Showing a head for heights, Mr Lewis joined by local mp, Stephen Metcalfe, principal of South Essex College, Angela O’Donoghue and chief executive of DP World London Gateway, Simon Moore as they ascended the 200 metre cranes at the port.

YT spoke to the minister about the progress of the port; Stephen Metcalfe about the importance of apprenticeships in Thurrock; head of human resources at DP World, Victoria Tobin about how students can apply for an apprenticeship and principal, Angela O’Donoghue about the importance of such schemes for her students.

The move is expected to satisfy the high street retailer’s long-standing requirement for a new south-east depot.

The new deep water port at London Gateway is due to open in later this year.

The announcement comes as the rival Port of Tilbury beefs up its logistics property offer.

Transport minister Stephen Hammond is due to visit the site today Tuesday (21st May) to mark the start of construction at the 70-acre London Development Park.

The development will bring more than 940,000 sq. ft. of new high quality distribution facilities including high quality warehousing and 17 acres of haulage facilities to Tilbury.

For further news on logisitics go to: www.shdlogistics.com.

London Gateway, Thurrock, 16th May 2013: Forty-five pupils from Gable Hall School, along with their teachers, recently visited the London Gateway to learn about future career opportunities.
The GCSE students were given a presentation explaining the project by Helen Woolford, a graduate of the school, who now works in the Operations Team at the port.
The presentation was followed by a tour around the site, which gave the students the chance to see how the port will operate, and the opportunities it offers for apprenticeships and careers. This was reinforced by talks from a variety of London Gateway employees, including representatives from the legal, environment, and operations teams.
Helen Woolford, Operations Administration Coordinator, said: “As a former Gable Hall student, I was very excited to be able to tell the students about the enthusiastic world-class team at London Gateway and the opportunity for a future career.”
Connor Allen, Gable Hall student, said: “I was really grateful to be given the chance to visit DP World and I am very excited about the potential opportunities there.”
Dr Sophina Asong, Headteacher of Gable Hall School, said: “Our students were delighted to be given the opportunity to visit and to see the wide range of career opportunities available to the young people of Thurrock. We plan for this to be the first of many such visits.”
London Gateway opens in Quarter 4 2013, and will create thousands of jobs in the local area. To see vacancies currently on offer, visit www.londongateway.com/careers.

The Mayor of London was accompanied by Sir Edward Lister, Chief of Staff, Greater London Authority, Dominic Jermey, the UK’s Ambassador in the UAE, and a large number of officials and business leaders. The DP World team included Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region, Simon Moore, CEO, DP World London Gateway, and senior officials.

H.E. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman, DP World, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to show the Mayor of London our flagship facility. Jebel Ali port together with the free zone have both supported and driven the growth of Dubai and the UAE over the past four decades. We have modelled DP World’s London Gateway on Jebel Ali, knowing that a modern deep-water port and logistics park within the important London and South East market will bring direct benefits to the wider UK economy.”

He added: “Strong historic ties bind the UAE and the United Kingdom, and we believe the London Gateway project will further cement our excellent relations.”

Simon Moore, CEO, London Gateway, said: “It was excellent to see London’s Mayor in the UAE and we look forward to London Gateway being a catalyst for further inward investment into the UK. By bringing the world’s largest ships to the capital, which is Europe’s largest economic zone, we will ensure London is once again globally connected to the major trading ports of the world. This will make London, and the wider UK, more competitive for global imports and exports, reducing costs and cutting out millions of unnecessary road miles from global supply chains.”

He continued: “Our investment at London Gateway has and will continue to create thousands of new jobs in the UK. We are currently recruiting for many roles including engineers and port operations staff. We have some 3,000 construction workers on site daily, which is excellent news for the construction and engineering industry. At three square miles, this site is not only one of the biggest in the UK but one of the biggest in Europe.”

When fully completed London Gateway will have six deep-water berths capable of hosting the world’s largest container ships, a 1 million sq metre logistics park, and up to 12,000 jobs on site. The port will be the most efficient in the UK, adding an additional 3.5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) to the nation’s port capacity. This will help meet recognised demand for extra capacity in the UK.

Journey times will be longer for those who use Stanford Road, as the approved safe diversion route is via the Orsett Cock Roundabout. The diversion will be in place for two weeks. These works have been brought forward from the original closure to allow construction to progress whilst the bridge installation works are being completed.

