The Owensboro Times
Updated May 2, 2021 | 12:00 pm
Castlen Steel | Photo by David Grinnell
Castlen Steel has partnered with Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) the world’s premier agricultural origination and processing company to help local farmers, create new jobs and benefit the Owensboro economy.
ADM is headquartered in Chicago, and connects crops to markets on six continents. Net sales for 2019 were $65 billion. ADM ranked No. 54 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to work with a multinational company that is not only innovative, but is also committed to taking natural products and turning them into staple foods to ensure sustainability,” said Matt Castlen, owner of Caslen Steel.
April 21, 2021 By Capt. David Smith
The Charles Ward Engineering Works, Charleston, W.Va., was a pioneer in the advent of the screw propeller as a means of providing thrust to towing vessels. The James Rumsey, built by Ward in 1903 as a 350 hp. steam, single-screw towboat for the U.S. Engineer Department, created a lot of attention with a celebrated shoving contest against the steam sternwheel D.T. Lane of the Campbells Creek Coal Company, which had similar horsepower rating. The winner of the contest was debated by rivermen for years, and it was judged to be an even draw by most, though many felt the Rumsey was the victor.
February 19, 2021 By Shelley Byrne
Calumet River Fleeting is leasing the TPG Chicago Dry Dock as part of an agreement in which Calumet expects to buy the facility early next year.
American River Transportation Company (ARTCO) had been leasing the facility from TPG since 2019, but Calumet River Fleeting took over that lease as of January 9.
Terry Hoeckendorff, Calumet’s vice president of operations, said the company already did work in-house on its own vessels, but this will allow it to expand to service other clients, both along the Great Lakes and the inland waterways.
“We’re going to be a full-service shipyard up here,” he said, noting the company will handle carpentry, electrical work on tugs, rudders, shafts and seals and fabrication. It will also perform hull inspections as part of compliance with subchapter M requirements.
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. (Bob) Lee, 91, former president of River Transportation Company, died January 10 at Bayley Place Mt. St. Joseph on the Ohio.
After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Lee started his transportation career on the B&O Railroad in Cumberland, Md. After a few years, he transitioned to the Ohio River in Cincinnati in 1963 with River Transportation Company as sales manager. In 1965, he was instrumental in acquiring the operating contract at the Port of Vicksburg, Miss., which it continued to operate up until the time of River Transportation’s sale in 2001. He retired from “River T” as president in 2000.