Port of Lewiston advertises itself to companies working in oil fields
Posted: Thursday, March 28, 2013 12:00 am
By ELAINE WILLIAMS of the Tribune | 0 comments
The Port of Lewiston is buying ink to market itself as a link to oil fields in North Dakota and Montana.
Port commissioners decided Wednesday to spend $5,800 on ads that will appear in Williston, N.D., and Sidney, Mont., newspapers over a six-week period this spring.
A map showing that it’s 465 miles by barge between Portland, Ore., and Lewiston – and 800 miles by truck to Williston using U.S. highways 12 and 95 and Interstate 90 – will be featured in the ads.
“I’m pleased with what we put together. I’m anxious to give it a shot,” said Port Manager David Doeringsfeld.
The port hasn’t handled any cargo bound for the oil fields, but it has received about six calls in the past three months inquiring about the possibility.
Some of the equipment used in the oil fields now is manufactured on the Pacific Rim, then taken through the Panama Canal to enter the United States in Houston, Doeringsfeld said.
The $5,800 is less costly than other methods used to reach companies working in the oil fields. A booth at a trade show for this business segment, for instance, would run about $5,000, not counting travel and other expenses.
“It’s advertising,” Doeringsfeld said, “The measurement will be the phone and what we receive in inquiries.”
Most people in the Midwest likely are unaware that Idaho even has a port, Commissioner Jerry Klemm said.
“We’ve got to do the outreach,” he said. “No one is going to look in a phone book for a port.”
Port Commissioner Mike Thomason recommended sending a copy of the ad to economic development groups in Montana and North Dakota to give it broader distribution.
“This is a good first step,” said Port Commission President Mary Hasenoehrl. “I think we need to do more than this.”
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Williams may be contacted at
[email protected] or (208) 848-2261.