The record-breaking shipment aboard mv Thor Commander arrived at the Port of Swansea on Good Friday for RKL Plywood UK Ltd. It includes RKL’s first batch of Forest Stewardship Council-certified product.
The delivery eclipses the region’s previous largest timber shipment – 16,000m3 of plywood imported by RKL through Swansea last year.
The latest shipment follows the completion of a £1.7m extension to the Port of Swansea’s forest products terminal last December by port owner Associated British Ports. The extension allows RKL to import larger volumes.
John Fitzgerald, ABP’s South Wales ports director, said: “The arrival of mv Thor Commander heralds the start of regular shipments of plywood to the port, which will have a positive effect on forest product volumes in 2006.”
ABP will begin construction of RKL’s new headquarters at Swansea during May.
