Associated British Ports’ (ABP) biomass operations on the Humber have been singled out for praise at the recent International Bulk Journal (IBJ) Awards.
The company’s facilities in Hull and Immingham, developed as part of a Humber-wide agreement with Drax, won two categories at the event, which was held in Antwerp.
This latest success, which saw ABP win the Innovative Technology Award, as well as the Bulk Logistics Excellence category, come just weeks after ABP’s Port of Immingham was named Business of the Year at the prestigious Rail Freight Group (RFG) Awards.
Immingham’s Humber International Terminal (HIT) was recognised in the Innovative Technology Award for its work with DBIS, a global specialist in terminal management and software automation, which has allowed the HIT team to improve operational monitoring and as a result, increase crane productivity and employee efficiency.
This innovative system allows ABP and its customers to monitor end-to-end efficiency of cargo transit, from vessel discharge to the stockyard and on to the rail load-out facilities.
On the north bank of the Humber ABP’s biomass operations were successful in the Bulk Logistics Excellence category for its state-of-the-art rail load-out facility, built at a cost of £26 million to handle wood pellets for Drax. The silo, which dominates the skyline of east Hull, can hold 1,800 tonnes of biomass and takes approximately 35 minutes to fill a 25-wagon train.
The IBJ Awards ceremony attracts some of the shipping’s biggest names and recognises outstanding achievement in the maritime bulk industry. ABP was the only company to have all of its entries shortlisted for IBJ Awards.
ABP Director Humber, Simon Bird said: “This is a fantastic result for our Humber businesses and I’m extremely proud of the teams on both banks of the estuary, who have worked hard to ensure our biomass operations are the best in the industry.
“We will continue to innovate to meet our customers’ needs but it’s very rewarding to know that what we are doing now, is recognised as industry best practise.”