The Port of Tyne based at South Shields in North East England has announced a new commercial agreement with one of the UK’s leading importers of plywood.
In an initial three year deal with Gloucestershire based International Plywood the Port of Tyne will provide office accommodation, cargo handling, covered storage and onward UK wide road distribution for timber products imported through the Port.
Ian Attwood, Managing Director for International Plywood, said: “International Plywood has been importing plywood and panel products for a quarter of a century. We are a family owned company and in this extremely competitive market, we pride ourselves on always striving to achieve value for money for our customers.
“The Port of Tyne offers exceptional value and customer service with an excellent location providing unrivalled connectivity via road networks.”
Multi-geared break-bulk vessels will import plywood and other timber products to the Port of Tyne from the Baltics and as far afield as South East Asia and South America.
Nolan Gray, Business Development Director for Port of Tyne, said: “The Port of Tyne is unique in its ability to not only manage break-bulk of non-containerised cargo but to also handle containerised products, storage and distribution providing optimal customer service.
“The Port’s ability to handle larger vessels presents not only greater economies of scale for International Plywood as larger volumes can be handled per shipment but it also creates a positive environmental benefit.”
Stuart Watts, Director for International Plywood, said: “Working with the Port of Tyne offers the ability to maximise the potential by creating a northern hub with an office based at the Port allowing International Plywood to firmly establish ourselves as one of the UK’s leading independent suppliers of plywood and sheet materials.”
International Plywood has experienced significant growth in the last decade, reporting £130m turnover in 2014. The business supplies products to leading building merchants, housebuilders and various other UK markets.