The top person at PD Ports Roy Merryweather is in charge of logistics at PD Ports. Jen Taylor, who is in charge of integrated management systems, Sharon Smith is PD Ports’ director of portcentric logistics. Ian Johnson, who is in charge of business at Barrett Steel, Richard Gawler, who is in charge of group operations at Barrett Steel, John Childs, Andy Warcup, who was in charge at Barrett Steel, and Guy Barrett, who was in charge of group purchasing at Barrett Steel
With the building of a 200,000sq.ft. steel distribution centre at its Groveport site in North Lincolnshire, PD Ports is happy to help its valued customer Barrett Steel through an exciting time of growth. This is the beginning of a new long-term contract that will last until at least 2040.
Barrett’s footprint on the Humber will grow with the help of this £10 million facility. The port operator will also invest more money to double the size of its dedicated transport fleet, which will help even more. Together, these changes will make Barrett’s national distribution network stronger and let them make just-in-time deliveries across the UK.
Groveport, a 190-acre site that is the largest in PD Ports’ Humber Cluster, has continued to serve longtime customer Barrett Steel as a central steel distribution hub. It is also the perfect place for the new facility, which is the port group’s biggest investment on the Humber in decades.
Geoff Lippitt, who is in charge of business at PD Ports, was thrilled to tell people about the project. He said, “The new Barrett Steel plant is a huge step forward for PD Ports at Groveport.” This is the biggest single investment we’ve made at the site since we bought it in 2015. It shows that we want Groveport to be the UK’s leading steel handling hub for steel from both inside and outside the country.”
The modern warehouse has also helped both companies reach their shared sustainability goals. It is the first building in the UK to be built with ‘XCarb’ steel, which is made with 100% recycled material and 100% renewable energy. It was supplied by ArcelorMittal, another customer of PD Ports. Solar panels could be added to it in the future to make it even better.
Geoff said, “As a business, we are always looking for ways to make less of an impact on the environment, and we have big goals to reach net zero carbon emissions.” This warehouse is a great example of how we can use materials with less carbon to cut down on emissions all along the supply chain.
Barrett Steel is a proud business that has been in the same family for six generations. It has been a leading steel stockholder and processor for over 150 years and has a long history. With over 30 sites all over the country, this new facility is a big sign that the company wants to stay at the top of the UK steel industry.
Guy Barrett, Group Purchasing Director at Barrett Steel, said, “This new facility will increase our capacity and allow us to offer a just-in-time solution for steel fabricators across the UK.”
“Being able to finish the project using a low embodied carbon, which is the first of its kind in the UK, not only shows that we are committed to our own net-zero goals, but it also shows that there is a real answer to the questions about sustainability that the industry is facing right now.
“We’re glad to keep working with PD Ports on this groundbreaking project, as we have for a long time.”