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            The Port of Baltimore
          
        
        
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          January/February 2014
        
        
        
          
            Keen Transport
          
        
        
          AT A GLANCE
        
        
          
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            Headquartered in Carlisle, Pa.
          
        
        
          
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            600 employees nationwide
          
        
        
          
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            Among 300 trucks and 600 trailers is
          
        
        
          
            the country’s largest I-Beam fleet
          
        
        
          
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            Specializes in over-dimensional and
          
        
        
          
            project cargo
          
        
        
        
          “We consider ourselves the premier
        
        
          provider of specialized transportation and
        
        
          associated logistics services in the United
        
        
          States,” said Paul Ross, Keen Transport’s
        
        
          Vice President of Operations. “We are the
        
        
          major carrier for over-dimensional freight
        
        
          into and out of the Port of Baltimore.”
        
        
          The company has the largest I-Beam fleet
        
        
          — specialized trailers built for hauling torn-
        
        
          down construction equipment, in the United
        
        
          States — and it focuses on cargo ranging
        
        
          up to 170,000 pounds and 26 feet wide.
        
        
          Some of the more unusual items Keen has
        
        
          moved include World War II landing craft for
        
        
          museums, Civil War cannons, train locomo-
        
        
          tives and antique construction equipment.
        
        
          What really sets Keen Transport apart
        
        
          is its value-added services. The company
        
        
          offers comprehensive equipment storage
        
        
          and machine-support services and performs
        
        
          pre-delivery inspections, in addition to
        
        
          assembly and disassembly in the field.
        
        
          “There is no other provider in the United
        
        
          States that offers the full range of services
        
        
          that Keen Transport does,” Ross said.
        
        
          Jerry Connor, Director of Operations,
        
        
          said, “Keen is an extension of the
        
        
          manufacturer’s quality-control process. It
        
        
          might be something as little as performing
        
        
          a multi-point inspection that includes
        
        
          checking the bolt torque specifications
        
        
          and making minor modifications to custom
        
        
          paint work and swapping out attachments,
        
        
          such as blades, buckets and dump beds.”
        
        
          The company also is known for its
        
        
          innovative modifications, such as auto lube
        
        
          systems, GPS installations, electronic and
        
        
          hydraulic modifications and much more.
        
        
          Connor added, “Much of this had never
        
        
          been offered before, and we continue to
        
        
          provide that level of service every day.”
        
        
          A sophisticated inventory system,
        
        
          including bar coding of products, provides
        
        
          the customer base with accurate and quick
        
        
          inventories.
        
        
          Keen Transport, which has contracts
        
        
          with all major equipment manufacturers,
        
        
          sends about 20 to 25 trucks a day to the
        
        
          “Keen Transport is a valuable partner to the Port of Baltimore
        
        
          because of the professional services they provide to our many
        
        
          importers and exporters of farm machinery and construction
        
        
          equipment.” ~
        
        
          Sam Azzarello, General Manager of Logistics, Maryland Port Administration