To ensure commuters are safe, during major work on the bridge structure, the A13 will be diverted, taking traffic up the junction’s slip roads and back down onto the A13. The majority of this work will take place between Friday 12 April and 6 May and will see the diversion in place all weekends from 20.00 on Fridays until 5.00 on Mondays and on most weeknights from 20.00 until 5.00.

Murphy Construction Manager, Simon Fay, said: “The patience and understanding of all road users during the construction of the junction improvements has been a great help, and we will continue to work hard to keep any inconvenience to a minimum.”

Diversion routes have been approved by the highways authority and are designed to provide a safe alternative road, capable of handling an equivalent or higher level of road traffic.

The works are being undertaken to increase the capacity of the A13/A1014 junction by widening it from the current two lanes to three lanes. Each of the slip roads will see significant remodelling as part of the works. Despite slip road closures, the junction will operate a single lane usage to maintain access to all surrounding areas.

Road users are recommended to subscribe to the email alerts system on www.a13roadworks.co.uk, which will provide advanced warning of changes to traffic management, allowing them to better plan their daily commute. Diversion routes will be signposted and road closures kept to a minimum. Road users should plan their journey and allow extra time whilst the restrictions are in place.

Using an exclusively designed quay crane simulator, visitors to London Gateway’s stand (640) will, for the first time ever, be able to exclusively challenge The Original Stig to a quay crane race! Following training from the Original Stig’s crane driver cousin, attendees will have the chance to go head-to-head in a challenge to see if they can beat The Original Stig at offloading containers from a container ship in a set time. Those who are victorious get an exclusive prize. Losers will get nothing but their name on the leader board!

When questioned about the challenge, The Original Stig said “…………..” and when asked if he thought he would actually be beaten, he said: “…..……”. Undaunted by his menacing silence we asked if he felt London Gateway was going to be The place for the World to do trade with the UK, he nodded. Some might say that was an acknowledgement; others guessed he had an out of body race while we were talking to him!

The Original Stig will also be the guest of honour at the Multimodal VIP dinner sponsored by DP World London Gateway on the evening of 23rd as will Perry McCarthy. Perry will give the after dinner speech where he will confirm he is The Original Stig as well as sharing fascinating stories of his time as a Formula 1 racing driver. Dirt may well be dished!

Charles Meaby, Commercial Director of London Gateway, said, “Having The Original Stig leading this great challenge exclusively on our stand will be great fun. I know companies visiting from around the world will want to be part of Multimodal’s most talked about event. On a more serious note, London Gateway will play a pivotal and huge part of the UK’s trade with the world when it opens for business in Q4 and we look forward to meeting carriers, port users, shippers and cargo owners at Multimodal.”

During his visit, Mr Lewis was able to see for himself the scale of the UK’s new container port and logistics park and watch the 138m-high quay cranes, which arrived at the port last week, being moved into position for commissioning and testing.

“It has been great to visit London Gateway and see first-hand the sheer size of this piece of infrastructure investment and to hear more about how it is helping to boost the UK economy”, said Brandon Lewis MP. “This project is a great example of how business, the Government and local communities can work together to successfully bring a complex project to fruition, through maintaining a strong dialogue right from the planning stages through to completion.”

London Gateway CEO Simon Moore welcomed the Minister’s visit: “We are delighted Mr Lewis has been able to come down and see the speed with which London Gateway is developing. I was proud to discuss with him how it will create vital jobs for the local community, help British business save money and contribute £3.2 billion to the British economy every year. We have worked with the Government throughout the planning and building process, and we look forward to continuing that relationship.”

London Gateway port and logistics park is playing a major role in boosting the economy by creating some 36,000 jobs. Over 2,300 people are currently employed in the construction process and hundreds of operational positions will be filled this year.

The quay cranes, which are taller than the London Eye and weigh 1,848 tonnes each, measure 138 metres in height – two and a half times the height of Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square.

“The size of the cranes future-proofs the port, allowing London Gateway to handle the next generation of ultra large container ships,” said London Gateway operations director Tim Halhead.
T
he cranes will be used to lift containers from some of the world’s largest cargo ships onto the shore at the new London Gateway port, which is due to open at the end of 2013.

When complete, its owners, Dubai-based DP World, say it could bring 36,000 jobs to the economy.

