0

2 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

JANUARY, 1971 3

Your Vessel will be met at the Barand Piloted to the Port of Houston by

HOUSTON6302

-.k

I I

PILOTSGULF FREEWAY

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77023

6TH FLOOR WORLD TRADE: CENTER

ESTABLISHED 1905

BARBER LINES ............................. GULF/FAR EASTNOPAL LINE ............... GULF EAST COAST SOUTH AMERICANOPAL WEST AFRICA LINE ................ GULF/WESTAFRICAHAPAG-LLOYD AG ............... GULF/CONTINENTALEUROPEOZEAN/STINNES LINES ............ GULF/CONTINENTALEUROPESIDARMA LINE ....................... GULF/MEDITERRANEANMAMENIC LINE .... GULF/WEST & EAST COAST CENTRAL AMER.SCINll)IA STEAM NAVIGATION CO., LTD ............ GULF/INDIA

HOUSTON, TEXAS PHONE 222-9961

REPRESENTING

OZEAN/STINNES LINES..SOUTH ATLANTIC/CONTINENTAL EUROPEBARBER LINES .......................... GULF/MIDDLE EASTFARRELL LINES ............................ GULF/AUSTRALIAKSC LINE ............................ GULF/JAPAN/KOREAGULF ALASKA LINE ........................ ALASKA SERVICEL. SMIT & CO.’s ............. INTERNATIONAL TOWING SERVICESMIT-LLOYD, N.V ...................... SUPPLY BOAT SERVICEC. CLAUSEN STEAMSHIP CO., LTD...LIVESTOCK CHARTER SERVICE

HOUSTON ¯ NEW ORLEANS ¯ GALVESTON ¯ BEAUMONT ¯ ORANGE ¯ MOBILE ̄ BROWNSVILLECORPUS CHRISTI ̄ MEMPHIS ¯ DALLAS

CABLE ADDRESS: BIEHL, HOUSTON ¯ TELEX 077-412 ̄ TWX 910-881-1711

GET YOUR SHIP SUPPLIESWhere Stocks are Complete... More Than

50,000 Items On HandComplete deck & engine, provisions, electrical, steward

sundries and fire protection departments.

TEXAS MARl cNE& INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY

8050 Harrisburg ¯ P O Box 5218 ̄ Telephone: 713WA 39771Houston, Texas 77012

4 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

TheBANK LINE Ltd.Regular Service from

U. S. Gulf Ports to

Australiaand

New lea,land

¯ Brisbane

¯ Melbourne

¯ Auckland

¯ Lyttelton

¯ Sydney

¯ Adelaide

¯ Wellington

¯ Dunedin

¯ ¯ ¯

General Agents

BOYD, WEIR andSEWELL, Inc.

New York

¯ ¯ []

Gulf Agents

STRACHAN

SHIPPING CO.

Houston - Galveston - Mobile

Memphis-New Orleans-Dallas

Chicago - Atlanta - St. Louis

SWEDISH ATLANTIC- WILHELMSENSwedish Atlantic Line, Gothlmburg, Sweden and Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Oslo, Norway L~

Regular Freight and Refrigerated ServiceFROM GULF PORTS

toLE HAVRE - ANTWERP - GHENT - ROTTERDAM

BREMEN - HAMBURGOSLO- GOTHENBURG - COPENHAGEN - MALMO

STOCKHOLM - HELSINKI - GDYNIA

STRACHAN SHIPPING COMPANYGENERAL AGENTS

Houston Office1400 Cotton Exchange Bldg. CA 8-1431

Other OfficesGalveston, New Orleans, Mobile, Miami, Port Everglades, Jacksonville,

Savannah, Dallas, Memphis, St. Louis,Chicago, Atlanta

New York AgentsBarber Steamship Lines, Inc.

FROM HOUSTONTO

Venezuela ¯ Dominican RepublicJamaica ¯ Surinam

Houston Agent:Dalton Steamship Corporation

7th Floor World Trade BuildingHouston, Texas 77002. Phone: 228-8661

Teletype: 71]-571-1421

JANUARY, 1971 5

ServingtheGulf CoastSince1880

CORPUS CHRISTI . TEXAS CITY

GALVESTON ¯ FREEPORT ¯ HOUSTON

6 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

PORT OFHOUSTON

Volume 15

Official PublicationOf the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District

Directory OfPort Commissioners

And StaffFOR THE

Navigation DistrictFENTRESS BRACEWELL, ChairmanR. H. PRUETT, CommissionerW. D. HADEN, II., CommissionerE. JACK WALTON, CommissionerJAMES W. FONTENO, CommissionerJ. P. TURNER, Executive DirectorGEORGE W. ALTVATER, Deputy DirectorC. E. BULLOCK, Director o~ Port Operations~][ILTON K. ECKERT, CounselRICHARD P. LEACH,

Director of Engineering & PlanningVAUGItN M. BRYANT,

Director o/International Relations~{ICHAEL SCORCIO.

