Road Haulage Group Continues its Evolution to Multimodal Supply Chain Operation

UK – Succeeding in the overland freight transport sector is no easy feat. Over the years we have witnessed the rise and fall of numerous companies, often subject to takeover, insolvency and the like. What that means however is the strong, well-managed outfits grow and prosper, and such would seem to be the case with Maritime Transport.

Formed just over two decades ago as a typical road haulage operator, Maritime has developed into a specialist container transporter and evolved now into logistics, warehousing and rail carriage and handling, with enough multimodal facets to act as a buffer against the vagaries of a tough industry.

Now, with a fleet of 3,000+ trailers, and 2,000+ state-of-the-art vehicles the group continues to develop with the latest move the signing of an agreement with Peel Ports Group to expand its existing transport depot at the Port of Liverpool. The multi-million-pound project will see the facility increase from four acres to ten with a new storage yard for loaded containers, significantly enhancing Maritime’s operation in the northwest. John Williams, Group Executive Chairman, Maritime Transport commented:

”This significant investment, which marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration with Peel Ports, heralds an exciting time for the company in terms of our growth, whilst we continue to provide the very best facilities and excellent working environments for our colleagues. The Port of Liverpool has established itself as a key gateway for our customers over the years, and we are excited to be bringing high quality storage space and even greater capability and choice to the market as we see an increase in demand for our services.”

The new storage yard accompanying the enlarged premises will offer a wide range of loaded container handling and storage solutions, and enable optimum storage for up to 2,000 TEU. Brand new Sany reach stackers which were ordered in Q1 will be arriving on site in time for the project completion in November 2022. Construction will commence in April and will include a new transport depot, with new offices as well as what the company says is ‘the usual Maritime standard of exceptional driver facilities’.

The choice of Sany equipment is an interesting one, the Chinese company, headquartered in Changsha, Hunan province is little known hitherto in Europe, despite claiming to be the 3rd largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world, but has secured some serious European orders of late. Speaking of the new agreement David Huck, Chief Operating Officer, Peel Ports Group observed:

”This is a major commitment which is yet another highlight in the exciting evolution at the Port of Liverpool. It links perfectly with our strategy to extend our multi-modal connections providing better links beyond our current hinterland. We’re also pleased to see one of our important customers continuing to enjoy success and together we are going from strength-to-strength.”

The Liverpool expansion announcement comes just after the completion of Maritime’s latest addition to its growing network of sites, an 8.1-acre, state-of-the-art transport depot located on Normanton Industrial Estate in Wakefield less than a mile away from the Maritime Intermodal Rail Terminal.