Associated British Ports (ABP) is set to invest £3.26 million in the construction of a dedicated agribulks storage facility at its Port of Immingham, following the signing of a new 20-year agreement with long-standing customer Gleadell Agriculture Limited.
ABP will demolish an obsolete shed on land adjacent to the port's No. 5 Quay, to make way for a new 3,500 sq m storage facility for Gleadell – the port's sole grain shipper and one of the foremost grain exporters and traders in the UK. The facility will help Gleadell service, and expand, its current operations by enabling the company to accommodate growing shipments of imported grain products in purpose-built dockside grain storage, as well as providing transit storage for its wide range of export products. It is expected that construction work on the project will commence imminently and be completed by early autumn this year.
"Gleadell has been at the forefront of the UK's grain-export market for over 20 years and has exported over 15 million tonnes of grain from Immingham during this period. Our long-term relationship with ABP is now cemented into the future. This facility will give us the flexibility to import or export in what will be a fluid, fast-moving grain market in the years ahead and enables us to offer our farmer customers and our end-user customers purpose-built dockside storage. Also, we see the possible expansion of the bio-fuel industry in the immediate vicinity of the port creating new demand for grain storage," says David Sheppard, Managing Director of Gleadell.
In July 2002, Gleadell invested £1.25 million in a shiploader for its grain-export operation at Immingham Dock and currently exports approximately 500,000 tonnes of product every year. The company also imports a wide range of grain products for customers throughout the United Kingdom.
Nick Palmer, ABP Port Director, Grimsby & Immingham, commented, "While ABP Immingham is renowned as a leading port for the coal and roll-on/roll-off trades, it is also an important hub for a diverse range of cargoes, such as agribulks. Not only will this new investment help maintain our important, long-standing relationship with Gleadell, it will also ensure that the port continues to benefit from handling a wide spread of trades."
