Great Falls Airport Makes International Inroads with Korean Cargo

November 16, 2003

Airport Makes International Inroads with Korean Cargo
Great Falls Tribune, MT

On a blustery day last week, three people hoping to bolster air cargo
operations in Great Falls gathered in a dimly lit warehouse in Great
Falls, staring at a dozen cardboard boxes perched on two pallets.

What's was the big deal?

The boxes, containing equipment used in laser surgery on animals, had been
shipped via air from Seoul, Korea. They were headed to Kansas City, Mo.,
with a stop in Los Angeles. But instead of being "cleared" by U.S. Customs
officials in Los Angeles, the clearing took place in Great Falls.

And it happened a heck of a lot faster in Great Falls, saving time and
money for the Korean manufacturer and its U.S. customer, a veterinary
equipment distributor.

The Customs clearing had the shipment on its way to Kansas City in less
than 24 hours.

The same product, in a previous shipment, "sat for two weeks at LAX," said
Jerry Chavez, vice president of marketing for the Great Falls Development
Authority.

The Korean shipment was a test lined up by the development authority and
the Great Fall International Airport, working with local Customs
personnel.

"When you look at it, it's kind of small," Chavez said of the shipment.
"But we've been working to get to this point since August."

The significance of the shipment isn't small in the eyes of Cynthia
Schultz, the airport director.

"It proves a process that we thought we were capable of doing but needed
an actual client to prove it," Schultz said.

Chavez and others declined to name the Korean manufacturer or the Kansas
City company that received the goods, citing a desire to keep names of
development prospects confidential.

The immediate plan is to convince the Korean company to increase its
shipments through Great Falls, possibly up to 2,000 pounds per month.
After that, the pitch will be for locating a warehouse operation in Great
Falls.

Chavez says there are lots of other potential job development targets that
can benefit from quick Customs clearing and the Federal Express hub at the
airport. The development has identified the airport and the ability to
handle time-sensitive materials as a key potential target market.

Deb Kottel, who heads the airport authority board, shares the enthusiasm
of Chavez and Schultz. Kottel discussed the airport's capacity and
potential on a recent business matchmaking trip to China. Great Falls
Mayor Randy Gray was also part of the delegation, which included mayors
from across the U.S.

Used to waiting up to 20 days for Customs clearance in Seattle, several
Chinese shippers that spoke with Kottel seemed very interested in using
Great Falls instead.

"When I spoke to the logistics people in China, they were all over it,"
Kottel said.

While independent warehouse and shipping operations could be developed,
the future of the air cargo business rests with Federal Express.

"The Fed Ex hub is the key to the end product we want to develop," said
Schultz.

Fed Ex operates a regional center on Gore Hill. The 70,000 square-foot
center is operating at less than half its capacity, Chavez says.

The big freight carrier flies parcel-packing jets from a number of Pacific
Rim cities to spots in the U.S. While some of the those flights go
directly to the Fed Ex center in Memphis, others stop at West Coast
cities, such as Los Angeles.

The idea is move the port of entry from the West Coast to Great Falls.
Demonstrating savings in time and money will be crucial, Chavez said.

The shipping logistics business is complicated. Schultz credits Chavez and
the GFDA with diving into the challenge.

"We are extremely pleased with Great Falls Development's ability to learn
this business," she said. "I feel like we are making inroads here that are
going to create some real opportunities for us."

While Chavez has yet to figure out exactly how much the Korean shipper and
U.S. distributor saved with the small shipment through Great Falls, he
suspects it's in the 60 percent range.

"Now, he understands there is a financial component to this clearing in
Great Falls," Chavez said of the shipper.

GFDA, the airport authority and Customs folks also have a solid new entry
on their air-cargo resume, thanks to the speedy handling of the dozen
boxes from Korea.

"It's one thing to say 'we can do this,' " Chavez said. It's another thing
to say "we've done it."'



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