Executive Assistant to the DirectorHENRY M. BROADNAX, General Sales ManagerJOHN R. WEIEER, District Sales MatmgerHUME A. HENDERSON,

Midwestern Sales ManagerC. A. ROUSSER. JR.. Western Sales ManagerJ. K. HENDERSON, ControllerJ. R. CURTIS,

Terminal Manager--North SideW. D. DUNNAItOE,

Terminal Manager--South Side.|onN R. SPOLEIN, Chie] EngineerK. P. RODEN, Manager o] Grain ElevatorW. J. STAGNER. Manager, Storage WarehousesRICUARD J. SHIROSKY,

Superintendent, Bulk MaterialsHandling Plant

ALTON B. LANDRY,Personnel Manager and World Trade

Building ManagerL. T. FRITSCH, Purchasing AgentC. L. SHUPTRINE, Chle/Security O~icerV. D. WILLIAMS, Administrative AssistantLLOYD GREGORY, Director o/ln/ormationS. G. FULLERTON, County Auditor

NEW YORK SALES OFFICE25 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 10004

Telephone: (212) BOwling Green 9-7447EDWARD P. MOORE, District Sales ManagerFRANK WARD, Assistant Sales Manager

EXECUTIVE OFFICE1519 Capitol Avenue, Houston, Texas 77002P. O. Box 2562, Houston, Texas 77001

Telephone: (713) 225-0671

TERMINAL OFFICETelephone (713) 672-8221

JANUARY, 1971 No. 1

Contents

Port of Houston Takes Over Operation of Long Reach ............... 8

Ships On Maiden Voyages Are Presented Plaques ..................... 11

The Houston Port Bureau Reports .................................. 12

Behring-South Ports Executive Is Old Timer ............................ 13

Port Reaps Two-Way Harvest From Combines .......................... 14

An Artist’s View of the Port ...................................... 16

Bayport Is Five Years Ahead of Schedule ......................... 17

Houston Steamship Agents ................................... 29

Sailing Schedule of General Cargo Ships .............................. 30

Port of Houston Shipping Directory ............................. 32

THE COVER

The eight berths of Long Reach Docks are on the left bank of the HoustonShip Channel in this recent aerial photo showing the Houston Turning Basinarea. For an interesting story about Long Reach Docks see Page 8.

The Port oJ Houston MagazineTED SUMERLIN, Editor

Published monthly by the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Naviga-tion District, the PORT OF HOUSTON Magazine is distributed free to maritime,industrial and transportation interests in the United States and foreign coun-tries. This publication is not copyrighted and pernlission is given for the re-production or use of any original material, provided credit is given to thePort of Houston. Additional information, extra copies of the magazine oradvertising rates may be obtained by writing the PORT OF HOUSTON Magazine,1401 South Post Oak, Houston, Texas 77027.

JANUARY, 1971 7

PORT OF HOUSTON TAKES 0 VER

OPERATION OF the former Long ReachDocks at tile Port of Houston has

been taken over by the Harris CountyHouston Ship Channel Navigation Dis-trict effective January 1 of this year.

The Navigation District purchased the40-acre, eight vessel berthing and ware-house facility for $6.5 rail.lion in late1965 from its owners, the Gulf AtlanticWarehouse Co., a wholly owned subsid-iary of Anderson, Clayton & Co.

At the time the District was in themidst of a vast construction program ofits own along the north bank of theTurning Basin, and rented back theLong Reach Docks to its former ownersto operate for five years, through De-

By VAUGHN M. BRYANTDirector of International Relations

ccmber of 1970.With assumption of the operation of

Long Reach, the Navigation Districtwill now own and operate 39 generalcargo wharves for public hire on bothsides of the Turning Basin and down-stream at old Manchester, as well as thewharf and ,lay berth at its Bulk Ma-terials Handling plant downstream onGreens Bayou.

The name "Long Reach" will be elimi-nated and what were Long Reach Docks1 through 8 now become NavigationDistrict Wharves 41 through 48. Rates,rules and regulations concerning the fa-cilities will be covered by tile Port ofHouston Tariff No. 8.

Operation of the wharves will beunder the general supervision of theNavigation District’s director of opera-tions C. E. Bullock and direct manage-mcnt will be under the District’s terminalmanager J. R. Curtis. Mailing addressand telephone number will be those ofthe Navigation District.