Unite believes that the apparent refusal by the port’s owners – Dubai-based DP World to recognise the union will mean a “race to the bottom in terms of employment conditions” which could threaten the future viability of the container ports at Felixstowe and Southampton, as well as at Thamesport.

Unite said that union recognition always reinforces health and safety issues – and docks remain one of the most dangerous industries to work in.

The London Gateway is due to open later this year and is already recruiting for the 2,500-strong workforce, the majority of which would be dockers.

Unite regional officer Jane Jeffery said: “We have held a number of meetings with Gateway’s management and they are clear that they will not be recognising a trade union prior to the port opening. We call on them to rethink this stance.

“There is already overcapacity in the UK’s container ports and we believe that this port should not be opened with the current overcapacity nationally.

“The London Gateway is not looking to create new work and there is a very real possibility that the jobs it creates will be lost elsewhere, with the new jobs on inferior terms and conditions.

“Union recognition has proved to be vital in promoting health & safety issues in workplaces across the UK – the fact DP World does not want to recognise Unite does not auger well for health and safety in what remains one of the UK’s most dangerous industries.

DP World has stressed it wants to give employees a choice rather than prescribing membership of a particular union.

A spokesperson said: “We have responded that membership of any union, including Unite, would be a free choice matter for London Gateway employees to decide upon and if membership of one or more unions reached the level where recognition was applicable then we would be happy to do so.

“We are very happy to discuss this matter with any party.”

A UNION says it is concerned about wages and working conditions at the new £1.5billion superport.

Unite said the refusal of London Gateway – the new deep-sea container port being built in the Thames estuary – to recognise the union will mean a race to the bottom in terms of employment conditions.

The largest union in the country said recognition will reinforce health and safety issues.

But DP World said it wants to give employees a choice rather than pre-determining membership of a particular union. London Gateway is due to open later this year and is already recruiting for its 2,500-strong workforce.

Jane Jeffery, Unite regional officer, said: “We have held a number of meetings with Gateway’s management and they are clear they will not be recognising a trade union prior to the port opening.

“We call on them to rethink this stance.

“Union recognition has proved to be vital in promoting health and safety issues in workplaces across the UK – the fact DP World does not want to recognise Unite does not auger well in what remains one of the UK’s most dangerous industries.

“This is doubly worrying given that the Government is trying to whittle down health and safety regulations.”

A spokesman for DP World said membership of any union would be down to their employees and it takes health and safety seriously.

He said: “We have responded that membership of any union, including Unite, would be a free choice matter for London Gateway employees to decide upon and if membership of one or more unions reached the level where recognition was applicable then we would be happy to do so.

“In terms of health and safety, DP World puts safety as its number one priority.

“We are not in any way against union membership and we strongly believe in freedom of choice for all staff.

One of the first to view the new equipment being erected was UK Transport Minister Stephen Hammond, who witnessed the first of 40 ASCs being constructed at London Gateway, which opens later this year.

Stephen Hammond MP, commenting on the ‘immense scale’ of the new London Gateway port and Europe’s largest logistics park, said: “It really is quite an astonishing example of how UK plc can bring together the best of the best to plan, design, finance, construct and operate world-leading port infrastructure.”

London Gateway CEO Simon Moore welcomed the Minister’s visit and said: “We welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the Government and demonstrate how we can together make the UK more competitive for importing and exporting, by reducing costs and improving reliability in UK supply chains.”

The reliability offered by fully automated ASCs that are able to operate in adverse weather conditions comes as welcome news to hauliers who are often required to deliver containers to warehouse or distribution centres within a 15-minute ‘window’. A port operations stoppage can cause immense disruption, as time slots can be lost, adding unnecessary cost, delays and frustration across supply chains.

Nick Matthews, Managing Director of haulage film Roadways Container Logistics, has committed to using London Gateway when it opens in Q4 of this year. Matthews said: “We’ve been leading the way in innovation and we see the future of logistics and shipping in the UK is at London Gateway.”

The new port’s location is also another vital part of the mix – not only on the doorstep of the capital, but also closer to the major population centres of Birmingham and Manchester, which means, substantial cost savings for supply chains as a result of less road miles and time needed to move containers inland.

Independent studies predict that more than 65 million road miles and 148,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be eliminated from the UK’s supply chains when London Gateway is fully built.

