Escambia County Business Journal SPEC I A L R EPORT
WIND IN ITS SAILS Turbine business boosts activity at Port of Pensacola BY BOB FERRANTE
28
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SPRING 2021
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850businessmagazine.com
to businesses with deep roots in Pensacola have weighed in on a fundamental question: Where should the port focus its efforts? “We do want to be a viable deep-water port,” said Clark Merritt, the deputy port director. “And we do support local and regional businesses in the importing and exporting of products and materials.” Despite it modest size, the Port of Pensacola has seen phenomenal growth in the last year. Wind turbine components have helped fuel the port’s surge.
Consider these numbers, comparing 20ı9 to 2020: 534 percent increase in wind turbine generators ı43 percent rise in wind turbine nacelles ı09 percent expansion in “break bulk” cargo 47.5 percent rise in the number of vessels in port 28.6 percent increase in total cargo
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PORT OF PENSACOLA
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he Port of Pensacola is not a place where cruise ships berth. It is not a big container port. Because of its size, Pensacola is not a destination comparable to Tampa, Mobile or Houston. But the Port of Pensacola has a significant role to play in connecting small businesses and multinational corporations to global trade routes — from China and Brazil to the Bahamas and Israel. Still, everyone from the mayor to port officials