When the Long Reach Docks werepurchased five years ago Port officialshailed the move as a "natural evolu-tion," tlle "culmination of many yearsof planning" and predicted the movewould "permit more efficient handlingof cargo and quicker turnaround ofships" and that the "flexible use of thecombined facilities will develop better

PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

OPERA TION OF LONG REACH DOCKSability by the public port body to servethe shipping public."

The Long Reach Docks haxe a historythat goes back nearly half a century, toJuly of 192a when the then HoustonCompress Company published its firsttariff on "the movement of traffic andberthing of steamers at Long ReachDocks."

Actually the term "Long Reach" isbelieved to derive from the fact that thearea where tile Houston Compress Com-pany built its terminal was a popularpicnic grounds and recreation area. Itwas considered a "long reach" fromlower Main Street, which was the start-ing point for measuring distances of this

sort in those days.That original facility lay just below

Public Docks 1, 2 and 3 on the southside of the Turning Basin, which werethe first wharves built by the NavigationDistrict when the Ship Channel wasdredged and opened to navigation inNovember, 1914.

Over the years tile Long Reach Docksand warehouses were expanded, the ShipChannel was deepened, and today thefacility has an apron 3,428 feet long,approximately a~ of a mile, with anaverage width of 40.5 feet, equippedwith double track for 2,528 feet andsingle track the rest of the way. It has700,000 square feet of transit shed spac~

Then and Now. These two photographs give astriking comparison of the Long Reach Docksover a span of 45 years. On the preceding pageis the original facility of the Houston CompressCompany shortly after it opened the Long ReachDocks in 1923. Just above can be seen the threepublic wharves of the Navigation District and thestill unfinished Turning Basin with a dredge inupper background, while the north bank is buta jungle. Above is how Long Reach and theNavigation District Turning Basin and wharveslooked recently. Long Reach is doubled in sizeand vastly improved, while the Districts’ northbank is a bustling development of wharves.(Visible are only Public Wharves through 22,although the development now continues downthe northbank to include Wharf 31). The PublicGrain Elevator and the 200 acre industrial parkand marshalling area are behind the wharves.

JANUARY, 1971 9

along the apron and the sheds have adouble depressed track along half theirdistance in the rear and a single de-pressed track over the remainder.

Long Reach Docks have specializedin the movement of cotton and have twohigh density Webb Compresses capableof turning out more than 2.000 highdensity bales a day. Importation andhandling of green coffee has also 1,eenanother si/eeiahy of the Long ReachDocks over the years.

hs wharves can berth eight dct’pscavessels and handle better than 11£ mil-lion tons of general cargo annually.

Equilmlent of the Long Reach facilityincludes a 75-ton stiff leg derrick cranewhich over the years has handled every-thing frmn imported rail cars and loco-motives to exports of huge boilers andother heavy and bulky machinery items.In addition there are locomotive cranes,electro magnets clamshell buckets, liftmachines, cargo trucks, tractors andmore than 25,000 cargo pallets.

In addition to tile 700,000 square feetof transit sheds, Long Reach has ap-proximately 700,000 square feet of cov-ered storage area with about half of iton the ground floor and the remainderon a second floor which is readilyaccessible through three concrete ramps.

The terminal is switched by the Hous-ton Belt & Terminal Railway Co. whichmaintains a 600 ear capacity concentra-tion yard adjacent to the property.

All former Long Reach employees oftile Gulf Atlantic Warehouse Co. wish-ing to do so are staying on and become

employees of the Navigation District.James H. Branard, Jr., vice president ofGulf Atlantic Warehouse since 1956 andin charge of Long Reach Docks, is re-nlaining with Gulf Atlantic. of whichEmory B. Welhnan is president. JohnHorton, assislant to Branard, comes withthe Navigation District as does PlantManager W. l). I)unnahoc.

The stiff-leg 75-ton derrick crane has been aworkhorse at Long Reach Docks over the years.Here it is shown unloading a railroad car whichwas part of a shipment for the National Railwaysof Mexico from the manufacturer in Switzerlandand loaded at Antwerp.

Long Reach Docks are on the opposite side ofthe Ship Channel as you look across two ofthe Port of Houston’s open wharves, 16 and 17.This photo was taken from the top of the PublicGrain Elevator.

