Port revs up growth with Calif. auto shipper

PALMETTO — Port Manatee officials scored a major victory with the announcement that The Pasha Group, a global shipping firm, will develop a full-service vehicle processing facility at the port.

The northern California-based firm, according to a release, aims to serve automakers, carriers and others that seek the shortest route between Mexican production facilities and Florida. Port Manatee is in north Manatee County, in Palmetto.

“We see Port Manatee as strategic in our portfolio of key locations for the continued growth of our corporation for the long term,” Pasha Automotive Services Senior Vice President John Pasha says in the statement. “Port Manatee offers a strategic Gulf Coast location for ocean access, facilities and distribution for both import and export automobiles.”

Port Manatee officials and the company signed a memo of understanding on the deal Sept. 19. The initial agreement between the port and Pasha calls for joint marketing of a 172,500-square-foot vehicle processing facility and development of a terminal of at least 30 contiguous acres, expandable to up 100 acres, the release states.

“Port Manatee will be able to get autos and other cargos from Mexico to the Florida market faster and more cost-effectively than any other Florida port,” Port Manatee Executive Director Carlos Buqueras says in the statement. “In addition, we anticipate export opportunities into Latin America.”

The Pasha Group, based in Corte Madera, Calif., was founded in 1947. It provides global logistics and transportation services for finished and privately owned vehicles, marine terminal management and stevedoring.