SHIP :: Features

By Jack Sherzer

The requests from area companies kept coming, recalled Stephen Holoviak, dean of the John L. Grove College of Business.

Central Pennsylvania, with its excellent highways—and a mere eight-hour drive from a majority of the nation’s population—was seeing ever-increasing demand by firms specializing in swiftly getting all sorts of goods to market.

Up and down Interstate 81, in and around Shippensburg, millions of feet of warehousing has been built or is planned, trucking operations were expanding and, perhaps most important for the university, the demand for highly skilled workers was growing just as fast.

“This is a high-paying, growth industry,’’ Holoviak said. “In a one-day drive from Shippensburg, you can reach 68 percent of America’s population. That’s why this area is working well and we are very well located to take advantage of that success.’’

And as Central Pennsylvania becomes a more important hub in the chain connecting the factory or place of import to final market, the demand for skilled, college-educated workers keeps growing as well.

“The old vision was you had a forklift operator and a bunch of racks, but in today’s world there’s little of that,’’ Holoviak said, explaining that the emphasis is on moving goods quickly, without building large inventories. That takes skillful computerized coordination. “They may look like big boxes on the outside, but they are all different in what they do on the inside.’’

So in response to the demand for skilled workers, Holoviak reached out to the area business community. Working together, the faculty of the John L. Grove College of Business and professionals in the field crafted the Supply Chain Operations and Management program.

“I thought it was great and I welcomed the opportunity to get involved,’’ said Douglas Enck, president and CEO of Arnold Logistics, which manages 3.8 million feet of warehouse space in central Pennsylvania.

“The job opportunities for the students are significant,’’ Enck said. “From the industry side, we are always looking for highly motivated, intelligent folks with a supply chain background. Our company is growing double-digit, year after year.’’

Among the topics Enck said Shippensburg’s supply chain courses cover are statistical analysis and review; information about the country’s transportation infrastructure and network; and issues surrounding import and export.

“I’ve been pleased with the relationship with the university,’’ Enck said, adding that in addition to using interns from the program, his company’s human relations manager, loss control and security director, and vice president of packaging operations are Shippensburg graduates. “It has been a successful, collaborative effort between academia and private industry.’’

Angela Arnold, 20, and a junior in the program who interned last summer at Arnold Logistics, said the interplay between the university and area companies is invaluable to students.

“It’s incredibly important because you see how things really work,’’ Arnold said, referring to both the internships and the field trips students take to different companies. “It’s good that students can see it for real, you don’t have to just look at a textbook.’’

Arnold, who said she’s always been interested in manufacturing and supply and who had worked part-time dispatching for a trucking firm before her internship, worked in Arnold Logistics’ trucking division last summer. During the internship, she helped schedule inbound and outbound loads, assisted in billing, and entered driver log information into the computer. This coming summer, she’s looking forward to another internship with the firm, this time working in inventory control.

The president of the student chapter of the Association of Operations Management, Arnold said after she graduates she’d like to work overseas in import and export. Working toward that goal, Arnold will be studying next semester in South Korea.

“It’s an excellent program,’’ Arnold said of Supply Chain and Operations Management. “I’m proud to be part of it.’’

Central Pennsylvania’s growing importance as a major distribution hub has not been universally applauded, though. Recently, some citizen groups have objected to increased warehouse construction, and at least one project was dropped because of opposition.

But if development is planned well, warehousing is far more benign than other kinds of industrial uses.

Paul Marr, an associate geography professor, is studying the impact of warehousing under a $10,000 grant from the university’s Center for Land Use.

The biggest problem seen so far, Marr said, are that in some areas trucks need to use side streets instead of having a closer shot from the highway to the warehouse. Some highway ramps are also too short, not allowing a truck enough room to get up to speed to safely merge into traffic.

Marr said the study should be done by this summer and that while he believes there will be some negative impacts, there is no denying the positive economic benefits.

“We’re seeing the types of jobs in the warehousing industry changing,’’ Marr said. “Warehouses tend to be more computerized and they have just-in-time delivery and you have to be able to keep track of where things are. All this plays into a higher skill level that workers have to have, so they command a higher salary.’’