10 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Capt. M. A. Aleem, center, master of the M/VVISHVA VIKRAM, on its maiden voyage to thePort of Houston, accepts the traditional aerialphoto plaque of the Port at a ceremony aboardthe Shipping Corporation of India ship. Takingpart in the ceremonies, from left, were D. L.Swearengin, manager, operations and traffic,Norton, Lilly & Co., steamship agents for theIndian line; Randy Morton, Junior Chamber ofCommerce; Captain Aleem; C. G. Seaman, Portof Houston; and Dick George, office manager,Norton, Lilly & Co.

The Norwegian flag Motor Tanker ANCOVILLE was the latest in a series of new Ancotankers visiting the Port of Houston on maidenvoyages. The modern bridge of the vessel wasthe site for presentation ceremonies last month.From the left are Capt. A. T. Jorgensen, Anco’sport captain; J. R. Curtis, Port of HoustonTerminal manager; Rafael Hernandez, TexasTransport & Terminal Co., Inc., agents for Anco;Capt. K. Simonsen, master of the Anco TankerParcel Service ship; and David Newman andHoward Stanford, both of the Houston JuniorChamber of Commerce.

Presentation ceremonies were made on the M/VSTOVE FRIEND just prior to a sumptuous smorgas-bord on the bridge of the Swedish flag vesselwhich was on its maiden voyage into the Portof Houston. The aerial photo plaque is beinggiven to Capt. G. Sundloes, right, master of theTokyo Shipping Company’s new ship, by RobertLinder, left, Houston Junior Chamber of Com-merce, and K. P. Roden, center left, manager ofthe Port’s Public Grain Elevator, while lookingon, center right, is Hans Sunder, representativeof Biehl & Company, steamship agents for themaritime firm.

The salon of the Polish Ocean Line M/VZAKOPANE was the setting last month for thepresentation of an aerial photo plaque from thePort of Houston and the Houston Junior Chamberof Commerce commemorating its maiden voyageto Houston. Here, from the left, are Dave New-man, Junior Chamber of Commerce; Janusz K.Ratajczak, administrative secretary, Polish OceanLine; Capt. Kal Wetlesen, representative of DaltonSteamship Corp., agents for the Polish line; Capt.A. Skulski, master of the new ship; C. G. Seaman,Port of Houston Terminal office supervisor; andJohn Flares, Junior Chamber of Commerce.

JANUARY, 1971 1

THE MISSOURI PACIFIC AND SOUTHERN PACIFICRailroad Companies have published,effective December 5, tariff provisionswhich reduce the single-factor line-haulfreight rate on import-export shipments byl~ per 100 lbs. and discontinue absorbingwharfage. All other railroads serving thePort of Houston, which are the BurlingtonNorthern, CRI&P, M-K-T, AT&SF and theHBET, will continue to absorb wharfageon single-factor import-export rates. Thismeans that traffic moving on single-factorshipside rates will continue to be handledon these railroads as is the presentpractice. The traffic moving on theMissouri Pacific and Southern Pacificrailroads will be handled under proceduresformerly followed on non-shipside rates.

THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION hasfound a proposed classification rule forgeneral application throughout the UnitedStates which required 48 hours advancenotice and endorsement on a bill of ladingas to the value of a shipment moving inrail service when the value exceeds$300,000 per car, or $150,000 per traileror container to be unlawful and ordered thesuspended schedules cancelled and theproceeding discontinued. The order wasserved November 19 in I&S Docket 8509,Property Subject to Statement of Value.

THE SOUTHERN RAILROADS are consideringa selective freight rate increase whichwill replace an interim 6 per cent across-the-board rate boost recently granted bythe Interstate Commerce Commission.Bates B. Bowers, chairman of the SouthernFreight Association, said the selectiverate boost likely to be sought may be ashigh as 15 per cent in some instances.The method or amount of increase for anyindividual commodity or group ofcommodities has not yet been determined.

THE NATION’S WESTERN RAILROADS haveagreed to reapply to the InterstateCommerce Commission for a full 15 per centacross-the-board general freight rateincrease to become effective March 1.In a meeting in Chicago on December 9, theTraffic Executives of the western railroadsagreed to seek to have the partialsuspension of the Ex Parte 267 increases,

and the 8 per cent interim increase,vacated. Both the Eastern and the Westernrailroads rejected endorsement of theproposed selective freight rate increasesof the Southern Freight Association.

THE CONGRESSIONAL SETTLEMENT that endedthe one-day railroad strike recentlyincluded a no-strike postponement untilMarch l, 1971; a pay increase consistingof 5 per cent retroactive to January l,1970; and 32# an hour retroactive toNovember l, 1970. The National IndustrialTraffic League informed both the HouseInterstate and Foreign Commerce Committeeand the Senate Labor and Public WelfareCommittee that, "The shipping public of theUnited States must not be subjected toperiodic threats of stoppage to thecountry’s primary transportation system.Economic deterioration sets in each timerail labor and management forces approachthe end of a legal deadline. We urgentlyrequest the Congress to adopt PresidentNixon’s recommendation of an extension ofthe present cooling-off period for anadditional 45 days and also urge that theenabling legislation include a provisothat the emergency board’s recommendationsby law be given finality."

THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRAFFIC LEAGUEhas requested 40 minutes for oral argumentbefore the entire Interstate CommerceCommission in Ex Parte Nos. 265 and 267,Increased Freight Rates, 1971. The Leaguewishes to inform the Commission with regardto the concern and dismay experienced amongshippers over the continuing rounds ofrailroad freight rate increases; thedeficiencies in the presentation by therailroads regarding the emergency financialneeds; the results flowing from theincreasing use by the railroads of theconglomerate form of enterprise; theconsequences of transactions between therailroads and affiliates and other membersof the conglomerates; and the concernwith regard to the bankruptcy of the PennCentral Railroad and its improper use as apremise leading to the entirely unwarrantedconclusions about the financial status andrevenue problems of the railroads in thenation.

12 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Another In A Series

A,/o E. Osbo,.n~Behrinq-Snulh PurlsExeEulive Is Hid-Timer

By LLOYD GREGORYInformation Director

I F SERVICE STI/II’ES were awarded by the Port of Houston,Arlo E. Osborne, account executive of Behring-South

Ports Shipping, Inc., would have to lengthen his coat sleevesto wear all his "hash marks."

]u June of 1927, the soft spoken, popular Mr. Osbornereliew’d for three months an ill Lykes Bros. office boy. Morethau 43 years later, he is working every day with enthusiasmthat would do credit to a much younger man.

As far as can be determined, Mr. Osborne holds the recordfor men still active around the Port of Houston, althoughclosely pressed by Wilbur Smith, freight forwarder, with42 years service.

Behring-South Ports Shipping is one of the country’s majorforeign freight forwarders. With an affiliate company. LeslieB. Canion, customs broker, it occupies the 16th and 17thfloors of the Petroleum Building, Texas and Austin.

Headquarters of Behring-South Ports is in Houston, with60 employes in the downtown office, and 30 at the Inter-national Airport. The company also has offices in Los Angeles,New York, and New Orleans, and is studying opening Lon-don, Amsterdam, and Singapore offices.

President Alan I. Newhouse, a Princeton psychology grad-uate, started the big company in one room in the ScanlanBuilding in 1946. Merrill P. O’Neal is executive vice presi-dent, and Gerald Gumina a vice president.

Mr. O’Ncal has made three trips this year to Singapore,and is impressed by its tremendous boom. "I believe Singa-pore will replace Hong-Kong as the financial center of South-cast Asia," he said.

Mr. Osborne is an eloquent advocate of the role an effectivefreight forwarder can play:

"Service is the name of the game, and the forwarder wearsmany hats.

"For his clients, he must act as a purchasing department,traffic manager, and banker; he nmst keep abreast of inter-national shipping laws, consular regulations, U. S. customregulations, stevedoring costs; if be knows his stuff, he cansave his clients on railway and truck demurrage, storage, andby avoiding shifting of cargo from dock to dock."

The son of Mr. and Mrs. O. E. Osborne, Arlo was born inThorndale December 20, 1909. The family moved to Houstonwhen Arlo was five. He was graduated from Jeff Davis HighSchool.

After his apprenticeship at Lykes, Mr. Osborne worked forJ. D. Latta, cotton forwarder; J. R. (Bob) Michels, Jr. for18 years; W. R. Zanes & Co.; Hugo Zanelli. In 1942-45, hewas the chief civilian employe of the U. S. Army Transporta-tion Corps at Houston, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, and LakeCharles.

Mr. Osborne has but one hobby--fishing, deep sea, andtrout.

Mrs. Osborne is the former Miss Frances Ann Sehmelski ofHouston. The Osbornes have two children, Gene who worksfor Biehl & Co. in Houston, and Mrs. Elaine Ann Mager ofHouston, who has two children. They are Methodists. Theylive at 9746 Ebb.

Mr. O~borne is proud and happy that his mother, Mrs.O. E. Osborne, lives in Houston. At 83, she drives her ownear, and does not use glasses, even to read.

