Wade Battles, Acting Executive Director, Port of Houston, is keynote speaker
NEWARK, NJ (March 9, 2009) — “One Port's Formula for Success” will be the keynote address delivered by Wade Battles, Acting Executive Director of the Port of Houston, at the 2nd Annual JoC South America Logiport Conference (http://legacy.joc.com/conferences/SALC/), taking place 14¬–16 April 2009, in São Paulo, Brazil. Battles’ address will begin at 10:15 a.m. on 14 April.
Co-produced by The Journal of Commerce Conferences/UBM Global Trade and CMP/UBM Brazil, this three-day event takes place at the Transamérica Expo Center. SALC is held in conjunction with the largest transportation expo in the Western Hemisphere — the Intermodal South America 2009 Fair, which is also organized by CMP/UBM Brazil.
The Port of Houston is the 10th-busiest port in the world, the busiest U.S. port in terms of foreign tonnage, and the second-busiest in overall tonnage, with more than 200 million tons of cargo annually. It has grown to global prominence by solving many of the core challenges facing ports in South America, from draft issues to infrastructure and port congestion issues. Today, the port provides expertise and assistance to other ports through a separate Port of Houston Authority International Corporation consulting division.
Last year, the Port of Houston posted its ninth consecutive year of growth, marking a banner year for general cargo and containers. Port records were set for steel imports (nearly 6 million short tons, breaking a 1981 record) and export steel (337,530 short tons, breaking a 2007 record). Additionally, the port set a record for total steel, handling 6.3 million short tons.
As a decade-long veteran at the Port of Houston, Battles oversees its daily operations as well as administration, facilities, planning and environment, public affairs, trade development, protection services and small business development.
Battles has been recognized for his role in helping the port become the first in the nation to achieve ISO 14001 for its Environmental Management System, and the first in the world to achieve ISO 28000:2007 certification for its Security Management System.
Battles began his career in the 1960s as a stevedore and vessel agent in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1973, he joined Chester, Blackburn and Roder, then Miami's largest marine agency and steamship operator. He held various positions within the organization before being named Vice President and General Manager. In 1983, he joined the Port of Miami as Director of Marketing and Public Affairs, and rose through the ranks to Assistant Port Director.
Battles is president of the Texas Ports Association and also serves on both the Security and Cruise committees of the American Association of Port Authorities. He is past chairman of the Cruise Committee as well as the Florida Port Council's Marketing and Intermodal Sub-committees.
A charter member of the Houston Galveston–Area Marine Security Committee, Battles was recently reappointed to the U.S. National Maritime Security Advisory Committee and serves as chairman of the Port Authority Advisory Council to the Texas Department of Transportation.
About the conference
South America Logiport Conference presentations and roundtable discussions will spotlight the issues and challenges facing this resource-rich continent’s ocean, land and air transportation sectors, including:
-- Port productivity
-- Global ocean freight rates
-- Trucking bottlenecks
-- The impact of stalled infrastructure projects
-- Brazil's rail supply chain
-- The future of intra-South American trade
-- Emerging air cargoes
-- Improving air cargo efficiency in South America
-- Impact of the global recession on air cargo
Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available for this event. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Anne Morris at (818) 341-3585 or amorris@joc.com. For exhibit opportunities, contact Julie Wallner at (209) 369-0133 or jwallner@joc.com.
To register for the 2009 South America Logiport Conference, contact JoC Conferences at (760) 294-5563 or events@joc.com. Visit http://legacy.joc.com/conferences/SALC/ to find the most up-to-the-minute event details on the South America Logiport Conference or to register online.
About UBM Global Trade
UBM Global Trade, formerly Commonwealth Business Media, Inc., has been the leading provider of proprietary data, news, business intelligence and analytical content supporting commercial maritime, rail, trucking, warehousing and logistics industries worldwide since 1827. The company's portfolio of more than 100 online, print and interactive workflow business solutions includes The Journal of Commerce, The Journal of Commerce Conferences, PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions and an array of international trade and transportation databases and directories. UBM Global Trade, a subsidiary of United Business Media Limited, is headquartered in East Windsor, NJ, with offices throughout the United States and in Canada and Hong Kong. For more information, explore www.ubmglobaltrade.com or call 800-221-5488 (+1-609-371-7700 outside the U.S. and Canada).
About United Business Media Ltd. (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com)
United Business Media Limited (UBM) is a global media and marketing services company that informs markets and brings the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM serves professional and commercial communities, from IT professionals to doctors, from journalist to jewelry dealers, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. UBM employs more than 6,500 people in more than 30 countries. UBM's businesses operating in the US include CMPMedica, Everything Channel, PR Newswire, RISI, TechInsights, TechWeb, Think Services, UBM Aviation and UBM Global Trade. UBM is listed on the London Stock Exchange (UBM.L) and has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion.