Flexible Inland Ports

Four small, inland ports demonstrate that
flexibility and innovation are the keys to success

“It’s a port’s job to produce economic results. Most people see ports and moving cargo up and down river systems. I think most ports look at themselves as ‘job creation centers,’” says Dave Doeringsfeld, general manager of the Port of Lewiston.

Four inland ports along the Columbia and Snake Rivers share Doeringsfeld’s view and are demonstrating how creativity and flexibility can yield significant economic results.

Port of Whitman
Focusing on Knowledge

The Port of Whitman, situated near the University of Idaho and Washington State University, focuses on transferring knowledge instead of containers.

The port has developed an Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer park, located along what is known as the Knowledge Corridor — the eight miles between the two universities. The campus-like business park is focusing on start-up companies stemming from the universities and the private sector.

“We started [in 2008] and are just launching it now,” says Joe Poire, the port’s executive director. “Ideally we should start seeing the sprouting of more companies and manufacturing and technology jobs.”

Technology is already playing a big role at the port — over the last five years it’s helped create 1,000 jobs and millions in sales.

“Imports are also up,” adds Poire. “TGM Investments just added a million dollar 80-ton crane and paved 20 acres and is starting to import. Everything has always been exporting, so this is new for us.”

Port of Columbia
Innovative Agriculture

The small port of Columbia is taking agriculture to the 21st century.
The port is heading up a new eco-industrial park called Blue Mountain Station focusing on organic and natural value-added food processing companies. The port will also provide a marketing umbrella program to help these small-to-medium sized artisan food processing companies succeed.

The project started with a marketing study conducted by consultants, funded by grant money. “They took the principals used in doing a marketing analysis for a private business and used it on a community,” says Port Manager Jennifer Dickinson.

The consultants made several recommendations, taking into account how rural the community is, current trends, and the direction the community wanted to head. The top two industries they recommended the port focus on were value-added food and beverage processing and renewable energy.

The Blue Mountain Park is in its early stages — scouting the right property for the cutting-edge, eco-industrial park. “Then we will target natural, organic, and small artisan food processors to recruit here,” says Dickinson. “We’re not taking the farmers and turning them into food processors. It is truly a recruitment business development.”
The port is working at a feverish pace and wants to break ground within a year.

“Funding is going to be challenging, due to the economic climate,” says Jennifer, “but at a recent port director’s meeting, they said an economic downturn is not the time for a port to stop developing. It’s actually the time for a port to try to get things in place. So when the economy does turn around, we’re ready.”

Port of Lewiston
Business and Technology Parks

The port of Lewiston is Idaho’s only water access point to the Pacific, and it represents 60 percent of the export containers on the Columbia. Exports are primarily agricultural, but they also ship containerized cargo, including plastics, jet boats and log homes.

One of the exciting opportunities for the port — as well as some of the other organizations on the Columbia/Snake system — is the heavy equipment that will be imported for the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada.

Korean equipment manufacturers had been looking for a more efficient route than the Panama Canal to get their machinery to Canada. They found that they can bring the equipment to the Port of Vancouver, U.S., then up river to Lewiston (435 miles), and lastly by land through Montana and up to Alberta. The route cuts 1,800 miles off the traditional route. The first pieces are expected to be shipped in early 2009.

The Port also has a successful business incubator to help young companies grow.
Doeringsfeld says, “We concentrate on businesses that produce a product. Next we look at what their business plan is for the future and what their job growth looks like over the next few years, because that’s really the return that the residents are getting — the job creations. And that’s why we’re able to offer attractive lease rates, because of the creation of those new jobs.”

The program is unique in that it doesn’t ask a tenant to leave after a certain period. Instead, the port gradually increases their payments up to market rate. “With our spaces now filled, [with market-rate-paying tenants] our strategic plan is to build additional space. I think that will take place in the next couple of years.”

In addition, the Port recently began development of an off-water, 42-acre business and technology park, presenting a campus setting, fiber optics, and infrastructure for light manufacturing, professional services, and R&D operations.

Port of Clarkston
Expanding Tourism

Clarkston is focusing on tourism — from river cruises to wine tasting. The port invested in tourism studies to lay the foundation for its expanding role, and plans are under development to expand the port’s services and improve infrastructure to accommodate anticipated growth.

Clarkston’s port manager, Wanda Keefer, says that cruise boat traffic has steadily increased to the area. “We’ve been providing services for various cruise lines for over a decade now. Right now we have six cruise lines that call at our port.”

With eight locks on the Columbia River, it might seem an obstacle for cruise ships, but Keefer says, “It’s part of the experience for the river traveler.” And Clarkston is enhancing the experience in a variety of ways — jet boats that take passengers up in Hell’s Canyon (America’s deepest gorge), helicopter tours of the canyon, as well as leasing land to a brewery, restaurant, and winery.

“Ports are economic engines, especially in Washington,” says Keefer. “We continually ask ourselves the question, “Is the industrial use that we’ve been encouraging on the waterfront the highest and best use. If it’s not water driven, could it be somewhere else, opening up the waterfront for more experiential businesses?”

In the meantime, the port is continuing to make itself tourist friendly. It’s designing a boat dock for private watercraft, which will be attached to a public park. “We think that’s an important step in connecting people with the water,” says Keefer.

Looking Ahead

These four ports are evidence that success is not solely driven by economy. Creativity, innovation, hard work, and finding your niche all play a part in a productive port.