Futureproofing steel imports at Port of Liverpool

The metals industry plays a significant role in the UK’s manufacturing, construction and automotive sectors. With the production of steel waning in the UK, imports have risen dramatically, and the market for delivering metals to the heart of the country’s manufacturing bases in the North West and West Midlands is still very much alive and well. 

We recognise our vital role as part of the supply chain in supporting the construction and industrial sectors. In doing so, we have put a combination of speed, efficiency and product care at the heart of our business ethos. 

Across our company we are committed to responding to escalating customer demand for shipping via Liverpool along with increased capacity and improved handling facilities. This extends to our metals business, and in 2014 we opened the first semi-automated steel handling facility in the UK. 

Named the Liverpool Steel and Metals Terminal, it was a high volume, high-density steel facility that focused on cost and time efficiencies, as well as continued excellence in product handling.

With the global steel industry characterised by its peaks and troughs, investing in this area was both a risk and an opportunity. As a port, we knew that by investing in automation, we would be able to deliver real results to our customers, and provide them with long-term benefits. That in turn would build client relationships that would deliver for us and our customers for years to come.

In June 2016, we officially opened the expanded Liverpool Steel and Metals Terminal at its new home in North 3 Canada Dock, The Port of Liverpool following a £9m upgrade which included spend across new automation technology, gantry cranes, and infrastructure. The facility has led to notable improvements in speed and efficiency – with turnaround times significantly reduced and faster than anywhere else in the UK industry.

The new and improved terminal features an even more sophisticated automated warehouse and interactive customer web portal, providing customers with round-the-clock instant access to their inventory. It also includes a precision coil turner & weigh bridge and IT providing instant customer reporting, enabling customers to track their material in real-time from ship to door.

Customers can see where their cargo is, the precise time it arrived and the exact time that it was shipped onto the back of a haulage wagon. This enables both us, and more importantly our customers, to plan their operations more effectively, predictably and reliably. Not only do these new additions speed the physical process up, it also gives customers the best value by minimising back office processing and paperwork, handling, and haulier turn-around time. 

The automated system has also allowed us to increase our storage capacity by up to 50%, with 24,200 sq m (260,000 sq ft) of internal storage and 9,300 sq m (100,000 sq ft) of external storage. Overall, there is capacity for 80,000 tonnes within the automated coil facilities and a total throughput capacity of 500,000 tonnes annually.

Semi-automation has further provided significant health and safety benefits, with only two operators at any time required to control the handling equipment, creating fewer risks that need to be managed. The upgraded terminal is accredited to ISO 9001 and 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. 

To maximise the potential benefits to our customers of this investment, we are continuing to nurture affinities with industry players who complement our steel expertise. By joining forces with logistics company Denholm Handling, who bring their warehousing, distribution and handling experience to the Port of Liverpool under a shared and integrated customer service platform, we are able to offer our customers a joined up, unified approach, reconfiguring our businesses and providing further economies of scale.

Gary Smith, is group business development manager at operator Peel Ports.