North East & Yorkshire

To Hull and back

The site of a former silo in Hull has been given a new lease of life thanks to a new state-of-the-art insulated transit warehouse.

The £3.5 million warehouse at King George Dock in the Port of Hull was completed in December 2011. The project was funded by Associated British Ports (ABP) Port of Hull and following the 21-week construction scheme, it is now the new base of operations for TransAtlantic along the Humber.

Work began on the construction of the 10-acre Design and Build terminal in July 2011 with Britcon as the main contractor. The building features a steel framework with insulated cladding and it will be used to store steel coils.

In addition to the warehouse, the project also included the refurbishment of a railway line that runs directly into the site. The railway line is now fully operational and will be used by TransAtlantic up to three times a week to transport products out of the warehouse.

External works included the installation of a canopy fitted to the front of the building and external paving around the site, which incorporated materials recovered from a previous development. Humidity controls and internal lighting were then installed inside the warehouse, followed by the relocation of two mobile harbor cranes.

With the warehouse now fully operational, TransAtlantic has relocated from its previous facility at the Port of Goole. The move was required due to an increase in the company’s trading output to Sweden, which the Goole site was unfortunately no longer able to accommodate.

ABP Port Director for Hull & Goole, Matt Jukes, said:

“After many successful years of operating at Goole, we were delighted to respond to TransAtlantic’s expansion plans through the investment at King George Dock, which will now further strengthen Hull’s role in Scandinavian trade.

“Although TransAtlantic has now left Goole, ABP is actively marketing its former terminal and we are in discussions with a number of companies who see Goole, the UK’s most inland port, as an exciting opportunity for new trade development.”

The Port of Hull is one of the UK’s leading foreign-trading ports and sees regular short-sea services operate to Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. The port also benefits from worldwide deep-sea connections and is the only passenger port on the Humber, handling nearly one million passengers per year. TransAtlantic will now operate its Trans Pal Line service from the port, which will call at Amsterdam and the Swedish ports of Västerås, Oxelösund, Norrköping and Åhus.

TransAtlantic UK Ltd Managing Director, Nick Green, said:

“This new modern terminal in Hull gives us operational advantages, which will result in improved service to our clients.”

Rederi AB TransAtlantic Senior Advisor, Marten Carlquist, added:

“The Hull terminal creates a new platform for development of TransAtlantic and we are now looking forward to expanding our business in cooperation with ABP.”

Associated British Ports is the UK’s leading port group and owns and operates 21 ports throughout the UK, handling approximately a quarter of its seaborne trade. The company’s property division ABP Group Property is responsible for managing the group’s extensive land and property assets, including the site at King George Dock.

Britcon

 In conjunction with the project at King George Dock, Britcon redeveloped the existing facility at the site known as Shed 4 by improving access, constructing a gatehouse and conducting external works.

Throughout the company’s 21 year history Britcon have provided a customer focused approach to Port Operators having undertaken major projects at the majority of the east coast ports includingHull,Grimsby, Immingham, Goole,Ipswichand Kings Lynn.

Britcon Managing Director, Shaun Hunt, said:

“Our expertise and knowledge of design and build at ports facilities coupled with Britcon’s diversification into emerging market sectors including Renewable Energy demonstrates our company’s long term commitment and strategy. We look forward to assisting Associated British Ports maintain a sustainable future throughout the development of the Humber Ports.”

The completion of works at King George Dock has crowned a highly successful period for Britcon which has seen significant growth within specific market sectors including the energy and renewables sector, rail infrastructure, retail and leisure industries.

Britcon is involved in many projects throughout the UK, but always takes greatest pleasure in working within the local community. Recently completed projects include a multi-million pound facility which turns food waste into energy at Doncaster and fire and rescue training facilities in Sheffield. The company’s Engineering Services also has a strong presence within the Rail Infrastructure sector.

 

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