We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Freight, football, and the Farrelly Brothers
inbound

Freight, football, and the Farrelly Brothers

November 8, 2011
Toby Gooley
No Comments

Logistics and transportation conferences generally are staid affairs, filled with chart-laden presentations from experts and serious speeches about the state of the industry. But occasionally there are memorable moments of levity, as the 200 attendees at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) 10th Annual Northeast Cargo Symposium can appreciate.

The first sign that the Nov. 3 event would be no ordinary meeting was the venue: a private club at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., with a superb view of the New England Patriots' home field and a red-white-and-blue color scheme enhanced by bigger-than-life murals of players in action.

The keynote speaker was Dan Kraft, CEO of International Forest Products (IFP), the original business of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his family. The younger Kraft described the privately held company's global operations, noting that it is the 30th largest U.S. exporter, sells its wood and paper products in more than 80 countries, and sources in more than 30, including such atypical locations as Croatia and Belgium.

Then the logistics-savvy CEO explained IPF's shipping volumes in novel terms. One ton, Kraft noted, is equivalent to "6.8 Vince Wilforks" (the Patriots' 325-pound defensive tackle); IPF ships "the equivalent of 14 million Vince Wilforks of pulp and paper annually, or 22 million Wes Welkers" (the considerably lighter-weight and top-caliber wide receiver).

Kraft kept the laughter going when he compared an arrow-filled map of IFP's complicated global trade flows to a page from the Patriots' play book, suggesting that perhaps the football side of the business has unduly influenced IFP's international trade operations.

Football wasn't the only entertaining subject at the conference, however. CONECT presented its annual "Persons of the Year" awards to two well-known experts: the late Donald F. Cameron, the longtime director of transportation and logistics at Cabot Corp. and Bose Corp. and the National Industrial Transportation League's 1995 "Man of the Year"; and Anne Neary, import manager for the regional retailer Christmas Tree Shops, who is retiring after a 52-year career in international trade.

What's so funny about that? Neary's nephews, it turns out, are Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the writers and producers of such comedies as "There's Something About Mary," "Dumb and Dumber," and the upcoming "Three Stooges" film. Unbeknownst to Neary, the brothers had filmed a "Two-Minute Tribute to Aunt Anne" to be shown at the awards ceremony.

Predictably, the video was rife with jokes and mischievous references to family history. There was even some international trade-related humor. First they suggested that the ocean carrier United States Lines' 1986 bankruptcy filing occurred suspiciously soon after Neary helped one of them get a job there. The brothers also said they were surprised (and grateful) that during their supposed "drug-running days" Aunt Anne never questioned why they wanted to add a few "bales of hay" to her inbound containers of giftware from the Far East.

The brothers' fictitious tale left the audience (including Neary) almost teary-eyed with laughter.

Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    The brewing battle over the HMT

    Problem: Getting a new business off the ground

    The rocky road to Rio: What shippers need to know about doing business in Brazil

Contributing Editor Toby Gooley is a writer and editor specializing in supply chain, logistics, and material handling, and a lecturer at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics. She previously was Senior Editor at DC VELOCITY and Editor of DCV's sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. Prior to joining AGiLE Business Media in 2007, she spent 20 years at Logistics Management magazine as Managing Editor and Senior Editor covering international trade and transportation. Prior to that she was an export traffic manager for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University.

Recent Articles by Toby Gooley

Better together

Rightsizing your forklift fleet in uncertain times

National Forklift Safety Day 2020 focuses on safety best practices

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Biden names dozens of senior leaders to DOT, including FMCSA and FRA

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 18 21 thumb

LTL Carriers Using Yield Management Techniques to Identify New Accessorial Charges

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
As we head into 2021, shippers are not too optimistic about negotiating rates with their carriers. The reason for this, as highlighted in the three CODE RED Webcasts we've hosted with our friends from CSCMP and NASSTRAC, is that in today's transportation marketplace, shippers are operating in uncharted waters. With...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing