SEATTLE, WA - PRINCETON, NJ (March 9, 2012) - Saltchuk Resources has promoted Anthony Chiarello, to president & CEO of TOTE, Inc..

TOTE, Inc. is the largest of six operating groups owned by Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and includes five companies organized in maritime, logistics and ship management lines of business.

“Anthony’s vision and leadership is key to the future of TOTE, Inc. We are pleased to recognize his role in the industry and value to our organization with this promotion to president and CEO,” said Tim Engle, Saltchuk president.

“The unanimous board decision to promote Anthony to president and CEO is a clear indication of our belief in his leadership and support of the direction he is taking the TOTE, Inc. organization,” said Engle.

Chiarello, who accepted the top leadership position at TOTE, Inc. just 18 months ago, has already lead a realignment of the organization’s five operating companies in to three distinct lines of business: TOTE Maritime, TOTE Ship Management and TOTE Logistics. In February, TOTE, Inc. announced a full rebrand from its former moniker American Shipping Group.

The industry veteran was previously COO and executive vice president of NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc. Prior to his position with NYK, he was the senior vice president, Global Customer Development for AMB Property Corporation.

Chiarello serves on the Board of Visitors for the Northeastern University School of Business and the Board of Directors for the Villanova School of Business, Center for Global Leadership. Other industry involvement includes leadership participation with the Retail Industry Leaders Association; the Board of Advisors for the United States Merchant Marine Academy; Board member of CRT (Coalition for Responsible Transportation); past facilitator for the annual AAPA/MARAD/NAWE Terminal Management Training Program, and participation as an active member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

About TOTE, Inc. - TOTE, Inc., a subsidiary of Seattle based Saltchuk Resources, is based out of Princeton, NJ. It operates five companies organized in to three lines of business; TOTE Maritime, TOTE Logistics and TOTE Ship Management. TOTE Maritime companies Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line bring unmatched reliability and service to the Alaska and Puerto Rico markets. TOTE Logistics companies Alta Logistics and Spectrum Logistics ensure freight arrives in perfect condition to some of the world’s most challenging destinations. TOTE Ship Management representing Interocean American Shipping, offers crewing and technical services to meet the needs of commercial, privately owned and U.S. Government vessels.

CONTACT:
Darcy Anderson
Senior Executive Assistant
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O: 253-449-8145

We are pleased to announce that effective February 27, 2012, Marc Rogers will join Interstate Distributor Co. (IDC) as President and CEO. Marc joins IDC from his most recent position as Senior Vice President of the van truckload division of Schneider National in Green Bay, WI. He had accountability for over $1 billion in revenue providing truckload services with more than 7,000 drivers, 800 office associates, and 18 operating centers across North America.

Marc began his transportation career at Knight Transportation in Phoenix, AZ, in 1998. He worked in a number of roles during his tenure at Knight including safety, marketing, sales, and director of customer service. After leading Knight’s largest and most profitable division based in California, Marc joined Schneider in 2007 as Vice President of regional services. At Schneider, Marc transformed its transportation business from a strictly long-haul provider to a provider of regional services across the country, driving improved results in safety, service, and overall profitability.

I’m extremely excited to join IDC and the Saltchuk family of businesses, stated Rogers. "Our emphasis at Interstate will be to focus our energy and effort on safety first, service always, and delivering operationally excellent results that build a profitable brand for our associates, customers, and shareholders."

Marc and his wife, Allyson, will make their home in the Tacoma area with their five children.

After conducting an extensive search, we are thrilled to have Marc Rogers join our senior management team, and we are confident that Interstate will continue to grow and prosper under his leadership.

Tim Engle
Interstate Chairman

Federal Way, WA, February 13, 2012 - James Armstrong has joined TOTE, Inc. as President for TOTE Logistics. Armstrong comes from Southern California where he served as Senior Vice President, General Manager, Warehousing at Yusen Logistics (Americas), Inc. He brings a strong background in transportation and logistics services and has held key leadership roles within the Maersk global organization in the USA, Canada and Asia.

