International Plywood strikes three-year agreement with Port of Tyne

An initial three-year deal with International Plywood will see the Port of Tyne provide office accommodation, cargo handling, covered storage and onward UK wide road distribution for timber products imported through the port.

The port, which has a prominent position in the coal-importing sector, told TTJ that prior to the agreement it did not have plywood-importing customers and there are currently no other solid wood or panel product clients.

“International Plywood has been importing plywood and panel products for a quarter of a century,” said Ian Attwood, managing director for International Plywood.

“We are a family-owned company and in this extremely competitive market, we pride ourselves on always striving to achieve value for money for our customers.

“The Port of Tyne offers exceptional value and customer service with an excellent location providing unrivalled connectivity via road networks.”

Multi-geared break-bulk vessels will import plywood and other timber products to the Port of Tyne from the Baltics and as far afield as South East Asia and South America.

“The Port of Tyne is unique in its ability to not only manage break-bulk of non-containerised cargo but to also handle containerised products, storage and distribution providing optimal customer service.” said Nolan Gray, business development director for Port of Tyne.

“The Port's ability to handle larger vessels presents not only greater economies of scale for International Plywood as larger volumes can be handled per shipment but it also creates a positive environmental benefit."

Stuart Watts, director for International Plywood, said the port offered the ability for the company to maximise potential by creating a northern hub with an office based at the Port. International Plywood reported £130m turnover in 2014.