The Sleeping Giant Wakes

VinKing Marine Enterprises Inc. is a name that often draws a double take. For anyone in marine transport and ­marine ­industries in general, the company warrants a ­second look. In particular, VinKing’s colorful and ­imposing CEO, Dan Villeneuve, brings a personal and business history that, as often as not, turns a fifteen-minute ­introductory meeting into a two-hour journey into the realm of ­mind-expanding ­possibilities.

VinKing’s tagline—Vision, ­Opportunity, ­Synergy—stands on no measure of ­pretense. In fact, it accurately summarizes the ­company’s modus operandi. The ­company’s vision comes from a global perspective ­cultivated by a long and dizzying itinerary of international travel and networking. The ­result is a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and ­investors, who are all able to see as clearly as their intrepid leader that a can-do attitude ­coupled with an objective intelligence are the ­fundamentals of success. Therein lays the difference ­between dreaming and ­visualization. In concrete terms, this vantage point has brought into focus ­opportunities in ­Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic region of Canada, and ­northeastern North America, which unless ­considered in that entire context are hardly visible—like a stingray buried in the sand. The irony is that the greatest challenge in reviving what was an apparently moribund yet valuable resource is keeping up with the momentum of the thing once it decides to make its move.

Port Harmon is an example of how any ­movement, where previously none ­apparently existed, suddenly attracts attention. The first question always is why after such a long ­history of hit-and-miss is this port so well situated for growth particularly in these ­hard-pressed times? VinKing would ­argue that the ­confluence of trends in international shipping and market distribution, ­considered in relation to regional logistics and resource development, places this very large port (four times the size of St. John’s harbor) at a key vector in a global ­distribution ­model built around the advent of transglobal trade. This is an argument ­supported by a tenfold increase in the dollar value of the adjacent land in the past twelve months.

It may be one thing to see something ­happening. It is another to be prepared to take advantage of the event. In this case, years of experience in large-scale ­business ­development paired with a global ­network of business and finance leaders, not only places the opportunity in relief, it ­decides the ­casting for the spectator ­versus ­entrepreneur. ­Decades of getting ready and a five-year running start were required to be the first to jump on board. Now the ­company is offering a hand-up to ­anyone ­wanting to get on board by offering ­significant competitive advantages to ­companies leasing land and facilities at the port.

A key aspect of the VinKing business ­strategy is a proven business cluster port ­development model which takes ­advantages of synergies among intermodal ­transport and marine-­related industries. In ­addition, for the North American northeast ­including Atlantic Canada the broader VinKing ­model offers an ­alternative to conventional overland hub and spoke ­distribution for the region that has attracted the ­attention of the largest logistics companies.

Success on this scale tends to be infectious. Developments in West Coast oil and gas, in the vast resources of Labrador, and in the ­Arctic, all require multimodal ­transport, ­storage, and handling. Such large-scale ­activities would require regional ­feedering ­services, which could breathe new life into a number of port facilities within the ­region ­currently operating below capacity. ­Consequently, provincial and federal government ­leaders and officials are eager and actively ­seeking to play a role in the VinKing vision in ­Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond.

The company’s logo—a Viking ship ­emerging from a sea mist—is perhaps the most ­appropriate symbol. No one saw this one ­coming. But now that it has arrived, it will no doubt be seen either as a force to be reckoned with or as an invitation to catch the same wave. It will be ­interesting to watch Mr. Villeneuve and his VinKing crew as they ride this one to the beach.