TOTE, Inc. oversees five independently managed companies, organized in to three business lines: Maritime, Logistics and Ship Management. TOTE Maritime includes companies Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line, TOTE Ship Management oversees Interocean American Shipping; and TOTE Logistics represents Alta Logistics and Spectrum Logistics companies.

www.toteinc.com / www.shipalta.com / www.spectrumlogistics.us

Contact:
Darcy Anderson
253-449-8145

Princeton, NJ– February 8, 2012 - On January 1, 2012 American Shipping Group underwent a dramatic transformation. The company, formerly known as ASG, became TOTE, Inc., and experienced a makeover in logo, look and structure.

Seeing opportunity for market growth, TOTE, Inc. organized its five independently managed businesses in to three groups: Maritime, Logistics and Ship Management.

• TOTE Maritime: Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line
• TOTE Ship Management: Interocean American Shipping
• TOTE Logistics: Alta Logistics and Spectrum Logistics

For now, each company will retain their name, logo and independent branding. The strengths of the individual companies will be enhanced by marketing and sales efforts for the overall portfolio by all TOTE, Inc., affiliated companies.

Choosing to adopt the TOTE name was an easy decision for the organization. "We felt the "America…" name was somewhat limiting with our goal of expanding our logistics services beyond the USA. Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) has a very strong brand in the trade it services. It is highly respected so it was an easy decision to utilize that strong brand for the overall parent company branding," said TOTE, Inc. President Anthony Chiarello.

Totem Ocean Trailer Express was founded in 1975 and offers twice-weekly cargo ship operations between the Port of Tacoma, Washington and the Port of Anchorage, Alaska. The company represents the foundation a much larger Seattle-based operation, Saltchuk Resources. Saltchuk was founded in 1982 with the acquisition of Totem Ocean Trailer Express from Sun Ships. Since then, Saltchuk has grown their portfolio to over twenty independent companies, organized in to six operating groups, TOTE, Inc. being one of them.

The future of TOTE, Inc. is in growing and diversifying an already successful operation. "We will always be interested in expansion of our core maritime businesses - and our clients continue to ask us to provide more than just ocean transportation services," said Chiarello, "TOTE Logistics is the vehicle by which our value added service offering will be managed and developed beyond what we offer today. Our hope with TOTE Ship Management is to expand both our government supported efforts as well as our private sector fleet management services."

In January, TOTE announced that James Armstrong has joined TOTE Inc. as President for TOTE Logistics. Armstrong comes from southern California where he served as Senior Vice President, General Manager, Warehousing at Yusen Logistics (Americas), Inc. He brings a strong background in transportation and logistics services and has held key leadership roles within the Maersk global organization in the USA, Canada and Asia.

Soon thereafter, Kevin D. Kendrick was named Chief Commercial Officer for TOTE, Inc. Kendrick will establish and drive the overall commercial strategy for all operating companies within the TOTE, Inc. organization. Prior to joining TOTE, Inc., Kendrick served as the vice president of the Southeast Region for Damco, USA Inc. Kendrick had been with the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group since 1991, holding various sales development and management roles before joining the Group’s Logistics team in 2001. He was the Director and Senior Director of Maersk Logistics before being named Vice President of Damco.

TOTE, Inc.'s new look makes its debut this month at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) annual trade conference February 19-22.

For an overview of the TOTE, Inc. companies, visit www.toteinc.com.

Tug retrofitted to use patented hybrid technology

SEATTLE, January 18, 2012 — A second Foss Maritime Co. hybrid tug will soon be working the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Foss once again partnered with Aspin Kemp and Associates (AKA) to retrofit the Campbell Foss with this proven, patented hybrid technology.

The tug is the first vessel to be retrofitted with motor generators, batteries and control systems at Foss' Rainier, Ore. shipyard. The Campbell Foss will join its award-winning hybrid sister, the Carolyn Dorothy, which has been bringing cleaner air and greater fuel efficiency to Southern California communities since 2009. The launch marks another step in hybrid technology's evolution and allows Foss to provide "Green Assists" to its customers in San Pedro Bay.

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are partnering with Foss to bring the second hybrid to San Pedro Bay with help from a $1 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) under the AB 118 Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP)

The Campbell Foss represents an important upgrade in hybrid and environmental technology, said Richard Cameron, head of environmental planning at the Port of Long Beach. "We believe it will build on the success of the Carolyn Dorothy, which is already proving its value here."

With intensive testing, we demonstrated that the hybrid technology in use on the first hybrid tug was very effective in reducing emissions, said Richard Corey, Deputy Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board. "We are very pleased that the Carolyn Dorothy will soon be joined in San Pedro Bay by a second hybrid using the same proven technology. Use of these proven hybrid technologies brings us one step closer to achieving our longer term goals for a zero emission freight transportation system."

