NORFOLK, Va. — Motiva Enterprises LLC and Norfolk Southern Corporation on Feb. 2 announced the opening of a new high-capacity ethanol terminal located at Motiva’s petroleum distribution terminal in Sewaren, N.J. It is the largest rail-served ethanol terminal in the New York Harbor area. The terminal is strategically located to serve the New York and Connecticut markets for ethanol.
The facility, which replaces Motiva’s 23-car-per-day terminal, is capable of unloading 40 railcars per day. The expansion more than doubled the terminal’s capacity from 1 million gallons per day to more than 2 million. Ethanol is increasingly being used as a cost-effective octane enhancer for gasoline and as a clean-burning replacement for MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether). A recent ban on MBTE by New York and Connecticut has made ethanol an especially critical commodity in the region.
"We are proud of the relationship we have developed with Motiva Enterprises," said Tom Brugman, Norfolk Southern’s group vice president of agriculture, fertilizer and consumer products. "Motiva brings a level of expertise in ethanol distribution that is unparalleled in the industry. In 2004, Norfolk Southern safely and efficiently delivered more than 160 million gallons of ethanol to the Sewaren terminal. With the expansion, this volume will increase significantly, making this terminal location the primary distribution center for ethanol in the Northeast and a key component of Norfolk Southern’s ethanol marketing strategies."
Dan Grinstead, director of business development, Motiva Enterprises LLC, said, "Motiva Distribution has developed a safe, efficient and reliable logistics infrastructure system at the Sewaren Plant to serve the needs of our customers. These accomplishments are attributable to the efforts of our people at Sewaren, the cooperation of the railroads and, most importantly, the relationship that we share with our customers."
Norfolk Southern’s agriculture, fertilizer and consumer products marketing group, working with transportation, industrial development and many other departments, led the railroad’s business effort to plan and execute the Sewaren project. Contributing to the effort, Modalgistics Supply Chain Solutions, a business group of Norfolk Southern, collaboratively worked with Motiva to develop network visibility tools that aid the Sewaren staff in more effective labor, equipment and inventory planning.
Other aspects of the expansion include streamlined logistics to eliminate local bottlenecks, improved transit and turnaround times, improved safety and security, and improved tracking technology.
— PRNewswire-First Call