Men Who Make The Port Of Houston Hum

ARLO E. OSBORNE

JANUARY, 1971 13

The combine is a multi-crop harvesting machine. This one, harvesting corn in Iowa, is typical of those imported through the Port of Houston

REAPS

TWO-WAY

HARVEST

FROM

COMBINES

ing wheat to help feed a growing world population. Some 160 million bushelswere loaded into the hulls of ships for a multitude of nations whose people dependon the productivity of North American farmers to help kect) the wolf from theirdoors.

In addition to wheat, Houston’s port facilities also handle millions of bushelsof sorghums, rice, soy meal and other grains destined for foreign ports. Thefacilities available for handling these grains represent an investment of more than$50 million by both private businesses and the Navigation District. In all, theshipment of grain from the bustling docks here represents about 45 percentof the total exports from Houston.

How does all of this grain find its way to our dockside? Where does the harvestof such crops begin ?

Strangely enough, the grains that leave Houston may have, indirectly, hadtheir beginnings here. For the giant combines which harvest these crops mayhave passed through Houston enroute to the farmers and commercial harvestingoperations that gather the annual harvest throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.

IL is the combine--a miracle machine for farmers--that enables farmers toplant the abundant grain crops that fill the elevators for commercial uses andships for foreign trade. They can plant more crops because the combine enablesthem to harvest more and it has the ability to harvest that is often the key to howmuch a farmer can plant.

Grain has to be cut and separated from the stalk before it is sold. The machinecombines the processes of cutting and separating the grain from waste, or thrash-ing, hence the name--combine.

By completing these two chores at harvest time, the combine makes possiblethe huge grain crops of modern agriculture. In one hour one combine can cutand thrash enough wheat to make 20,000 loaves of bread, a feat that would havetaken a crew of men several days before the era of the combine.

Although relatively costlyIprices range from $12,000 to $20,000--giant com-bines more than pay for themselves in increased yield and savings in labor.

In fact, engineers of the New Holland Division of Sperry Rand Corporationsay that a combine gives a farmer the controlled emciency of the labors of 300men in the grain field.

New Holland, the world’s largest manufacturer of specialized farming equip-ment, is headquartered in Pennsylvania. A division of the Sperry Rand Corpora-tion, New Holland this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the farm equip-ment industry. The company became world famous in 1940 when it developedthe first automatic pickup baler.

Six years ago, New Holland entered the combine business with the purchaseof a major interest in Wcrkhuisen Leon Claeys of Belgium. At the time, Claeyswas one of the largest grain combine manufacturers in the world.

Shortly after Claeys became part of New Holland, the company decided to

14 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Forty years ago the threshing of grain required so much labor it wasa cooperative job, farmers moving from farm to farm.

Today, harvesting has been mechanized and this New Holland can harvestin one hour enough wheat to provide flour for 20,000 loaves of bread.

enter the domestic combine market. It was a natural move, bringing to NorthAmerican farmers the benefits of the Belgian firm’s many years of experiencein the harvest machine business and New Holland’s experience in the farmequipment industry. At the same time a site was selected to build the combinefinishing installation at Grand Island, Nebraska, in the heart of the Wheat Belt.

As a result, New Holland combines dot fields the world over, harvesting awide range of crops including wheat, corn, barley, oats, rice, soybeans, grainsorghum, rye, flax, peas, clover, alfalfa seed, timothy seed, millet and dry beans.

But the red and yellow metal of New Holland combines, although revolutionaryin effect, is but the end product of an evolutionary struggle between man andthe toil of the harvest. The first prehistoric harvest was taken by hand, and thehand harvest tied men to the land in subsistence agriculture for thousands of years.

In 1834, Cyrus McCormick patented his most famous of all harvesting machines,the reaper. Although primitive and made mostly of wood, the McCormick reaperrevolutionized agriculture by cutting harvest labor time in half.

In about the middle of the last century, it occurred to farmers to put thethresher on wheels and join it with the reaper. With this, the eoncept of thecombine harvester was born.

Several attempts at combine harvesting were made in the midwestern UnitedStates, but California innovators finally developed the idea. After the Civil War,giant combine harvesters were used in the vast grain fields of the West Coast.These machines weighed as much as 15 tons and required 40 mules to operate,but they worked.

During the last half of the century the combine was refined and sealed downto practical size. And, by the time another generation took over the country’sfarms the combine had driven the reaper into obsolescence.

By 1940, with the addition of self-propulsion and the internal combustionengine, the machine took the shape of modern combines that today are so vitalin producing high grain yields.

The impact of the combine on agriculture was dramatically confirmed duringthe war years. A fleet of combines was ordered built by the U.S. governmentand the now famous "Harvest Brigade" was formed. These combines swept across10 states to harvest 25 million bushels of grain in one season. The brigade saveda third of a million inanhours and a half of a million gallons of scarce fuel injust one year.

