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8 | Port of South Louisiana
included the addition of a new finger-pier,
adjacent and downriver to the general cargo
dock at Globalplex, that provides additional
space for loading and unloading of vessels
and barges. Additionally, a goal to maintain
status as the largest tonnage port in theWest-
ern Hemisphere – by definition, the largest
in both the state and the country, too – was
also met.
And lest all the glory go to superior man-
agement skills, Aucoin is quick to cite the
value of location.
“Time is money,” he said. “If we can get
your product here in a decent amount of
time at the lowest cost, then we become a
player. And once we have that product here,
whether it’s shipped in by vessel or barge, we
have access to major rail lines and then we
have access to the Mississippi River, so you
can go from ship to barge to get it upriver, or
from barge to ship to get it downriver.
“That’s vital. Getting the bulk cargo here
the cheapest and fastest way, and we’re ideal-
ly situated to move that cargo from the port
to wherever its final destination is, either by
rail or truck. We even have an airport now
that we own and operate (formerly operated
by St. John the Baptist parish), and we just