IWS story mirrors growth at Port Everglades
Fred Rogacki, chief executive officer and co-founder of International Warehouse Services Inc. at Port Everglades, jokes that his operation is the port's best-kept secret.
Rogacki founded IWS with wife Betty Ann 27 years ago, when they were still in their mid-20s. A football buddy of Fred's from his college in South Dakota suggested he visit Florida, and in an unusually productive spring break trip, he decided to move to Florida after graduation. His teammate's father got him a job working at the Free Trade Zone in Miami, a foot in the door that would eventually lead to operating Port Everglades' main free trade zone facilities.
The Miami work was a short, one-year stop. He recalls working out of one end of a trailer with Betty Ann, his high school sweetheart from New Jersey, who answered the phone and processed orders. Ironically, at the other end of the trailer was Customs Service newcomer Ruby Hogan, who is now the chief Customs and Border Protection official at Port Everglades.
Rogacki said he decided to set up shop at Port Everglades, after talking to people in the Latin America trade who were looking for a South Florida facility to serve as a warehouse and distribution center.
Rogacki was on hand in the early 1980s when the first container of produce arrived at Port Everglades and was handled by the port's new gantry crane. He said the shipment needed to be inspected and fumigated, and they called a Miami company to come up to Port Everglades to perform that service.
'Pretty soon there were 40 or 50 boxes a month,' and Rogacki realized opportunity was knocking at Port Everglades.
Today, IWS, which has grown gradually with word-of-mouth recommendations and little formal marketing, has 225,000 square feet of space at the port. The operation includes main warehouses for FTZ No. 25 — Broward County has included several inland facilities as part of the local free trade zone — with 65 employees.
IWS has the Central Examination Station contact from CBP at Port Everglades, and does the equipment fumigation for produce moving through the port.
Denmark-based Blue Water Shipping, a forwarding and logistics services company that serves as a forwarder for the cruise line Holland America Line, has also set up an office in the IWS building at Port Everglades, and works closely with IWS. Blue Water also has U.S. offices in New Jersey, Houston, and Los Angeles.
Rogacki believes that, as far as his company has come, there will likely be considerable growth in the future. He is co-chair of the International Committee of the Broward Alliance, a public/private commerce and trade entity in Broward County, and he realizes international trade will play an increasingly important role in the economy in the years to come.
He also notes that on-port space for the free trade zone is completely leased out, and there will be a need for a new facility within the next several years. Port Everglades' 20-year master plan recognizes that, calling for the eventual development of a new container terminal on the land where the FTZ and the IWS operations are located. New FTZ and warehousing facilities are envisioned across the street from the present location.
Rogacki said the move is planned within a window of three years to eight years. ' Jim Dow