18 >> 17 feeding to and


Issue 5 2019 - Freight Business Journal


and Turkey, including some


direct to and from Scotland, with others operated via Davies Turner’s main Dartford hub. Rail is also important for boxes


from


southern UK ports such as Felixstowe. Three years ago, Davies Turner signed its own direct contract with rail operator Freightliner which, says Darren McLaughlan, has led to a far more effective service than relying on the shipping lines to arrange onward rail transportation. Using direct deepsea shipping


services into the south and then railing up to Scotland is


usually slightly faster than relying on feeder services via the Continental hub ports into Grangemouth or Clydeport, McLaughlan explains, although the latter is still a popular and option and the proportion of traffic moved this may has, if anything, increased slightly. However: “The rail service to and from the south does work very efficiently,” he points out. Davies Turner’s expanded site


at Cumbernauld, close to all the main motorways and with rapid access to all parts of Scotland, includes an A-type bonded warehouse (which encompasses everything except wines and


spirits) and is also British Retail Consortium-accredited for foodstuffs. It can carry out a whole range of added-value services including reworking, quality control and repacking for its clients, who are mostly also users of Davies Turner’s international freight services. Scottish foodstuffs are


world-renowned and provide a useful counterbalance to import traffic, helping to create a more balanced freight flow. As well as food, Scotland also exports chemicals, car parts and electronics – the latter from the one-time ‘Silicon Glen’ high-tech manufacturing region that has


Long-established Edinburgh shipping firm T. Ward has been expanding the freight forwarding side of its activities in addition to its long-established ship’s agency work, says director, Callum Hamilton. Its main customer base are small and medium sized firms that are moving into importing or exporting and need help with the oſten complex process. Leith-based T.Ward is one of


Freight forwarding to the fore at Edinburgh firm However, Hamilton points out:


“We can offer a more personalised service. We don’t take on masses of jobs which ensures we have time to help our customers and offer a good service.” It specialises in the smaller, less frequent traders who need help with the process and who also generally less price- fixated than the high volume importers and exporters. T.Ward’s background in ship’s


the last independent sea freight forwarders and ship’s agents in Edinburgh and one of only a handful of independents in Scotland as a whole. As in the rest of the UK, the multinational operators have significantly stepped up their activities in the past few years, opening their own offices or buying up smaller local firms.


agency means that it is good at keeping on top of when vessels are due to arrive in port and also the process of getting cargo on and off the ship, so it can keep fully abreast of what is happening. “We never want to be in the situation where it is the client that is telling us that there is a delay or a problem, rather than the other way round,” Hamilton explains.


Montrose boss bows out on a high note


Nik Scott-Gray, outgoing chief executive at Montrose, is ending his time at the north-east Scottish trust port on a high note. Before his departure to take up a new post as cargo general manager at the port of Dover, he had the satisfaction of seeing vessel tonnage handled climb from 2.3 million tonnes in the 2017 financial year to 3.1mt in 2018. Cargo tonnage for the year (which ended on 31 March 2019) was also up from around 450,000 to 550,000 tonnes. With Montrose’s new accounting


year only a few weeks old in May, it


is too early to say anything


definitive, but all the signs are that it too has started strongly, says Scott


Gray. He adds: “Bear in mind also that


this record has occurred during a quayside redevelopment that started in June 2018, so it’s been at a time when we’ve been a berth down.” At the time of writing, the last


piles were being driven home on berth 7, the last stage of a scheme to create 230 metres of quayside, which will help Montrose handle larger-sized


ships when it is


completed in about November this year. Breakbulk and project cargo has been growing strongly in Montrose, including chains and anchors for offshore rigs and


now rather faded away. “We have been able to grow our


business in the Scottish market, which however remains quite a challenging one,” McLaughlan explains. One factor in the forwarder’s


success, he believes, is the ability to retain staff. “We’re noted as a good employer – we invest in young people and we currently have two people doing apprenticeships.” Davies Turner’s apprentices


do a government-funded Scottish Vocational Qualification, with Davies Turner providing its own freight-forwarding training content in-house.


Clients trade in almost any items,


from sports equipment importers to firms that bring in material to package their own goods. While clients tend to be Scottish-based, this isn’t as a result of deliberate policy, although it is company policy to focus on new importers or exporters. T. Ward also does a lot of


shipments for charities that are exporting items overseas. For instance, it recently handled ten containers of mixed goods destined for Iraq, and it has also moved computers to Malawi and fire engines to South America. Charities in particular oſten


need help with understanding the process – for example the need to obtain EORI numbers and the importance of ensuring that customs documentation is in


subsea equipment manufactured by GE Baker Hughes (GEBH), which is expanding its existing facility in Montrose. As might be expected from Montrose’s location, oil and gas is the core of its trade, although more windfarm work can be expected in future. “We’re already handling this type of work,” says Scott-Gray, “though at the moment it’s for more distant windfarms. But there are plans in this part of the world for the Inchcape and Seagreen farms – one thing we’re never short of on this coast is wind.” Another firm that is continuing


