Cocoa bean importer to create jobs at new warehouse
Construction has begun on the 3,344m2 warehouse and new offices, on land leased from Peel Ports. The building is expected to be completed later this year and it will join the other eight warehouses already built on the Liverpool site.
Jason Cross, director of CWT Commodities UK, said the Port of Liverpool was strategically important to CWT, as its location resulted in reduced inland transport costs and carbon footprint for the supply chain involved in delivering to factories.
‘Continued investment’
“The continued investment we have made in logistical infrastructure such as the warehouses wouldn’t have been possible without the strong partnerships formed over many years with Peel Ports and Mazdon Construction,” said Cross.
“We are excited about the completion of the new facilities and the future growth opportunities this will offer.”
Building work is being carried out by Mazdon Construction, which oversaw the development of CWT’s other warehouses in Liverpool.
Mazdon MD Alex Hemming said: “Our successful relationship with CWT over the last 10 years has been founded on our ability to understand their commercial and operational needs, providing them with a bespoke design and build service here in the UK.”
UK cocoa bean demand
Nearly 65,000 tonnes (t) of cocoa beans, more than two-thirds of the UK’s demand, arrive via Liverpool each year due to its proximity to factories in Yorkshire and north Wales. The port also handles around a third of the UK’s annual 150,000t of coffee bean imports.
Peel Ports land and property director Andrew Martin added: “This further investment by CWT reinforces the Port of Liverpool’s premier position as the logistics hub that connects food and drink manufacturing and processing centres across the northern half of the UK.”
Meanwhile, cheese-maker Long Clawson Dairy has completed a £7m expansion of its headquarters in Leicestershire, in a bid to drive global sales.
