WASHINGTON: Peel Ports has formally opened the UK’s first fully-automated steel terminal at the Port of Liverpool following a US$13 million upgrade. This follows recent news that Peel Ports had opened one of the UK’s largest logistics facilities at Port Salford. The investment is a response to increasing customer demand for shipping via Liverpool and to provide both increased capacity and improved handling facilities at the existing terminal.
Liverpool is the closest deep sea port to the West Midlands, where approximately half of the UK’s steel is consumed. Located at the Port of Liverpool’s Canada dock, the terminal features a fully automated warehouse and interactive customer web portal, which mean customers will have round-the-clock instant access to the ordering process.
Real-time stock availability, precision coil selection and a vehicle booking system will give customers best value by minimising back office processing and paperwork, handling, and haulier turn-around time. The terminal also includes an automatic weighing facility and instant customer reporting means that customers will be able to track their order real-time from ship to door.
David Huck, Port Director of Peel Ports, said: “This is very exciting and significant milestone for Peel Ports because it puts us at the leading edge of steel storage and distribution. “The facility will revolutionise the efficiency of the UK steel supply chain as no other port in the UK is currently able to offer a comparable service. Along with our close location to UK manufacturing bases we believe this investment will provide significant cost and other supply chain benefits to our customers.”
The site provides 2.4ha of internal storage and 0.9ha of external storage. There is 80,000 tonnes of capacity within the automated coil facilities and a total throughput capacity of 500,000 tonnes annually. A similar development is also confirmed for Peel Ports’ other steel terminal at the port of Sheerness in South-east England. Peel Ports is due to open its more than US$450 million Liverpool2 container terminal in the summer of 2016.