to expand its footprint in Montrose is Wild Well Control, who are global leaders in emergency response, well control, subsea operations and training. General cargo is Montrose’s


other main business stream and this has also remained strong with good volumes of fertilizer inbound and rapeseed exports. Imports of mostly Swedish timber for the construction industry have also


place. In some cases, T. Ward may even advise them that it is not worthwhile to try and send a single palletload of goods to a remote destination and suggests that they link up with other charities and do a joint shipment. “Doing charity work is enjoyable,


they are oſten really nice people to deal with and we really enjoy getting to share with everyone on social media the kind of work these people do,” Hamilton says. Project cargo is another


mainstay for Ward, including reels for the offshore industry and scrap metal and there are signs that this is picking up, he continues. Seafreight exports tend to local Scottish ports –


be out of


Grangemouth or Greenock – as it gives more control of the shipping process compared with trucking or railing from a port hundreds of miles to the south.


remained at a high level. Angus Cereals, which owns a silo in the port, has been taken over by commodity trader Openfield and Scott-Gray hopes this will lead to more traffic over the quayside, as opposed to trucking. Montrose is one of around


a dozen mainland Scottish trust ports – the others include Aberdeen, Peterhead, Invergordon, Inverness and Scrabster, plus some on the islands – and this has helped maintain investment, with some £22 million spent since 2011. Not having shareholders demanding an immediate return on capital expenditure is a help. Montrose last year celebrated


the 525th anniversary of being granted its royal charter by James IV and as such can claim to be one of the country’s oldest (although it is probable that there was a harbour of some sort in Montrose


even before then).


However, the South Quay part of the port is among the country’s


///SCOTLAND The aim, says McLaughlan, “is


to offer a career, not just a job” and the company has been able to attract ambitious, dedicated young people. Like other forwarders, Davies


Turner in Scotland has been preparing for Brexit, although as a firm whose main business is international freight this has mainly taken the form of training additional staff in customs clearance rather than having to create a whole new department from scratch. Much of the business that it handles already requires clearance including trailers


to and from Turkey, and the company has customs


badges for all the UK’s major seaports.


Operating its own


bond will stand Davies Turner in good stead if customs clearance is required for goods moving to and from the EU in future, McLaughlan believes. For


the next phase of its


expansion, Davies Turner will probably look to setting up more dedicated logistics sites in the same central belt region. It can reach anywhere in central Scotland with its own dedicated haulage fleet and for the more far-flung places such as the offshore island there are dedicated subcontractors or regional partners.


Peel Ports has revealed its plans to develop the port of Hunterston and is calling on North Ayrshire residents and businesses to share their opinions about potential uses of the site. The site comprises a 300


acre brownfield footprint with deepwater and rail connections and is expected to support over 1,700 jobs and add over £140m in economic value to Scotland. The company has published


a Master Plan of how it intends to develop the site over the next 20 years. Peel Ports Clydeport port


director, Andrew Hemphill, said: “No other single site in the UK offers Hunterston’s unrivalled combination of deep- water, extensive land area and transport links. This historic industrial site has the potential to transform Scotland’s prospects in a variety of key economic sectors, providing jobs, skills development, import and export opportunities for decades to


newest pieces of maritime infrastructure, having been built by P&O Oil Services in the 1970s. Scott-Gray estimates that the


port estate as a whole employs about 400 people, so it is a major contributor to the local economy. The port continues to pursue


the idea of a railhead; currently disused sidings remain intact at Montrose railway station a short road shunt away, and negotiations are continuing with Network Rail. The port also hopes that


funding will be secured under the City Deals scheme for improved links to the A90 road


come. “The intended benefits that


we have set out can only be achieved with the input of the local community, public sector agencies and commercial partners. That will help us to create a final version that reflects the shared ambitions of the people who live, work and invest in North Ayrshire.” Kenneth Gibson, member of the Scottish Parliament


for


Cunninghame North, added: “Developing the site is also a one-in-a-generation chance for the region to lead the way with innovative and sustainable industries, potentially in the circular economy or renewable energy. We must create a new future for employment in the region otherwise we will continue to see a drain of talent to Glasgow and beyond. I urge everyone with an interest in the health of North Ayrshire to read the masterplan and get involved in the debate.”


route that passes a few miles to the west. “That really would be a game-changer for Montrose,” Scott-Gray states. Brexit remains a concern.


While there are relatively few customs clearances at Montrose, relative to the amount of cargo it handles (most traffic is a ‘one ship – one cargo owner – one clearance’ basis), the general cargo business could be impacted by customs, tariffs and quotas. Meanwhile, current


harbourmaster Captain Tom Hutchison will take on the operations director role aſter Scott-Gray’s departure.


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