The London Gateway construction site spreads over an astonishing three square miles. The Minister was able to see for himself the extraordinary pace of activity as 2,000 construction workers build the new port and what will be Europe’s largest logistics park.

London Gateway is one of the UK’s largest privately funded infrastructure projects and is expected to create 36,000 jobs when fully developed.

Speaking at the Logistics Leaders Network Forum, hosted by London Gateway on Thursday, Surtees described the success of Project Sphinx, a collaborative initiative led by Kimberley-Clark, in which seven leading brands (including Heinz, Nestle and Kelloggs) are sharing warehousing and distribution, achieving annual cost savings in six figures for Kimberley-Clark alone.

“London Gateway is a fantastic proposition and a perfect opportunity to design collaborative supply chains” he said. “It’s not until you get here that you realise the scale of both the project and the opportunity. I’m really excited by the possibilities it offers.”

Although Kimberley-Clark has been highly successful in implementing innovative collaboration projects in Europe, notably France and Holland, Surtees has not attempted to replicate the model in the UK, believing outdated infrastructure and to some extent, inflexible 3PL thinking, to be serious barriers to success.

“Our most recent collaboration project is hugely complex but highly successful for all brands involved. Key elements have been VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) replenishment, the right location close to shared markets and a willingness to think outside of traditional supply chain models both on the part of the manufacturers and the 3PLs.”

“London Gateway is definitely the right location to achieve the Holy Grail both for manufacturers and retailers, namely improved on shelf availability with lower costs due to a shorter supply chain. The Logistics Park additionally provides a virtually unique opportunity to build a purpose-designed facility for collaboration adjacent to the port. Goods can then be brought in through a single gateway, stored centrally, and distributed collaboratively.”

“For manufacturers and retailers with vision, London Gateway has created a chance to re-evaluate existing supply chains and make innovative decisions to achieve shared goals of lower costs with improved customer service and increased sales.”

Surtees was addressing an audience of members of the Logistics Leaders Network, an organisation established to provide supply chain professionals and freight transport leaders from all sectors with a focal point of communication, leadership, knowledge exchange and networking opportunities.

Chairman of the Logistics Leaders Network, Peter Acton commented, “As we hopefully emerge from recession, it is vital that we rebalance our economy through stimulating both import and export activity. This major infrastructure project at London Gateway is key to achieving this aim, and in my view will help generate growth and prosperity in the UK. We are delighted to have been able to hold our Forum on collaboration at this exciting venue and to showcase this impressive new development to our members.”

Speaking on behalf of London Gateway, Commercial Manager Peter Ward said, “At London Gateway we will be offering a 5-star service, setting new standards in performance and reliability. Our message to logistics and supply chain professionals is that whilst historically ports have been viewed as a necessary supply chain ‘node’ that simply adds cost, in contrast London Gateway will add tangible value to the supply chain, by reducing cost, replacing legacy practices and delivering real, long-term benefits.”

“Our aim in hosting events and inviting industry leaders to site is to raise awareness and understanding of the tremendous opportunity at London Gateway to develop and enhance end-to-end supply chains, and reduce costs.”

The first three of the port’s giant quay cranes, manufactured by Shanghai’s Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC), have started their journey from China.

The enormous crane’s boom has a reach that will allow it to pick up containers 25 rows across deck, beyond the width of the world’s largest container ship.

Tim Halhead, London Gateway Operations Director said: “The size of the cranes future proofs the port, allowing London Gateway to handle the next generation of ultra large container ships. These cranes are among the most advanced in the industry, assisting our operatives to deliver a reliable and consistently high level of productivity.”

The cranes are semi-automated, which allows quick and efficient handling of containers. They are also connected directly to the Terminal Operating System, which tracks the containers and sends work orders to the crane operator.

The port will start operations on the first berth in Q4 of this year with five quay cranes, and two rail mounted gantry cranes provided by ZPMC, while Cargotec will provide 10 automatic stacking cranes and 18 straddle carriers for the first berth.

London Gateway, the 3.5 million TEU container port will bring significant supply chain savings to importers and exporters. By being located much closer to the vast majority of the UK market, the port will cut delivery costs.

Drewry, the independent maritime consultancy, has indicated that shippers will be able to reduce round-trip transport costs by £59 pounds per container to the Midlands and the North-West and £189 per container for London and the South-East, representing about 90% of the UK deep-sea market.