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Above left: One of JST’s piers alternates between Gorteneorn on the Ardnamurchan peninsula and Drimnin, seen here, on the Morvern Peninsula Above right: JST barges are fixed to the seabed with telescopic ‘spud legs’
of logs in 12-15 hours. Depending on cargo volume, JST can provide two gangs on ship days to facilitate continuous, round the clock operations.”
As a ‘mobile’ solution the piers can simply be moved in line with land management, growing and harvesting programmes. “One of our piers moves between two locations each season, alternating between Gorteneorn on the Ardnamurchan peninsula and Drimnin on the Morvern Peninsula,” said Mr Walker. “Similarly, we have a live operation in Glen Etive currently working on a three-year programme, following which there are coupes further along the loch a sufficient distance away from the existing operation to warrant moving the pier to this forest location.”
JST can also offer a full ‘turn-key’ supply chain solution to include shipping to serve customers’ requirements.
“In peak demand we have had vessels working on both west and east coasts of Scotland,” said Mr Walker. “JST typically charters vessels based on demand allowing us to flex capacity based on market demand. JST offers UK coastal shipping, routes between the west coast of Scotland and Ireland, the east coast of Scotland into Europe and also, in partnership with Associated British Ports (ABP) and TimberLINK, support cargoes from origin to destination not covered by the TimberLINK public grant, ensuring the vessel is fully utilised.”
Other divisions within JST include port handling and haulage businesses. The port handling division offers a mobile handling service across the UK and Ireland. Annually JST handles around 3 million tonnes of cargo on behalf of its customers. That includes not only roundwood timber but also aggregates, agri and other bulk commodities, bulk bags, steel, WDF bales, rock armour and live fish. The JST business, which marked its 30th anniversary last year, was born out of a
haulage company established by John Scott in 1993. He sold the business in 2020, passing on a “vibrant and dynamic” company to the new owners and management team. Today, haulage continues to be an integral part of the business, supporting its other activities in floating pier operations, shipping and port handling.
“The haulage business is primarily focused within the Ayrshire region where we serve long-standing customers alongside providing haulage from the ports of Ayr and Troon to Ayrshire-based customers,” said Mr Walker. “In the past month we have also been awarded a five-year contract by Forest and Land Scotland in Aberfoyle for in-forest haulage. As part of this we are investing around £375,000 in a new purpose-built low ground pressure wagon and drag timber rig to serve the contract.”
In late 2023, JST acquired the management of the Fishnish Pier on Mull to complement its port handling and haulage businesses. “The Fishnish business allows for better utilisation of JST assets and resources and provides our existing customers, many of whom also utilise the Fishnish facility, with a broader service in terms of geography,” said Mr Walker. “It builds on our support for the timber industry in remote Scottish locations.” JST says the outlook for its business is “very positive”, given the resurgence in coastal shipping to remove vehicles from the roads as a key element in transitioning to a lower carbon economy. The sustainability driven trend to increased the use of timber in construction is another plus for its future, it maintains.
“In the shorter term, JST will continue to grow the business by increasing volumes through our existing port handling and other operations,” said Mr Walker. “But we’ll also be looking for complementary businesses and acquisitions similar to that completed in 2023 to grow.”
Further capital investment is also lined up to both grow the business and minimise its environmental footprint. “Annually we spend around £2m on capex to renew the fleet and ensure we operate the most efficient and state-of-the-art equipment,” said Mr Walker. “That strategy has seen lower fuel consumption in our material handling machines, with the latest generation of Liebherr handling machine utilising their proprietary ERC energy recovery system, for example. In 2025, we will also embark on a project to operate one of our material handling machines on HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] with a view to assessing the carbon benefits alongside cost increments and impact on maintenance frequency and operations.”
Expanding floating pier operations is also a possibility. “We have the resources to build additional piers to meet demand from the growing timber industry, while supporting government strategies to reduce road emissions and helping meet targets for increasing use of sustainable timber materials in construction across Scotland, the rest of the UK and Ireland,” said Mr Walker. ■
Above: The bridge deck and floating pier can be deployed in a matter of days
www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2024 | TTJ
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