., Perdue is the top chicken producer of the East Coast. It ships most of its chicken destined for plates overseas through the port of Wilmington, N.C.
A spokesman for Perdue was unfamiliar with the rumored move to Hampton Roads and could not reach the appropriate Perdue executives for comment.
The spokesman, Richard C. Auletta, declined to say how much poultry Perdue exports.
While some people in the port community call Perdue's shift to Hampton Roads a ``done deal,'' Dorto said many details have yet to be ironed out, including who will operate the warehouse.
The port authority is going ahead with the improvements to Pier 3, formerly known as Sewell's Point Docks, to make the move even more attractive to Perdue and anyone else who ships frozen or refrigerated products.
``We're trying to attract poultry, we're trying to attract fruit, we're trying to attract meat, fish - anything that goes in a refrigerated freezer,'' Dorto said.
The improvements include demolishing the old warehouse, strengthening the pier, building a refrigerated warehouse and widening the apron between the pier's edge and the warehouse to allow more efficient loading and unloading, Dorto said.
The new warehouse will be about 75,000 to 85,000 square feet and could be expanded, Dorto said. by CNB