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NATCHEZ — Chandler Russ has gotten quite the education over the last four months.

As a newcomer to the Adams County Port Commission, Russ is still digging into his role. But he says the future for the Natchez port is a bright one.

“Assuming that we can continue to take care of our major customers and adapt to their growing needs, I think the port will have a good, long, healthy future,” said Russ, who also serves as president of Natchez Inc.

Each Adams County supervisor appoints one member to the Port Commission. Russ is an appointee of District 1 Supervisor, Wes Middleton.

One key to that healthy future is improving technology and systems to stay in step with technology used by customers, like BASF, the port’s largest customer from a revenue standpoint, he said.

“We really need to improve systems like inventory management systems and logistic management systems. Those things have made huge strides in the industry — management and warehouse logistics. We have to grow and adapt to some of these improvements, as well as put to use GPS technology and inventory management like barcodes and data tags. We should be able to look at our warehouse and its inventory and know exactly how we can stack inventory to give us the most usable space,” Russ said. “There is lots of new technology. Our customers are more advanced technology wise and their customers are more advanced. They have to move to move with that customer base and so do we if we want to keep up. That’s some of what has got to happen in order to continue to grow.”

Discussions of late, such as at the May 25 meeting of the Adams County Board of Supervisors with members of the Port Commission and officials with customer BASF, have been helpful, Russ said.

That meeting was made necessary when BASF officials contacted supervisors and told them they were considering pulling out from the port because of several issues they said they could not get resolved with the port’s commission or staff.

“The port has been forced to listen. I think that’s healthy for us to do. We need to hear from that customer base, listen to it and adapt to it. It’s something the commission itself has been focused on,” he said.

David Carter has been a member of the Port Commission for approximately six years. He was appointed by District 2 Supervisor Kevin Wilson. Carter agreed that better communication is necessary for the port to grow and satisfy customers.

“The problems we have aren’t hard problems to fix. A lot of the problems we have, while they seem large in scope, their solutions are somewhat simple,” Carter said. “When you look along the river, we have good facilities and access. Granted, a lot of our facilities are outdated and we need a better maintenance play. But we have great opportunity and a great location. We are blessed that the river here sits in a deep channel. The future looks bright, but we need to make some short-term adjustments to meet our long-term goals.”

The port commission had another meeting with BASF officials earlier in June, Russ said.

“We had a good probably two-hour discussion with BASF. They had some of their corporate management down and we discussed issues in greater detail. We kind of laid out a work plan on both sides of things that needed to be addressed — must be addressed — and I know we have been clicking off some of those items. BASF continues to show its commitment to the point and wants to stay at the port. We now have a list of what we need to do in order for them to stay. Some of them are a little more long-term than some and some are easy fixes,” Russ said.

Building a port from the ground up

When Anthony Hauer accepted the job as the director of the Adams County Port in 2003, the port had one client.

“And we shared that client with a middle man,” Hauer said. “Now, we have 25 or more clients, which are either current and consistent or are repeat clients who come back when they need us.”

Hauer began working at the port in February 1984 as assistant port director.

“In 2003, we were at rock bottom,” he said. “When my appointment was confirmed, the supervisors asked me what I was going to do to get started. I told them we were going to build this thing one client at a time. They asked me what financing I would need. I asked for 18 months. Eighteen months to the day, we made payroll and we told the county they did not have to pay anymore operational expenses for the port. Since that time, we have paid all of our expenses and have been able to give a little money back to the county.”

Since 2004, the port has contributed approximately $25 million in infrastructure improvements. “We are still working on infrastructure improvements as we speak today,” Hauer said. “I think the port is the most viable thing Adams County has. The commission, myself and all of its employees are doing our best to do a good job and make sure the port stays viable for a long, long time. It is solid.”

The Port Commission President is Natchez pharmacist Michael Winn Sr. He is District 5 supervisor Warren Gaines’ appointment to the commission. He has been on the port commission for eight years. Winn was working and not available for comment Friday.

Other commissioners are Earl Bacon, who is District 3 Supervisor Angela Hutchins’ appointment to the commission, is the longest-tenured port commissioner. He is serving his 18th year.

District 4 Supervisor Ricky Gray’s appointment to the commission is newcomer Roger Allen. He attended his first meeting earlier in June.

Carter is vice president of the port commission and Bacon is its secretary.

Competition on the river

The City of Vidalia has plans to build a multi-million dollar slack water port across the river from Natchez. The City of Vicksburg plans a major port expansion south of its current location.

Of those two developments, Vicksburg is the bigger concern, Russ said.

“I am a proponent of competition. Competition makes us better. In our region, the more assets we can put on the river that are going to give companies an opportunity,” Russ, who is executive director of Natchez Inc., the area’s economic development organization. “Of the two — Vidalia and Vicksburg — Vicksburg concerns me more because of its interstate and rail access, granted it may be four or five years before they actually have a property. They are dealing with some wetland issues and other things.

The Adams County Port itself is a huge, tremendous asset to Natchez and Adams County and our economic development efforts. Literally it is a number one or number two item on every prospect’s list,” he said. “Our port has good capabilities, including a 250 ton crane and good dock facilities. We have the ability to load and unload bulk items and containers and liquids. It’s located in the channel of the river, which is a huge advantage over most ports. We never run out of water. If the river stage is 2 feet, we still would be able to move and unload barges at the Natchez port. Sixty or 70 percent of other ports would have to shut down because they are not a channel port.

“Our opportunity to grow and expand is also there. Future wise, we can build more dock facilities and handle more and more barge traffic. We have lots of key assets there. Just like railroad, gas lines, power lines and road infrastructure, the port is a big piece to a big puzzle, and an important piece,” Russ said.