But whether the farmer owns a combine or hires a custom operator, themachine has changed his way of life at harvest time. This one machine enableshim to harvest and store his crop from the hazards of weather, faster and at alower cost per acre than ever before.

The big red and yellow machines from New Holland that move in and outof ports like Houston on their way to the harvest are evidence that man haspushed within reach of the defeat of famine.

JANUARY, 1971

This early combine required up to 40 horses to operate.

The original McCormick reaper, patented in 1834.

Operators of several machines follow the harvest.

15

Every year Artist Karl Hoefle of Dallas does a sketch onsome aspect of Houston for the Southwestern Bell TelephoneCompany’s Yellow Pages in which he gently spoofs the viewerby hiding incongruous subjects and situations in the over-allpanorama. This year’s subject was the Port of Houston’swharves, and the alert reader will find Indians attacking an1880 train behind Wharf 31 while a mermaid sits on theapron astern a vessel at the same berth, while two space menwander about in Moon suits on the adjacent open wharf and aRock band blares forth nearby. Across the way a buffalo viewsa swimmer in the channel and up at Wharf 22 a full-rigged

ship is berthed while a Viking ship tows a loaded sand bargedownstream just below it. The foreground vessel has a crow’snest, all right, but with a crow in it! A tiger in a cage hangsfrom the ship’s tackle and scares the cats coming out of thelast door of Shed 31. Upstream a vessel lands a sailfish withtackle off the bow while a sail-car comes down the track onOpen wharf 29 and an old time Huck Finn Mississippi Riverraft rounds the turn of the Ship Channel. Get out your magni-fying glass and look for some other incongruities, which arecleverly blended into an excellent drawing of otherwise nor-mal activity at the Port of Houston’s busy wharves.

PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Bayport Industrial Association representatives (above) view with pride the various industriesthey represent in Bayport. From the left are Homer Wilson, Celanese; F. F. Birch, Oxirane; George B.Merlwether, Friendswood Development Company; A. L. Hough, Signal Chemical Company; GlenMillet’, Signal Chemical Company; Philip Krug, Lubrizol; John Burley, Friendswood Development Com-pany, and Morris O’Tyson, Dixie Chemical Company. Dotted white line on left of model indicatesthe Barge channel.

Huge Port-Industrial Area IsFive Years Ahead of Sehedule

T HE GIANT BAYPORT industrial com-

plex on Galveston Bay, which isbeing developed by the Humble Oil andRefining Company, continues to growand expand.

It is here that a present-day 12-footdeep Barge Turning Basin, owned andoperated by the Port of Houston, ulti-mately will be another major terminalfor ocean-going vessels.

The entire Bayport complex is fiveyears ahead of projection, according toCharles L. Pence, vice president ofFriendswood Development Corporation

and project manager for both nearbyresidential Clear Lake City and Bayport.

The 12,000 acre industrial project ofFriendswood, in addition to its bargeterminal facilities, presently has 22 in-dustrial areas under development withtheir operational plants and sites al-ready occupying some 3,000 acres andtheir total investments approaching the$300 million mark.

The barge terminal, officially entitledthe Bayport Division of the Port ofHouston, was built to service the ex-panding and ever-growing number of

industries comprising Bayport. Work isscheduled to get underway this year toupgrade the barge facility to a pointwhere it will soon be able to accom-modate deep-draft ocean craft.

Located 25 miles southeast of down-town Houston on Galveston Bay, Bay-port is the result of meticulous planning,including strong provisions for ecolog-ical and pollutant considerations.

"Bayport’s plants follow rigid en-vironmental standards," says Pence. "Inany modern industrial development,firm but realistic standards are essential

JANUARY, 1971 17

for the benefit of all plants within thearea and for our neighbors in adjacentresidential and business areas."

To provide a more economical methodof waste treatment and to ensure adher-ence to the rigid controls, FriendswoodDevelopment Company has establisheda Central Waste Treatment Plant forthe Bayport industries.

This unique and effective system isbeing enlarged to triple its presentcapacity, the increased facilities goingon stream in January of 1971.

In addition to its efforts to controlliquid waste discharges into the BargeTurning Basin, the point of effluent dis-charge for Bayport’s industries, the de-veloper has established environmentalcontrols over its properties.

These controls are administered bythe Bayport Industrial Association(BIA), an organization established 1964, consisting of industrial landown-ers in Bayport.

The BIA’s purpose is the planning,support and execution of programs andprojects of mutual benefit and concernto the industrial occupants of Bayport.

These programs and projects pres-ently include: administration of Bay-port’s Environmental Standards; formu-lation and implementation of a pre-paredness plan when justified; and co-ordination of industrial fire protectionand other protective services whenneeded.

Financial support for the programsand projects of the BIA are providedby its members, according to Pence.

The BIA has an environmental con-trol committee which conducts continu-ing monitoring programs designed todetermine whether the requirements ofthe Standards are being met.

The routine results of this monitoringprogram are furnished quarterly to each

A tug maneuvers a barge in the turning basinof Bayport. This channel connects with the Hous-ton Ship Channel to give access to the open seaand the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The barge canal serving Bayport cuts throughopen prairie land to the turning basin in thebackground. Work is scheduled to start thisyear on dredging the canal deep enough tohandle ocean-going ships.

|

member of the Association. Each indus-trial plant in Bayport has the option ofbecoming a member of the BIA, andeach plant has a designated representa-tive and alternate representative. TheBIA meets quarterly, with one of themember plants hosting each meeting.

’ 18 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

"These representatives are keenlyaware of the importance of strict eco-logical standards," Pence explained.

The 22 plants in Bayport are obli-gated to dispose of non-acceptable (tothe Central Waste Treatment Plant)materials through incineration or some

Typical of the several large petrochemicalplants at Bayport is this installation. Investmentsin plants and equipment at Bayport already ex-ceed $300 million.

A central waste treatment plant, with the largesettlement ponds, controls liquid waste dischargesfrom the Bayport area plants.

other method acceptable under staterequirements.

Industrial waste is discharged intoa central waste collector where it ismetered and monitored to determinewhether or not it meets the centralplant’s criteria. Those wastes requiringtreatment flow into an activated sludge/contact stabilization plant where theyare anlayzed prior to discharge in theBarge Turning Basin.

"As a result," Pence said, "we willmaintain for future generations suchnearby areas as Taylor Bayou for fish-ing and boating, and the public watersof Galveston Bay for all recreationalpnrposes."

Each plant has the opportunity tocontract with the Central Waste Systemto collect, treat, and dispose of its bio-degradable wastes," Pence added.

In addition to the waste treatmentfacilities, other services in Bayport in-elude 10 miles of roads, nine miles ofrail trackage, redundant 138 and 12 KVelectrical services with a substation, andextensive pipeline transportation.

"Friendswood Development Companyhas kept pace with its provisional ser-vices, and has added new water wells,water distribution lines, ground levelwater storage tanks, and extended sur-face drainage channels, making Bayportone of the nation’s most earefullyplanned industrial complexes," Pencesaid.

Looking toward the future, Pencesaid, "New Highway 146 is nearingcompletion which will enable Bayportto implement its plans for the expansionof the present Barge Turning Basin toaccommodate ocean vessels and a largeport facility, making Bayport even moredesirable . . . and one of the leadingports on the entire Gulf Coast."

JANUARY, 1971 19

SERVING THETEXAS GULF COAST

HARBOR ANDCOASTWISE

TOWING

HOUSTON. GALVESTON

TEXAS CITY. FREEPORT

CORPUS CHRISTI

SUDERMANAND

YOUNGTOWING COMPANY INC.

329 l~ort of Houston World Trade BuildingHouston, Texas 77002

Cable: SAI’qDY, Houston

The president and executive vice president of the South African MarineCorporation, New York, (Safmarine Line) were guests of honor at a luncheonin the World Trade Club given by Hansen & Tidemann, Inc., agents. Shownhere are Svend Hansen, center, president of Hansen & Tidemann, withRalph Wofford, left, executive vice president, and Frank A. Demarco,president/vice chairman of the steamship company.

Paul Bogaert, right, winner of the 1969 prize of the Belgian Ministryof Foreign Trade, was a recent visitor to the Port of Houston, where hetoured the Ship Channel and observed stevedoring methods. Bogaert, agraduate student at Saint Ignatius University in Antwerp in business andeconomics, is the author of a book on stevedoring methods at the Port ofAntwerp and is spending six months in the United States studying tradeand merchandising marts, as the first trade mart in Europe is to beopened next year in Brussels. He is shown here on the upper deck ofthe SAM HOUSTON with Chief Engineer Edward Hawkins. The Belgiantri-color is in the background.

PADDOCK NAMED

Merlin Paddock has been named Manager of Shipco, Inc.,New Orleans offioe, announced Norman E. Wittkarrrp, Presi-dent of Shipco, a worldwide export expediting and docu-mentation service company located in Houston and NewOrleans. Paddock, formerly associated with Lep Transport,Inc., New Orleans, has been in the freight forwarding forover twenty-five years.

20 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE