PD Ports has been shortlisted for the International Bulk Journal Awards 2009, in the category of Best Ship Loading/Unloading System. The awards, which take place in Amsterdam on 23rd November, will see PD Ports compete against four other entries, which include US construction company Agrico Sales and German mobile pneumatic conveyors manufacturer Neuero. PD Ports is the only UK finalist in its category and has been shortlisted on the basis on the installation of the Siwertell equipment at Immingham.
The Siwertell 5000s offers the bulk market an environmentally friendly solution for discharging dry bulk products such as cement, grain and fertilizers, due to its ability to minimize dust emissions. This is achieved through the equipment's totally enclosed conveying line.
The equipment currently operates from PD Ports' Immingham facilities but is expected to be utilized at the group's other port locations around the Humber Estuary at Howden and Keadby.
The IBJ awards are expected to welcome many of the bulk industry's key players from around the world. Among PD Ports' team attending this prestigious event, will be Jerry Hopkinson, PD Ports' managing director, bulks, ports and logistics. Jerry's industry experience spans over 30 years.
Jerry's early career involved the setting up of operations to provide port logistics to the offshore energy industry in both the Irish and North Sea. As group operations director for PD Ports on the Humber he and his colleagues developed various short sea ports on the Rivers Ouse and Trent and the main stevedoring operations in the deepwater ports of Immingham and Grimsby. He led the privatisation of port operations on the Humber, following the repeal of the National Dock Labour Scheme.