Increased activity at factories, ports

ALBANY >> The first major shipment of a $2.7 billion contract between General Electric in Schenectady and a state-owned utility in Algeria was loaded on to a cargo vessel Tuesday at the Port of Albany to begin the month-long journey to northern Africa.

The order, announced by GE in 2013, includes 38 power plant steam and gas turbines and generators which will be delivered to Algeria’s Sonelgaz Group. At least half of this equipment will be shipped through the Port of Albany’s maritime space, port officials said, noting that this is apparently the largest order received by the local GE site to date.

U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko toured part of the 300-acre Port of Albany on Tuesday. He said that the ongoing and increasing activity at the port is an example of the power of American manufacturing and green energy sources.

“Research and ingenuity goes into the creation of these products,” said Tonko, referring to the large turbines and generators he saw along the tour. “There’s clean energy and the exportation of a product. There’s also a growth factor which helps the American economy.”

The port, which sees maritime traffic and has about 30 non-maritime tenants, supports 1,400 local jobs and 4,500 state-wide jobs, according to their 2013 annual report. The longshore hours, or the hours worked by employees, have increased in recent years withmore activity at the facility that is on both sides of the Hudson River in Albany and Rensselaer counties.

The massive products from GE were brought to the port by rail, said Tony Vasil, the business development and marketing manager at the Port of Albany.

“There’s a myth that manufacturing is dead in America. General Electric’s agreement with Algeria shows innovation and how we can retro-fit for the state of technology,” said Tonko. “It’s not necessarily about building cheaper, but building smarter.”

Tonko was also shown the site’s portable crane which can lift items — up to 1200 tons — straight into the air. The most the crane has had to lift so far is 600 tons, said Vasil.

The port is looking for funding to pave its entire maritime terminal and work on its aging railroad infrastructure. Tonko said that his office would be a voice for this endeavor, which will impact both the local and state economies.

The tour also passed new turbines recently delivered from South Korea which will be used by the New York Power Authority at the Gilboa Dam.

“We’re happy to show off how busy we are here,” said Vasil.

Tonko’s business liaison, Marilyn Smith, said they had visited last month as well when some of these orders were still in the process of getting ready to be shipped. “It’s nice to be here to see this come full circle,” said Smith.

The GE/Algeria order is expected to have shipments out of the port through at least early 2015.

Tonko also visited the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany on Tuesday and planned to visit the Nine Pin cidery today.