£10m port expansion as PD and Barrett agree new steel deal

2025-04-10 05:55:14

Investment incoming: Pictured, from left, PD Ports’ general manager, Roy Merryweather; logistics manager Jen Taylor; integrated management systems director Sharon Smith and director of portcentric logistics, Ian Johnson; with Barrett Steel’s managing director, Richard Gawler; group operations director John Childs, director Andy Warcup and group purchasing director Guy Barrett.

A £10 million port investment is being made to handle steel distribution in northern Lincolnshire.

PD Ports is close to completing a dedicated new 200,000 sq ft site at its Groveport facility on the River Trent. It will support long-term customer Barrett Steel as it grows its market share, and signifies the start of a new contract that will take the partnership to 2040 and beyond.

The new facility, launching early next year, will support the expansion of Barrett’s footprint on the Humber, and will be further enhanced with additional investment from the port operator to double the size of its transport fleet. It is a move described as strengthening Barrett’s national distribution network, allowing for just-in-time deliveries to be made across the UK.

It is PD’s largest investment on the Humber in decades, with the 190-acre site between Gunness and Flixborough, on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, its largest location in the region.

Geoff Lippitt, chief commercial officer, said: “The new Barrett Steel facility is a huge milestone for PD Ports at Groveport. This ma