Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/342647
6 "Our beginnings in Puerto Rico were very humble," says longtime Crowley employee Charlie Dominguez, vice president of national accounts. "The acquisition of TMT in the early 1970s was by no means a historic event in the business world. In fact, most business people believed it was a big mistake on Crowley's part. However, our starting out small and humble allowed us get close to our customers, who were few back then, and obligated us to be more creative than our competitors. We presented ourselves as friends to the community not just service providers. We focused on our people as being the key conduit to reach out into the community. We supported little league baseball and sponsored domino tournaments — a very popular table game held dear to most Puerto Ricans. Our strategy was to become a true friend to our customers, learn their business and show how we could bring value to their supply chains." Barges Longer Than Two Football Fields In 1984, Crowley began operating even larger Ro/Ro barges. Five of its 400-foot triple deck barges went into dry dock, where they were stretched to 730-feet with the addition of a 330-foot mid-body section. The San Juan was the first barge to undergo the refurbishment, which made the vessel longer than two football fields. This process increased the capacity of each barge by 78 percent and brought TMT's triple-deck barge fleet to nine. In mid-1985, the division implemented its new database referred to as "Common Carrier System." This system revolutionized the industry, with its computerized bookings, equipment control and vessel voyage and load planning aspects. The system tracked over 100,000 pieces of equipment per month and provided up-to-the-minute status reports on cargo. To take it a step further, the company began to pilot the electronic exchange of information with its customers. To this day, Crowley remains an industry leader in using technology to make it quicker, easier and more cost efficient to do business with the company. "Over the years, Crowley has developed innovative ways to make transportation services and costs more beneficial to the Puerto Rico/U.S. mainland trade, like our oversized 45- and 53-foot containers, which are not commonly used in international trade," says Crowley's Jose Nazario, director of finance. "This is very important for our customers because the use of bigger containers with more cubic capacity is a key factor in transportation efficiency. The cost benefits of loading, unloading, inland and ocean transportation of these containers far exceed those of more traditional 40-foot containers." By the mid-1980s, Crowley had expanded its liner operations even further, purchasing the assets of Coordinated Caribbean Transport (CCT), which had operations in the Caribbean and Left page, bottom: The TMT Lloyd was one of the first seatrucks used by TMT in 1954. Above: A truckload of Crowley cargo is delivered on the island.