PHILADELPHIA — The Tioga Marine Fruit Terminal is not the biggest on the Delaware River, but it offers advantages that other facilities cannot, said Robert Palaima, president of Delaware River Stevedores, which operates the facility.

“We don’t have the largest facility but we think what commends it is the fact that we’re so close to the dock,” he explained. “In terms of the cold chain, you have very quick transfer from the vessel into cold storage and the fumigation chambers. We maintain the most stevedoring gangs along the river so during those peak periods during the season you have multiple vessels and adequate labor to be able to get the job done.”

More importantly, the DRS labor force is well-trained in the handling of perishables.

Delaware Senator Tom Carper; His Excellency Felipe Bulnes, Ambassador of Chile to the United States; Ronald Bown, president of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association; and Robert Palaima, president of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia. (Photo courtesy CACCGP) “It’s very important to have labor that’s experienced when you’re handling pallets of fruit,” Palaima said. “It’s not like handling slabs of steel. The amount of care and understanding as the trade has evolved, the technology, the IT aspects of being able to sort, separate, provide information, bar code systems, delivery documentation, all that has evolved tremendously over the last few decades.”

DRS also manages stevedores for a number of port facilities on the Delaware River aside from Tioga, providing a labor force that works in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Tioga Terminal got a recent facelift with upgrades to its cold storage facilities, new mechanical systems and a new roof at its riverside warehouse. The lighting and sprinkler systems were upgraded and a new security fence-line and gate complex were installed.

Details like that make a big difference in the level of service a terminal can provide, according to Palaima. “You don’t think much about it, but those things are important and are of great benefit to us and ultimately our customers. You’re dealing with a trade that comes quickly, markets change rapidly, prices change rapidly and we try to respond to the needs and demands of our customers because ultimately they’re the ones we serve.”

Most people in the region are aware that “I kind of wear two hats,” Palaima said. He has been a driving force in the Chilean deal that has become a major part of the Delaware River trade and has served as president of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia.

“The Chilean business has been a mainstay in the port for 25 years,” Palaima said. While trade along the river has “evolved to produce from really around the world — Argentina, Morocco, Spain, South Africa — certainly the mainstay has been the fruit from Chile.”

Last month, a history-making agreement was signed between the CACCGP, the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce of Chile and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

The agreement will establish a new level of partnership between the Greater Philadelphia region and Chile and will create jobs and promote mutual business growth.