The Port of Shoreham has a mantra: “We’re never going to be the biggest, but we can be the best”.
How that translates in day-to-day business, said chief executive Rodney Lunn, ranges from tailoring services to changing market needs and fostering close, long term relationships with clients, to constant upgrading of port facilities and technology and, down to the nitty gritty, keeping the 100% block-paved or tarmacked quays and storage swept, clean and tidy to maintain cargoes in pristine condition.
“We’ll never compete with the Southamptons and Felixstowes on size, but we can on service and quality,” said Mr Lunn. “Although, having said that, we have increased volumes in recent years. In 2016 we handled 900 ships and 2 million tonnes of cargo, mainly timber, aggregate and steel – and we have capacity to grow further.”
What also continues to help Shoreham compete and thrive in its fierce fought market, he added, is its trust port status.
“This means we have no shareholders, so all surpluses are reinvested for the long-term development of our facilities and the benefit of stakeholders, including our timber and wood products customers,” said Mr Lunn.
While aggregates are currently Shoreham’s biggest cargo by tonnage, timber, including since 2010, wood chip and utility poles, represents the biggest volumes handled and stored.
Timber and wood products throughput has, in fact, been on an upward curve in recent years, reaching 438,000m3 in 2016. Last year it dipped to 411,000m3, but this does not seem to have prompted undue concern, with 25,000m3 of the difference attributed to lower timber demand in construction in the last quarter.
“Anytime we handle over 400,000m3 is very positive for Shoreham,” said Mr Lunn.
“The market fluctuates from time to time, and +/- 5% is what we would expect.”
At the same time, he added, prospects for 2018 look “very encouraging”, based on feedback from main receivers and timber customers, of which it has about 40, the largest being MDM, Covers, Snows, Timber Direct, Stamco, QP Timber, AKZ Timber and Compass Forest Products.
“The key driver for our timber customers is the health of UK construction, and latest government expressions of commitment to infrastructure development, and particularly to housebuilding have renewed market confidence,” said Mr Lunn.
Shoreham’s existing timber customer base keeps it busy, and it says it is not especially concerned about chasing market share, but it has an ongoing programme of marketing the port for more cargo and new clients. Asked what attractions it highlighted to win over the latter, Mr Lunn cited its strategic location for serving London and the south-east, although stressing that it also ships further afield, and its reputation for “quick and efficient turnaround of ships”.
“Another is our state-of-the-art ‘track-apack’ computer system, which we continue to develop,” he said. “We upload all cargoes the moment they’re in and customers can access detailed information on their deliveries, when they arrived and where they are, and pass on that information to their customers.”
Timber Investment
Shoreham’s continuing investment programme has also been focused on its timber operations. In 2016 a new 6,000m2, warehouse was completed, taking its total of undercover storage to 46,000m2 and providing space for a further 5,500m3 of wood products.
Now it is preparing for the installation of another bespoke Sennebogen crane, its sixth of the ?1.5m machines.
“These are very versatile, capable of handling the range of cargoes, and will increase our capacity and efficiency further,” said Mr Lunn. “We expect to place the order this year and take delivery in 2019.”
Marking another change for Shoreham at the end of 2017 was the retirement of commercial and operations director Alan Motterham after 20 years at the port.
“Alan has made an outstanding contribution to the development of Shoreham,” said Mr Lunn. “He’s been instrumental in the diversification of cargoes coming into the port, growing our customer base and developing our facilities. He’s done a fantastic job.”
Succeeding to the commercial and operations role is Beth Evans-Gay, who has spent the last 13 years with ABP, most recently as head of port operations at ABP Southampton.
“ABP policy is to move management between their ports, so Beth has great breadth of experience in port types, different customers and cargoes,” said Mr Lunn. “She brings strong commercial, financial and operational acumen to Shoreham, where her role will include exploring new business opportunities and contributing to our overall strategic plans.”
Looking ahead, Shoreham has plenty more developments in the pipeline and its trust status enables it to look further ahead than many a business. In fact, it is working to a 20-year masterplan, unveiled in 2010 and reviewed late 2016.
This ranges over everything from investment in new port facilities, including warehousing and terminals, to processing more goods at the port, development of vacant and underused land and improvement of port infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels. The ultimate goal is to achieve 25% growth in trade over the course of the masterplan. So while it may not be out to take on the big ports at their own game, it clearly aims to give them more than a run for their money in its targeted markets.
