Not just any port in a storm
Like many businesses, award-winning port owner and operator PD Ports has had 12 difficult months of trading. But Teesport is shaping up for future growth, says David Robinson.
THIS time last year Teesport, part of PD Ports Group and the UK’s third largest port by volume, was celebrating the signing of a deal with the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco.
This deal secured a contract to see Tesco build a 1.2m sq ft import centre on brownfield land at the port. Today, this facility is underway with a recruitment drive to employ some 800 people and the opening of phase one will be celebrated later this summer.
The project has made exceptional progress and, when in operation, will handle Tesco’s non-food items, such as electrical goods, many of them imported from the Far East.
When PD Ports’ first phase of the Northern Gateway Deep Sea Container Terminal (NGCT) is operational, in a few years’ time, deep-sea shipping lines will have the ability for their ships to call directly to Teesport, carrying goods such as those destined for the Tesco import centre.
We strongly believe goods destined for Northern-based retail stores should be shipped to Northern ports. We also believe import centres at Teesport provide retailers with the most efficient and environmentally friendly supply chain possible.
By opening an import centre at Teesport, Tesco has adopted both these principles, and the local community is already seeing the benefits. In these tough economic times, Tesco remains a growing employer.
The idea of locating retail distribution centres on the dock land is a major new area of business. The concept is driven by what is termed “portcentric logistics”.
This means locating the storage and distribution of imported goods near the point of arrival at a UK port – avoiding slow handling and return of empty containers, as well as eradicating unnecessary UK road mileage.
Asda, which opened the first import centre at Teesport in 2005, has saved more than two million road miles by adopting the concept.
In the longer term, PD Ports is particularly interested in attracting the renewable and low carbon energy industries and has already had success with this area.
The port recently worked with MGT Power to gain local planning approvals for a 300 MW biomass plant, which will generate electricity by burning imported wood chip.
Currently wind farm equipment is being assembled on PDP land near Hartlepool, where we also have exciting development in offshore oil and gas activities.
The offshore capabilities at Teesport include a wide range of berths, both along the River Tees and within Hartlepool Dock, for all offshore related activities. At PD Ports we can offer lay-down areas for fabrications work, land for development and storage and supply bases.
The port has signed a 15-year lease with subsea cable manufacturer JDR Cables. JDR provides cable systems for the offshore oil, gas and wind farm sectors, and has established an operation on the deep water berth at Hartlepool Dock, due to open this month.
An existing PD Ports warehouse (100,000sq ft) at Hartlepool Dock has been converted into a state of the art cable manufacturing facility, employing about 80 staff.
Longer term, the port hopes to develop Hartlepool Docks as a major centre of excellence for the offshore support sector.
David Robinson is PD Ports’ group chief executive officer.
:: PD Ports, whose 56th position in the Top 250 is unchanged this year, is up for sale at an asking price of £450m by its Australian owner Babcock and Brown Infrastructure. BBI bought the business in 2005 for about £600m including debts.
