Major Port Authority Contract Awarded

 The Alabama Port Authority has announced a major contract to fund the production of two new Stacker Reclaimers to Richmond Engineering Works, LLC (REW). The Pittsburgh-based company will engineer, fabricate and install the new equipment at McDuffie Coal Terminal and has pledged that all engineering and fabrication for the project will occur in the U.S. The new Stacker Reclaimers are a critical component of the $200-million-plus McDuffie Coal Terminal modernization project and will replace two aging units installed in 1974 and 1982. The new machines will nearly double the productivity, ensuring the terminal’s loading rates meet the increased capacity of the deeper ship channel and additional demand from customers’ mine investments statewide. $20.5 million of the total contract is to be spent with Alabama businesses. “With the widening and deepening of the channel coming online next year, these investments are a top priority for the port so we can load bigger ships with more cargo even more efficiently,” said John Driscoll, director and CEO of the authority. REW will also establish a local office in Mobile staffed with engineers and technicians to ensure seamless execution of the project. This office is expected to remain operational for at least two years.