Gary Faber, president and COO of Foss said, "Our company is committed to hybrid technology. We believe it is good for the environment - and for our community."

The Carolyn Dorothy was introduced in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in January of 2009 as an innovative approach to reducing air pollution. Both the Carolyn Dorothy and the Campbell Foss are designed to retain the power and maneuverability of their non-hybrid Dolphin class sister tugs, while dramatically reducing emissions, noise and fuel consumption.

This kind of public-private partnership with Foss Maritime Company will not only support the emission reduction goals of our Clean Air Action Plan, it will also further the advancement of clean technologies for operation of harbor craft everywhere, said Chris Cannon, Director of Environmental Management for the Port of Los Angeles.

Partnership to create jobs; bring modern vessel to vital transportation link

SEATTLE, WA, January 5, 2012- Foss Maritime Company is joining with Washington state and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation to build a state-of-the-art replacement for an aging 63-year-old ferry that's been a vital cross-Columbia River transportation link.

The unique partnership between Foss and the Washington State Department of Transportation includes the Confederated Tribes whose members will participate in the vessel's final assembly work.

Gary Faber, president and COO of Foss, said the project's benefits will have a ripple effect across the state: "The Foss bid is good for the Northwest economy as it creates jobs at our shipyard near Longview and in Eastern Washington, and we'll deliver a highly efficient new ferry to serve a vital cross-Columbia transportation link."

Faber added that Foss is looking forward to working with the Confederated Tribes. He noted the company's relationship with Makah Nation on the Olympic Peninsula, where Foss maintains an emergency response towing vessel on tribal land.

Faber said, "Foss is Washington-based and we work closely with sovereign nations in Puget Sound and throughout the Northwest and Alaska - it is part of our company's heritage." Colville Tribal members are pre-approved for apprenticeships for the new ferry construction project, Faber said.

The new ferry will replace the Martha S., which launched in 1948. The Keller Ferry crosses the Columbia River at its confluence with the Sanpoil River from Ferry County and the Colville Indian Reservation on the north bank to Lincoln County on the south. Approximately 60,000 vehicles travel each year on the Keller Ferry, which is a link in a rural highway, State Route 21.

According to Foss officials, the construction will commence in early 2012 at the company's Rainier, Ore., shipyard, on the Columbia River near Longview. There, the vessel's aluminum hull and systems will be constructed and pre-fabricated, then sectioned into three modules and shipped by road transport to the final assembly site located at Crescent Bay on Lake Roosevelt. Final assembly and testing will take place at Crescent Bay beginning in fall of 2012, with vessel delivery scheduled for May 2013.

Foss will manage the Crescent Bay phase of the work, and will partner with the Confederated Tribes to do the work.

Visit the Keller Ferry Replacement project page for more details.

Foss Maritime and Aspin Kemp & Associates receive U.S. patent protection for hybrid marine propulsion and energy management system.

SEATTLE, January 5, 2012 — Foss Maritime Company and Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) with their technology partner XeroPoint Energy, have received U.S. patent protection for their hybrid propulsion and energy management system. Foss, which owns and operates one of the largest tug and barge fleets on the U.S. West Coast, partnered with AKA, a Canadian system integrator and marine engineering company, in developing this innovative technology.

The hybrid propulsion and energy management system has been proven to significantly reduce emissions, fuel consumption and equipment maintenance for marine vessels. The award-winning hybrid technology draws energy from various sources to optimize system operations across a wide range of propulsive load demands.

Diesel engines are designed to optimally perform at or near their full load design point, said Paul Jamer, VP of Corporate Development at AKA. "However, many marine vessels operate under variable load requirements. Our system provides operators with the flexibility of a diesel electric system and the simplicity of a conventional system, without the cost or footprint of a traditional full diesel electric installation."

Foss built the first hybrid tugboat, Carolyn Dorothy, and has successfully converted a second vessel, Campbell Foss, to a hybrid at its shipyard in Rainier, Oregon. Both of these vessels use the AKA energy management system to provide Green Assists(TM) to customers in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

The hybrid propulsion and energy management system is patented under U.S. Patent 8,062,081 and additional international patents are pending.