A leading provider of roll-on/roll-off vehicle transportation services plans to move its U.S. and Americas Region headquarters from New York to Jacksonville by June.
Hoegh Autoliners has a branch office in Jacksonville at the Blount Island Marine Terminal and its staff of 20 is expected to increase to about 35 by June, said Steinar Lovdal, chief human resources officer and head of ship management for Hoegh Autoliners.
Hoegh Autoliners has been in business for nearly 80 years. The company operates about 60 ships in global trade systems that are managed from a network of 30 offices in four regions. Customers include GM, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda, Ford and Caterpillar.
In 2012, Hoegh Autoliners carried about 2.45 million car equivalent units and made more than 4,000 port calls worldwide.
Lovdal said the move will enable the company to consolidate its office activities in one location and to be near JaxPort, which reported handling more than 600,000 vehicles in 2012. That made JaxPort the No. 1 port for U.S. vehicle exports.
"The way the company is developing globally, this just made sense. The system becomes more efficient with people working together where we have ships and cargo. The office on Long Island (Jericho) has very little operational activity around us," said Lovdal.
The company doesn't expect any change to its sales office in Schaumburg, Ill., or at port offices in Port Newark, Wilmington, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Galveston.
It will outsource its documentation functions from its New York and Baltimore offices to Norton Lilly, a nationwide ship agency, which has a branch office in Jacksonville.
@photojoe71
(904) 356-2466