Kirk Stoner, director of planning for Cumberland County, said as long as municipalities properly zone for warehousing, the industry brings a benefit to the area. When land near the interstate is used, so trucks do not have to travel far into neighborhoods off the highway, there are not the negatives.

And with Central Pennsylvania’s crucial highway network, the area is going to see increased truck traffic regardless.

“A lot of the traffic we see out there is through traffic,’’ Stoner said. “If we have warehouses here, at least we’re getting the benefits of jobs and employment.’’

The benefit has been considerable. Since the late 1990s, more than 4,000 jobs have been created just in the area around Exit 44 off Interstate 81 in the North Middleton area. South Middleton, Dickinson, and Carlisle have also seen growth, he said.

“It came at a time when our electronics industry was in decline and it helped keep our area economically sustainable,’’ Stoner said. “A lot of warehouses in the county are highly automated and computerized and they are paying a family-sustaining wage, and in many cases a pretty good wage.’’

Michael J. Judge, general manager of Allen Distribution in Carlisle and on the supply chain program’s advisory board, praised the university for recognizing the opportunity for students.

“In the Central Pennsylvania region alone, the amount of square footage of distribution space has grown by 10 million-square-feet plus in the last several years and another five to 10 million-square-feet have either been approved for construction or are being considered,’’ Judge said.

“Central Pennsylvania is going to be a key distribution hub for a long time and this is a way we can keep graduates, with degrees in supply chain and logistics, in our area,’’ Judge said. “I would say to some extent the industry is being limited in growth now by the unavailability of qualified folks.’’

C.R. Delutis, vice president of special services for Roadway Express, which has an operation in Carlisle, said he welcomed Shippensburg taking the initiative to set up the program.

“There is a great need for transportation and logistics people in Central Pennsylvania,’’ said Delutis, who is also on the program’s advisory board. “I see the field continuing to grow, and I think Shippensburg exercised great timing.’’

Jack Sherzer is a writer who lives in Harrisburg and writes for the Patriot News.




