Port Quayside to be Adapted for Timber Sea Freight Imports

UK – The natural harbour which has become the Port of Burntisland in Fife has been used as such for around 2,000 years since the Romans arrived in Scotland. Now, following the approval of full planning permission from the local Council, a joint project between Forth Ports Limited and the Fife based Scott Group will see a multimillion pound investment for the regeneration of the eastern end of the port and a major manufacturing initiative with the adaptation of the quayside for handling the quantities of timber being delivered as sea freight to supply the new project.

And timber is the key to this scheme, founded in Scotland, and now with 27 operational sites throughout the UK, Scott Group is a major supplier of wooden pallets and was keen to maintain its strong Scottish roots in Fife, with the transfer of its Port of Rosyth operations to Burntisland. Due to the success of this business, currently located in the Port of Rosyth, and other neighbouring businesses expanding at the port, the decision was taken to relocate.

Working together to secure the long-term future of the Port of Burntisland, Forth Ports and Scott Group, supported by a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant from Scottish Enterprise, will initially invest around £2.5m in the development of the six acre site in to a state-of-the-art pallet manufacturing facility including upgrades to the electricity supply serving the port, refurbishment of the existing building and surrounding hard standing areas, the relocation and installation of new equipment and with upgrades to local road infrastructure to ensure site traffic avoids the High Street. Commenting on the project, Stuart Wallace, Divisional Director of Forth Ports said:

“We are delighted that the planning application has been granted and look forward to reinvigorating the Port of Burntisland. This investment with our partners, Scott Group, will secure important jobs for Fife, create a vital hub for their business and bring economic benefit to the local community. We have worked with Scott Group for many years and we look forward to a successful partnership at Burntisland. Work on the warehouse at the port will begin immediately and we hope to see Scott Pallets fully operational by early September.”

With development work already underway, the current building at the port in Burntisland will be adapted to suit the needs of the pallet business and the quayside will be adapted for handling the import of timber. It is anticipated that the installation of equipment will be in progress during June and July, with the site being fully operational in September 2014. Alan Gibson, Managing Director at Scott Pallets, commented:

“We are delighted to announce that our relocation to Burntisland is imminent. We were founded in Scotland over 25 years ago and maintaining our heritage as a Scottish business is vital. We recently restructured our management team at Scott Pallets and confirmed plans for reinvestment in the business to facilitate our continued growth, increasing employment and supporting our customers meet their environmental objectives. This move allows us to lay down our long terms plans for creating a centre of excellence for timber pallet manufacturing, and we look forward to seeing the impact and results of our plans.”

Photo: The Eastern End of the port with the proposed pallet facility site outlined in red.