The Anders Williams and Company story is rich in history and an American success story. Company founder Anders Williams was born in Norway in 1879. Early in his life, he trained for a career around ships and at the age of 16, he took to the sea. By 1913, Anders Williams was a Captain for the Wilhelm Line, sailing throughout German submarine-infested seas. In 1917, Captain Anders Williams and his wife Frances boarded the S.S. New York from England bound for the United States. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., the Captain and his family settled into Norfolk, Virginia working for the Henry A. Kassel Company. Although maintaining ties to Norway as an Honorary Consulate, Captain Anders Williams became entrenched in Norfolk, Virginia’s maritime history and an important factor in the growth of the commercial Port of Hampton Roads.

In 1924, Anders Williams bought the Norfolk branch of the Henry A. Kassel Company, a ship chandler service and formed Anders Williams and Company. Providing supplies and equipment to the ships that visited Hampton Roads the company and the Williams family would grow to be major influences in the growth of the port. Throughout Anders Williams and Company’s history, the company has expanded to include four additional companies with distinct areas of focus: Marine Oil Service, founded in 1958 when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was being constructed, is the largest distributor of marine lubricants on the East Coast of the United States; Anders Williams Ship Agency, which grew to be the largest vessel agency in the port during the 1980’s, was founded in 1960;  Port City Transportation, founded in 1981 as a trucking company to efficiently move the goods to and from the port, has offices throughout the southeastern states; and Anders Williams Resources Inc., which handles coal forwarding, was the coal forwarding agent involved in the largest shipment of coal to depart from Hampton Roads.

Nearly a century after Anders Williams founded his company this family business continues to be an important influence in every aspect of shipping. The years of experience has enabled Anders Williams and Company to build a worldwide network providing the ability to coordinate all your shipping needs. Whether the task is to get your containerized goods to a location halfway around the world, coordinating your coal forwarding needs, or to lubricate your vessel with hard to find product, Anders Williams can provide the total logistic solution.