The UK’s newest and largest built-to-suit logistics park is making its debut at the retail leader and e-commerce exhibition IRX & eDX in May and at Multimodal 2023, the UK’s premier freight transport, logistics and supply chain management event in June.

With an optimal location at Junction 52 on the A14, the carbon-neutral park, when fully delivered, will provide over 9.5 million square feet of storage and operating space.

Perfectly positioned to serve the east coast ports of Felixstowe, Tilbury, Harwich, Ipswich, and London Gateway, Port One Logistics Park is already becoming something of a ‘disrupter’ in the industry. The emphasis on efficiency and ROI not only starts with the design but carries through to handover and operation, ensuring clients get every benefit from a 21st-century supply chain solution.

The Port One team quickly identified a shift in industry demands, partially from the sustained growth in e-commerce and lessons learned during the pandemic – no longer can spec-built developments compete or come anywhere near.

Early adopters for the nine warehouses already constructed on site were delighted to benefit from as much as a 43% increase in capacity, compared with a new identical footprint spec-built warehouse in the locality.

1.2M square feet is already let or sold, with Port One offering a wide range of alternatives to both inward investors and household names in the UK supply chain industry seeking to grow and improve their profitability. Options include freeholdings, leases and turnkey fully-fitted facilities – all delivered against an exacting timetable.

With over 5 Megawatts of photovoltaic power generated on-site, sustainability is at the top of the agenda with carbon-neutral warehouses and 400+ high-speed charging points for vehicles and plant.

IRX & eDX 24-25 May 2023 |NEC Birmingham | Stand C4

Multimodal 13-15 June 2023 | NEC Birmingham | Stand 1030

For more information, please visit www.port-one.co.uk or contact Murray Gibson e: murray@murraygibson.com t: 07856 488379

Having joined Anchor Freight two years ago, Jerry Fowler has been appointed the company’s new general manager.

With a career in warehousing that spans three decades (including fourteen years working at the Port of Felixstowe), Jerry’s new role finds him again working with Anchor’s MD, Alex Davies, who he has known for over 20 years.

Busier than ever across its four UK offices (Dover, Glasgow, Ipswich and Felixstowe), Anchor Freight has been making the headlines recently with its commitment to supporting the Ukraine aid effort and winning the BIFA 2022 Extra Mile for its endeavours. Last Autumn also saw the company join forces with John Denny Agencies (JDA) to set up a new trading division – JD Anchor, in Felixstowe.

Jerry says of his new appointment: “It’s an exciting time to be taking on my new role. Not only is there a lot happening locally here at Felixstowe and Ipswich, but on a national level also, including the impact of technology and innovation on the sector.

He says: “I wanted to find a way to mark my appointment to general manager in a way that said something about me. So, our warehouse is now boldly painted blue and white in honour of my out-of-work passion – Ipswich Town Football Club.”

Image: Jerry Fowler.

Home, garden and leisure products retailer The Range is to occupy a high-quality, sustainable logistics unit of 1.17m sq. ft on the Gateway 14 scheme at Junction 50 of the A14 in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

Gateway 14 Ltd, wholly owned by Mid Suffolk District Council, has exchanged conditional contracts to develop the distribution unit with its development partner Jaynic on a freehold turnkey basis. 

The Range is one of the fastest-growing retailers in the UK. It has over 200 retail stores nationwide and more than 65,000 products across 16 different departments, from Homeware and Furniture to DIY and Art Supplies. A further 100+ retail stores are planned in the coming five years, in addition to its growing online presence. The Range already has two existing major distribution centres in the UK. The new site will help meet consumer demand in the South and South East of the country while supporting operations across the UK.

A reserved matters application will be submitted in July, with a proposed start on site in January 2023 and practical completion in the Autumn of 2023. Gateway 14 already has outline planning consent for a 2.36m sq ft mixed-use innovation, business and warehousing scheme, and construction of the site infrastructure is already well underway.

It will make a major contribution to the local and regional economy, creating an estimated 1,650 new jobs in the area.

“Alex Simpkin, CEO at The Range, said:

“This acquisition represents a £200m investment and is integral to our expansion plans. We were naturally attracted to the site due to its commitment to sustainability and proximity to the East coast container port of Felixstowe. The Freeport benefits that Gateway 14 provides allow us to evolve our e-commerce division nationwide and accelerate store growth.”

Sir Christopher Haworth, chair, Gateway 14 Ltd, commented:

“Welcoming The Range to Gateway 14 is a significant step forward for the site and demonstrates its important position in Suffolk and the wider Eastern region. Gateway 14 has huge potential not only for nationally important brands like The Range but also to support local and small businesses.”

Cllr Suzie Morley, leader, Mid Suffolk District Council, said:

“Working in partnership with renowned home and leisure retailer, The Range, will provide a huge boost to Gateway 14 and create a considerable number of jobs for local people. As the development continues, I look forward to welcoming more businesses to the site.”

Ben Oughton, Development Director of Jaynic, said:

“Securing such a significant first occupier, only months after we started building the infrastructure at Gateway 14, demonstrates how important a location the A14 corridor has become and is borne out by the huge interest there is in Gateway 14, with its Freeport benefits and proximity to Felixstowe.”

Gateway 14 is part of the new low tax, low regulation zone of Freeport East. The government’s Freeports initiative allows firms to import goods and re-export them outside normal tax and customs rules.

Businesses located at Gateway 14 will benefit from being part of Freeport East, one of only eight Freeports in the UK.

The Freeport status will provide many businesses on Gateway 14 with a range of benefits, including a suite of tax reliefs and simplified customs arrangements.