			By Jack Sherzer The requests from area companies kept coming, recalled Stephen Holoviak, dean of the John L. Grove College of Business. Central Pennsylvania, with its excellent highways—and a mere eight-hour drive from a majority of the nation’s population—was seeing ever-increasing demand by firms specializing in swiftly getting all sorts of goods to market. Up and down Interstate 81, in and around Shippensburg, millions of feet of warehousing has been built or is planned, trucking operations were expanding and, perhaps most important for the university, the demand for highly skilled workers was growing just as fast. “This is a high-paying, growth industry,’’ Holoviak said. “In a one-day drive from Shippensburg, you can reach 68 percent of America’s population. That’s why this area is working well and we are very well located to take advantage of that success.’’ And as Central Pennsylvania becomes a more important hub in the chain connecting the factory or place of import to final market, the demand for skilled, college-educated workers keeps growing as well. “The old vision was you had a forklift operator and a bunch of racks, but in today’s world there’s little of that,’’ Holoviak said, explaining that the emphasis is on moving goods quickly, without building large inventories. That takes skillful computerized coordination. “They may look like big boxes on the outside, but they are all different in what they do on the inside.’’ So in response to the demand for skilled workers, Holoviak reached out to the area business community. Working together, the faculty of the John L. Grove College of Business and professionals in the field crafted the Supply Chain Operations and Management program. “I thought it was great and I welcomed the opportunity to get involved,’’ said Douglas Enck, president and CEO of Arnold Logistics, which manages 3.8 million feet of warehouse space in central Pennsylvania. “The job opportunities for the students are significant,’’ Enck said. “From the industry side, we are always looking for highly motivated, intelligent folks with a supply chain background. Our company is growing double-digit, year after year.’’ Among the topics Enck said Shippensburg’s supply chain courses cover are statistical analysis and review; information about the country’s transportation infrastructure and network; and issues surrounding import and export. “I’ve been pleased with the relationship with the university,’’ Enck said, adding that in addition to using interns from the program, his company’s human relations manager, loss control and security director, and vice president of packaging operations are Shippensburg graduates. “It has been a successful, collaborative effort between academia and private industry.’’ Angela Arnold, 20, and a junior in the program who interned last summer at Arnold Logistics, said the interplay between the university and area companies is invaluable to students. “It’s incredibly important because you see how things really work,’’ Arnold said, referring to both the internships and the field trips students take to different companies. “It’s good that students can see it for real, you don’t have to just look at a textbook.’’ Arnold, who said she’s always been interested in manufacturing and supply and who had worked part-time dispatching for a trucking firm before her internship, worked in Arnold Logistics’ trucking division last summer. During the internship, she helped schedule inbound and outbound loads, assisted in billing, and entered driver log information into the computer. This coming summer, she’s looking forward to another internship with the firm, this time working in inventory control. The president of the student chapter of the Association of Operations Management, Arnold said after she graduates she’d like to work overseas in import and export. Working toward that goal, Arnold will be studying next semester in South Korea. “It’s an excellent program,’’ Arnold said of Supply Chain and Operations Management. “I’m proud to be part of it.’’ Central Pennsylvania’s growing importance as a major distribution hub has not been universally applauded, though. Recently, some citizen groups have objected to increased warehouse construction, and at least one project was dropped because of opposition. But if development is planned well, warehousing is far more benign than other kinds of industrial uses. Paul Marr, an associate geography professor, is studying the impact of warehousing under a $10,000 grant from the university’s Center for Land Use. The biggest problem seen so far, Marr said, are that in some areas trucks need to use side streets instead of having a closer shot from the highway to the warehouse. Some highway ramps are also too short, not allowing a truck enough room to get up to speed to safely merge into traffic. Marr said the study should be done by this summer and that while he believes there will be some negative impacts, there is no denying the positive economic benefits. “We’re seeing the types of jobs in the warehousing industry changing,’’ Marr said. “Warehouses tend to be more computerized and they have just-in-time delivery and you have to be able to keep track of where things are. All this plays into a higher skill level that workers have to have, so they command a higher salary.’’ Kirk Stoner, director of planning for Cumberland County, said as long as municipalities properly zone for warehousing, the industry brings a benefit to the area. When land near the interstate is used, so trucks do not have to travel far into neighborhoods off the highway, there are not the negatives. And with Central Pennsylvania’s crucial highway network, the area is going to see increased truck traffic regardless. “A lot of the traffic we see out there is through traffic,’’ Stoner said. “If we have warehouses here, at least we’re getting the benefits of jobs and employment.’’ The benefit has been considerable. Since the late 1990s, more than 4,000 jobs have been created just in the area around Exit 44 off Interstate 81 in the North Middleton area. South Middleton, Dickinson, and Carlisle have also seen growth, he said. “It came at a time when our electronics industry was in decline and it helped keep our area economically sustainable,’’ Stoner said. “A lot of warehouses in the county are highly automated and computerized and they are paying a family-sustaining wage, and in many cases a pretty good wage.’’ Michael J. Judge, general manager of Allen Distribution in Carlisle and on the supply chain program’s advisory board, praised the university for recognizing the opportunity for students. “In the Central Pennsylvania region alone, the amount of square footage of distribution space has grown by 10 million-square-feet plus in the last several years and another five to 10 million-square-feet have either been approved for construction or are being considered,’’ Judge said. “Central Pennsylvania is going to be a key distribution hub for a long time and this is a way we can keep graduates, with degrees in supply chain and logistics, in our area,’’ Judge said. “I would say to some extent the industry is being limited in growth now by the unavailability of qualified folks.’’ C.R. Delutis, vice president of special services for Roadway Express, which has an operation in Carlisle, said he welcomed Shippensburg taking the initiative to set up the program. “There is a great need for transportation and logistics people in Central Pennsylvania,’’ said Delutis, who is also on the program’s advisory board. “I see the field continuing to grow, and I think Shippensburg exercised great timing.’’ Jack Sherzer is a writer who lives in Harrisburg and writes for the Patriot News.