Port Manatee is adding a 2-acre cargo pad to support storage of prilled sulphur, a new commodity for the Florida Gulf Coast port.

Under an agreement signed Tuesday, June 16, with longtime port tenant Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment Inc., construction of the pad is slated to begin in September on the east side of Port Manatee.

A Palmetto, Fla.-based stevedoring and marine terminal operations firm, Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment has been a Port Manatee tenant since 2008, handling fertilizers, salt, potash and other bulk cargos.

With the new cargo pad, Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment will be able to begin handling prilled sulphur, a solid, spherically shaped commodity which can be used in the manufacture of fertilizers, plant protection products and sulfuric acid, as well as in the steel industry.

“This new pad will be the perfect location for storage of special commodities such as prilled sulphur,” said Richard Tager, Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment’s president. “We are looking forward to this partnership, which will help us grow our business and enable us to best serve our customers.”

Port Manatee’s executive director, Carlos Buqueras , commented, “We are excited about this project as it brings new business and new jobs to the port and the region. The shipments of this new commodity prove the capabilities of Port Manatee and exemplify the diversification strategy we are advancing.”

Located “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,” Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanding Panama Canal, serving bulk, breakbulk, container, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.