Ohio River Company News

If towboats and barges hurtled passed the average American on their way to work every morning, the industry would be better known. If commuters had to deal with failed locks the way they have to deal with congested freeways, political support for the river industry’s infrastructure would be easier to come by. Instead, towing vessels and their crews go about their work in relative obscurity. The general public sees towboats and barges as historic relics from Sam Clemens’ time and less so an integral part of the modern American economy.

Paul Brotzge has been named Vice President, Finance, Treasurer and Controller. He was previously Vice President, Finance and Controller. Brotzge has been with the Company for twenty-three years. Ben Huber has been named Vice President, Business Development. His previous position was Vice President, International. He joined ACL in August 2002. David Jahnke has been named Vice President, Dry Cargo Sales. He was previously Vice President, Grain Sales. Jahnke has been with ACL since 1992. Del Wilkins has been named Vice President, Vessel Operations. He was previously Vice President and General Manager, Gulf Coast Operations. Wilkins joined ACBL in November 1993. Paul Book has been named Director of Barge Maintenance. He was previously Director, Audit & Compliance.

“One of the really gratifying aspects of ship repair and conversion is the satisfaction we get by being able to give new service life to vessels. And that’s exactly what we did with the 40 year-old Guardian, said Allen Stein, operations manager of Bollinger Quick Repair, in Harvey, Louisiana. The 150- by 35- by 20-ft. Guardian, originally named Gale B. was built by Southern Shipyard in Slidell, La., in 1963. It was owned by Midland Enterprises (Ohio River Company) and was part of a tug/barge unit with the hopper barge Martha B.

Cincinnati-based Midland Enterprises, which operates a fleet of barges, towboats and tugboats, has leased more than $18 million in new equipment from Firstar Bank during this past year. Midland worked with Firstar's Equipment Finance group to replace and expand its fleet of barges, which transport bulk commodities, a major portion of which is coal, principally on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterways. Bob Faillo, president of Midland Enterprises, said, "I've admired Firstar's persistence in getting our business. Wayne Shircliff, Firstar Bank's executive vice president and regional chairman, said, "Firstar is pleased to be partnering with such a fine company as Midland Enterprises and its subsidiary, the Ohio River Company. Our recent merger with U.S.

Since planting its roots in 1925 as a small coal delivery business known as the Ohio River Company (ORCO), Midland Enterprises has evolved from one chartered boat and four barges to more than 85 boats and 2,400 barges moving the entire eastern inland waterways system. Established by Albert Converse Ingersoll, the Ohio River Company's main focus at that time was to float West Virginia coal to Cincinnati using its premiere boat — the E.D. Kenna. Built for its newest customer, Cincinnati Gas & Electric (the company's longest running business relationship), the vessel cost $179,325 in 1926. Subsequent to this successful venture, the company's demand continued to grow, causing a need for added capital. Ingersoll called upon C.E.

ALK Technologies, Inc. and Midland Enterprises have created a new Barge Management System (BMS) to help Midland increase efficiency and competitiveness. Using the Intranet to tightly integrate communications, business, and systems processes on an enterprise-wide basis, BMS offers a palette of e-commerce functions. Ideas for the system were solicited from Midland departments including sales, finance, transportation, operations, and information systems. Phase II, constituting the detailed design, was completed in early 2000 and Phase III, encompassing delivery and installation, was completed in June 2001. Two primary business goals of BMS are to improve equipment utilization and manage yield potential by analyzing new requests for service.