George Kieffer, Acting Chairman of Freeport East:

“The unique location of Freeport East, close to some of the world’s major international shipping routes, provides a range of benefits to businesses which locate here. Freeport East is focused on value-added logistics, advanced manufacturing and clean energy sectors, and we are delighted to welcome The Range as the first of many businesses to commit to the Freeport.”

Overall, the landmark development will provide high-specification buildings with sustainability as a central feature, including EV charging, LED lighting, solar PV, smart energy systems and rainwater harvesting. The development is committed to meeting the BREEAM rating of Very Good standard and strive for Excellent wherever possible. This new distribution facility will be designed to achieve BREEAM excellence.

Accessibility through and around the development is a key feature, with significant walking and cycling routes being integrated along with access to public transport links and local amenities.

Biodiversity on the site is also a priority, with high-quality landscaping, green corridors and nesting boxes all being introduced across the site to support not only the wildlife and ecology but also to create a vibrant, attractive, and healthy working environment for employees.

If you’ve travelled down the A14 on the way to the docks recently and looked right, you will have noticed an impressive new building rising up behind the trees. This is the Felixstowe Mega Distribution Centre (or FMDC) – Uniserve’s brand new port-centric warehousing facility – which is now ready for business. Offering 750,000 square feet of space, the FMDC is set to change the UK logistics landscape forever.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 400,000 sq ft of marshalling, narrow and wide-aisle racking
• 200,000 sq ft purpose-built e-fulfilment zone
• 100,000 sq ft cold store
• 80,000 ambient pallet spaces
• Only a ¼ mile from the Port

The last point is what makes the FMDC unique. For the first time ever, port-centric logistics at scale is a reality at the UK’s largest container port. In doing so you take costly, time-consuming links out of the supply chain; replacing them with seamless, simple solutions from ship to doorstep. With a port-centric approach, businesses can reap the benefits of reduced costs and complexity, while freeing up resources, improving cash flow, and having quicker access to goods.

What’s more, with no port-to-distribution-centre haulage leg to speak of, port-centricity offers a more environmentally-friendly approach, while also not requiring ever more scarce driver resource.

Ignas Saknaitis, Warehouse Operations Manager at the FMDC, said: “Uniserve’s new distribution centre is a game-changing addition to the thriving Port of Felixstowe, as it provides a range of solutions across all industries. Not only that, but the FMDC means great news for the town, as Uniserve have a number of job opportunities available at all levels.”

Thanks to PortOne for agreeing Porttalk TV can exclusively share its showreel ahead of the rest of the media.

This state-of-the-art e-commerce park, built on the outskirts of Ipswich, is a winner on all fronts and as Murray Gibson, Director Murray Gibson Associates Ltd, says: “Location is king in logistics and PortOne wins on all fronts. It benefits from direct dual carriageway access to the A14 both east and westbound, there’s easy access to the north via the M1 and A1 and it’s on the right side of the Orwell Bridge. It’s also in a non-residential location which allows
tenants 24/7 unconditional access.

“Last week’s confirmation of Freeport status also brings a huge number of benefits to Port One tenants. When fully occupied, a staggering two million parcels will be moving through the e-commerce park every week. East Anglia is already known as the leading region for the logistics sector – Port One is only going to add to our reputation.”

For further information visit port-one.co.uk

To take PortOne’s virtual tour click here

In a game-changing development for UK supply chains, Uniserve is set to add a giant 750,000 sq. ft ambient and freezer distribution centre to its UK warehousing portfolio, less than a quarter of a mile from the Port of Felixstowe.
The significance of the ‘Felixstowe Mega DC‘ is not simply the introduction of huge new capacity into a space-starved warehousing market, but that it makes port-centric logistics at scale a reality for businesses moving cargo through Britain’s largest container port.

“The construction of the Felixstowe Mega DC has been in the making with Uniserve for some time. The decision was made to scale back the original 40 meters high Super DC warehouse to a 21-meter Mega DC warehouse in 2019, to meet with institutional requirements. The sheer cargo throughput of Felixstowe and the need for such facilities make the underpinning logic undeniable.

“But it’s also a perfect addition to our group’s supply chain management offering – delivering unprecedented end-to-end control and visibility for our customers for both ambient and cold supply chains. This multi-user, multi-product facility creates a cost-efficient operation 52 weeks of the year.

“The new warehouse brings equally good news for the people of Felixstowe and surrounding areas in the form of hundreds of employment opportunities – just at a time when worries about job security are at an all-time high for many.”
Iain Liddell
Group Managing Director, Uniserve

Sitting on a 28-acre site along the A14, Felixstowe, the £90 million fulfilment centre is due to open its doors in the second quarter of 2021 and will be BRC food grade accredited, bonded for both wet and dry goods and will offer consolidation services for goods in transit. Within its colossal walls (400 metres long by 120 metres wide by 21 metres high) will be housed state-of-the-art facilities enabling maximum flexibility to accommodate customer requirement across the broadest range of sectors and commodity types. This will include:

• 400,000 sq. ft marshalling and narrow/wide aisle pallet racking
• 200,000 sq. ft purpose-built efulfilment zone
• 100,000 sq. ft cold store
• 80,000 ambient pallet spaces
• 50,000 sq. ft offices and staff facilities
• 18,000 pallet spaces of frozen storage
• 10 levels of racking
• 4 mezzanine floors
• Advanced electrical mechanical handling equipment
• Significant green credentials

“The Felixstowe Mega DC will be a fantastic addition to Uniserve’s already outstanding warehousing offer. And as impressive its scale and specifications are, what’s really important is what this means for our customers – namely capacity, convenience, flexibility, visibility and cost savings across multiple sectors and commodities.”
David Barry
Director of Warehousing & Transport, Uniserve

For more information about Uniserve’s Felixstowe Mega DC visit uniserve.co.uk