FORTH Ports Limited, one the UK’s largest ports groups, announces today (23 March) the construction of a £20million state-of-the art temperature-controlled distribution centre at the Port of Tilbury in partnership with NFT Distribution.
The centre, planned to open in late 2015, is a long-term partnership investment with NFT – the UK’s market leader in chilled food distribution – to create a unique PortCentric distribution centre which will be one of the largest refrigerated (“reefer”) quayside facilities in Europe. The distribution centre will benefit from the latest distribution technology systems and is expected to create 500 new jobs
The new centre, which will see an investment of over £20million, takes PortCentric to another level with NFT’s major customers benefiting from a complete integration with the wider port operations at Tilbury and London Container Terminal (LCT). The 230,000sq.ft. building, will be located within the port estate adjacent to the LCT which handles over 500,000 containers each year.
As one of the largest reefer facilities in Europe with over 1400 points and onsite examination services for customs clearance, LCT has excellent value added services 24/7 which will provide the perfect synergy with NFT’s modern system controlled chilled facility. LCT also benefits from a mix of global deep sea, and European feedering and short sea links which already carry a multitude of chilled goods through the terminal.
Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive of Forth Ports (owners of the Port of Tilbury) said: “This is a very significant announcement for the Port of Tilbury and we are delighted to be working with NFT to create one of the largest temperature-controlled facilities in Europe at our port. Being located at London’s major port at Tilbury, this new distribution centre will be at the heart of the logistics process and support NFT’s goal to ensure a seamless experience for their major customers in the UK.
We are proud to build further on our already well established reputation for the receipt and handling of fresh produce. Ports are a key part of an efficient supply chain and with the additional land assets available it makes sense, both financially and from a customer service point of view, for businesses to use the port not only as an import/export service but as a logistics hub.”
David Frankish, Chief Executive Officer of NFT commented: “This PortCentric extension to NFT’s offering and substantial expansion to our chilled warehousing capacity in the South East will be a further step in defining our future development and growth as a key innovator of logistics services for the UK and global food industry. We deliver £11 billion worth of food products (at retail value) to UK retailers and manufacturers each year and NFT has experienced major success borne of its ability to provide integrated solutions to complex logistical challenges. We look forward to the centre opening later this year and we are confident of its commercial success based on the level of enquiries this new platform is generating already.”
The distribution centre is targeted to be open for business by late 2015. It will have capacity for 25,000 pallets within 230,000 sq ft. and be able to handle more than 2.5 million cases per week. NFT’s research identifies this facility will create value and efficiencies in the supply chain and make a considerable contribution towards inimizing food miles.
