The Grocery Trader - Headline Stories
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 24/03/08
Heat things up at lunchtime with UGO's Deli Café

Kepak Convenience Foods is taking the lead in creating a lunchtime revolution in support of its new hot snacking range, UGO's Deli Café Panini.

The number one name in UK hot snacking is launching a hard-hitting, nationwide press advertising and sampling campaign, positioning UGO's Deli Café as 'the hot alternative to boring and cold lunchtime sandwiches.'

The campaign runs throughout March and April 2008 and heralds the start of a £1.6 million annual brand support package, led by nationwide advertising that will reach 67% of all working women.

The campaign also includes an online buy one get one free voucher available for a limited period through www.ugosdelicafe.com to introduce the brand to new consumers.

Peter Fazal, Kepak Convenience Foods' Sales Director says: "The campaign is highly focused and clearly positions UGO's Deli Café as an alternative to sandwiches which a lot of people buy simply because it's part of their daily routine or because, until now, they have been unaware of better tasting alternatives. All that is about to change!

"UGO'S Deli Café is the inspiring alternative to cold lunchtime sandwiches and offers retailers a real opportunity to compete with highstreet food service operators targeting consumers looking for a hot and satisfying offering at lunchtime."

UGO's Deli Café has already had a significant impact on the UK's £102 million hot snacking market. Launched in September 2007, the panini range has already attracted over 740,000 new households to the category, contributing to category growth of 25 per cent.*

The UGO's Deli Café range comprises two products, Chargrilled Chicken with Mozzarella Cheese and Pesto (170g) and Bacon, Cheese & Mustard Mayo (145g), with an mrp of £2.49.

* Source: Nielsen, 52 w/e 26/01/08
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 17/03/08
Help make maths easy and fun with the latest Sharp calculators

The new EL-233SBK & EL-M332-BBL/BPK handheld models offer a choice of colours, large display and clear, easy to use keys

Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd has launched two new handheld calculator models - the EL-233S and the EL-M332 aimed at primary school children of all ages.

The eye-catching, sporty design of the EL-M332 is available to young male and female consumers in two model colours – pink (EL-M332BPK) or blue (EL-332BBL). In addition to the colourful design, the models offer a wide variety of functions.

Key features:
• Large display and keys for easy operation
• Tax calculation keys
• Rate and unit conversion keys
• Sign change keys
• Right shift key and square root key for convenient calculation
• Double zero key
• Floating (F) and fixed (2,0) decimal setting

The EL-M332 has a RRP of £4.99 and will be widely available from UK retailers as well as from education channels, including Business Electronic (Ireland), Eason & Son (Ireland), Imcopex, Integrity, Jaytex, Oxford Educational Supplies, Oxford Scientific Solutions, SCI-NET Ltd from February 2008.

The EL-233SBK (available in black - picture not shown) has a RRP of £1.99 and will be widely available from UK retailers as well as from education channels, including Business Electronic (Ireland), Eason & Son (Ireland), Imcopex, Integrity, Jaytex, Oxford Educational Supplies, Oxford Scientific Solutions, SCI-NET Ltd.
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 10/03/08
Lucozade Alert launch set to stimulate retailer profits

Lucozade, the UK's number one Sports and Energy drink, is set to take the stimulation drinks category by storm with the launch of Lucozade Alert - an exciting category innovation that promises to generate huge consumer interest and presents retailers with a great opportunity to drive incremental sales.*

Lucozade Alert is the first stimulation drink from the makers of Lucozade and is designed to provide mental as opposed to physical stimulation. It contains caffeine to sharpen mental performance and stimulate the mind fast.** This latest innovation from the makers of Lucozade has been developed in conjunction with office workers to deliver a great tasting stimulation drink designed to combat energy lulls at work.

The newcomer, which should be stocked as part of the Lucozade Sport and Energy drinks range, promises to drive incremental revenue*** and maximise retailer profits. The new drink's refreshing Lemon Zing flavour and low calorie content is sure to be a hit with consumers who increasingly demand great tasting low calorie products.

Lucozade Alert is available from April in 250ml bottles and 4 x 250ml multi-packs. It will benefit from a huge £4 million integrated marketing campaign, including nationwide sampling, press, online, in-store promotional activity, a dedicated website and a heavy weight outdoor campaign.

Jenny Hall, Lucozade Alert brand manager, said: "Lucozade Alert is a great tasting low calorie stimulation product that meets an unfulfilled gap in the market. As we know, a long hard day at the office can really take its toll, so people will always welcome a refreshing drink that helps wake up tired minds and boost mental performance at work. Initial consumer response has been fantastic, showing high levels of excitement as well as strong purchase intent."****

"Retailers looking to profit should stock up from April and take advantage of this fantastic consumer proposition from the UK's number one Sports and Energy drink which is backed by a £4m marketing campaign."

*MMR Quant Research Sept 2007
**Lucozade Alert contains 32mg of Caffeine per 100ml & 80mg of caffeine per serve
***MMR Quant Research Sept 2007
****MMR Quant Research Sept 2007 confirmed fantastic consumer response exceeding research norms in overall appeal, taste and purchase intent
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 03/03/08
PD Ports gains HRO approval for deep sea container terminal

PD Ports has received formal planning approval for its Northern Gateway Container Terminal (NGCT) at Teesport in Northeast England. Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly has announced her approval for the Harbour Revision Order (HRO) plans submitted by PD Ports in April 2006. This is the last and most important external approval required to finalise the NGCT business case and create a £300m investment in the deep sea container terminal on the South bank of the river Tees.

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council's local planning committee previously gave its unanimous approval for the scheme's land-based elements in April 2007. The HRO and accompanying Transport & Works Act Order (TWAO) have now been approved. This means the project has gained all the necessary statutory consents to start the development phase.

"This is very significant news for the North of England and for the supply chains of many UK companies," commented PD Ports' Group Chief Executive Officer, David Robinson. "The HRO approval is a major forward step to the financial viability of the project and, subject to the commercial hurdles, will allow the PD Ports team to focus on its delivery. This decision will ultimately give shippers and shipping lines serving the North of England and Scotland a valuable alternative to their traditional use of the Southern UK ports when trading with, particularly, the Far East and other major global markets.

"We have achieved successful planning approval for this large scale port infrastructure project in record time. It is less than 22 months since we submitted our plans. This further demonstrates the excellent support we have been given from all the stakeholders in this project, and underlines the need for this type of development to support the regional economy. I would like to put on record our thanks to all those parties, both locally and regionally, who have worked so tirelessly to help us achieve the Northern Gateway's successful planning approval. We still have much to do to make the plan a reality, but will be working hard to commence detailed engineering design and implementation, and see construction begin on site as soon as possible.

"Today is a significant step for Teesport and the maritime industry as a whole. A deep-sea container terminal on the Tees will attract container ships direct to Teesport from around the globe. All those imported goods needed for Northern consumers and retailers in the likes of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle can now travel the short distance from port to consumer via retailers' shelves.

"This will also save tens of millions of lorry miles, by stopping the wastefulness of all those containers being landed at Southern UK ports but destined by road or rail for the North. The new terminal will bring hundreds of new jobs to the Tees Valley and in addition, when NGCT is completed, PDP expects to attract more retail distribution centre activity to PDP's vacant strategic port land."
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 25/02/08
Foster Grant's 2008 collection puts other sunglasses in the shade

Leading eyewear provider Foster Grant has revealed its exclusive 2008 collection of fashion and performance sunglasses, a range of new styles designed to accessorise any look and protect eyes all year round.

The stunning 2008 range for women, men and children combines luxurious styling with comfortable, practical features. There's a wide and varied selection of designs, all for under £20, so consumers can afford to fill up their wardrobe for every occasion.

The new range features the latest big, bold and glamorous styles worn by showbiz icons, such as retro Jackie O's, aviators and wayfarers, along with many other unique high fashion frames. There's also a wide choice of details and finishes from simple and sophisticated styling to the latest geometric detailing, decorative jewels plus leather and wood trim effects.

For the very young, there's a new version of the popular Foster Grant "Baby Goggles" for boys and girls, which sold out last summer. They come with a soft and flexible rubber frame front, adjustable Velcro straps and an improved shape and fit to give added comfort.

All Foster Grant sunglasses provide 100% UVA and UVB protection from the sun and come with lightweight scratch resistant lenses. They comply fully with European standards and have a 12 month guarantee against manufacturer's faults so wearers can be assured of looking good for longer.

Foster Grant has also created an attractive new range of product tags and display stands with a smaller footprint for 2008 to improve sales at the POS. The new stands come in multi peg format for high volume outlets or single arm format where lower volume is required.

Foster Grant's Head of Marketing, Amanda Naylor, says, "The brand continues to deliver what consumers and retailers have come to expect of Foster Grant, superb fashion quality products at value for money prices. The new range will be backed this summer by a major consumer magazine advertising campaign to help drive sales and further maintain the brand's position as the leading provider of affordable fashion quality sunglasses for the whole family."
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 18/02/08
SGS gets UKAS accreditation for BRC consumer products standard

SGS has received the first ever accreditation from UKAS for the BRC Global Standard - Consumer Products.

The announcement at the British Retail Consortium Conference on 31 January 2008 means that SGS is now the only accredited certification body for the standard, and confirms the UK company's position as the global market leader.

Following the news, SGS Product Certification Manager Chris Jepson said:
"This is the culmination of 4 years' hard work helping to write the standard, training a global network of auditors, and working with retailers.

"The UKAS accreditation now marks the beginning of the growth of this standard as the benchmark for retail suppliers worldwide."

The BRC Global Standard for Consumer Products certifies the manufacture and supply of most non-food items sold by retailers. Asda, Metro, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Ahold, Waitrose, Rewe and many others are already using the standard extensively to qualify their supply chains in Europe and Asia.

In addition to the UK, SGS already operates BRC Consumer Product certification in over fifteen countries, covering products as diverse as washing powder, cosmetics, firelighters, light bulbs, toilet paper, clothing and rubber gloves.

The SGS Group is the global leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS is recognized as the global benchmark in quality and integrity. With 50'000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1'000 offices and laboratories around the world.

SGS
Jonathan Noakes
Tel: 01276 697655
www.sgs.com
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 11/02/08
Following a year of record success, Xprint furthers its dedication to the environment by introducing its new ecoadvanced product range

Xprint had an exceptional year in 2007 with sales increasing 60% across its full range of compatible and remanufactured ink and toner products. With strong sales and growth across Europe and the US, Xprint continues to forge ahead with superior quality inks and products and growth.

Now Xprint is leading the way by introducing a higher-quality, environmentally friendly range of products branded ecoadvanced. Xprint has long been committed to its environmental initiatives ranging from collecting and remanufacturing ink cartridges to using biodegradable packaging, maximising the use of more environmentally inks and looking for ways in all its products to minimise the impact on the environment. The new ecoadvanced range lets consumers know that they will be getting the superior quality our products offer but also they will be making an eco-friendly choice without having to do the research work. The green packaging reinforces this choice to make it easily identifiable. The ecoadvanced range aims to make it easy for customers to help the environment.

Xprint will be launching these products at Paperworld in Frankfurt, 23-27 January, 2008. These products include ecoadvanced remanufactured inkjet cartridges, ecoadvanced universal laser toners, ecoadvanced universal refill kits, ecoadvanced, compatible inkjet cartridges, and ecoadvanced paper. All products are 100% quality guaranteed for reliability, ease of use and colour vibrancy.

As this range was designed with the environment in mind, they meet the ISO9001-2000 and ISO14001 standards and bring a superior combination of ecosensitive features. ecoadvanced ink products give up to 85% more ink, so more ink means less waste. The ink cartridges also include a Freepost envelope to encourage recycling. As well, all ecoadvanced products come in biodegradable blister packs. The Ecoadvanced range is not only environmentally friendly but also of higher quality as all of our products are independently tested and approved by the highly respected Rochester Institute of Technology and the American Testing Laboratory.

"After having such a successful year in 2007, we look forward to an even more exciting year in 2008. At Xprint, we are dedicated to both significant commercial growth and to do our bit for the environment. The launch of ecoadvanced will allow us to do both so our customers will know they are choosing the best products for their needs and the environment." Andrew Hodgson, Xprint's Sales Director.

About Xprint
Xprint is one of the fastest growing printer consumable brands in the world today. The company offers a full range of branded, unbranded and private label compatible and remanufactured inkjet and laser toner cartridges as well as refill kits and various substrates of photo paper. Xprint is a part of the Syncoms group, based in London with offices in Bangalore (India) Los Angeles, California (USA) and Orlando, Florida(USA). For further information about Xprint, please visit www.x-print.co.uk.

Xprint
Andrew Hodgson
Tel: 0845 057 3722
www.x-print.co.uk
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 28/01/08
The Mentholatum Company announces new UK and Republic of Ireland sales team to support strong growth

The Mentholatum Company is set to expand its sales team in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Mentholatum, a division of the global healthcare company, Rohto Pharmaceuticals, is the company behind some of the UK's leading healthcare brands such as Deep Heat, Deep Freeze and the OXY(R) skincare range.

In addition to the company's headquarters in East Kilbride, Scotland, The Mentholatum Company has recently opened a new UK sales office in Camberley, Surrey. The setting up of a dedicated sales team will further enable development of the company's UK and Irish business plans and is in response to the growing success of the Mentholatum's portfolio over recent years.

Headed up by Sales Development Director Mike Smith, the new team of sales managers, with their extensive industry experience, is now in place.

"Our new sales operation will enable us to better service
our UK and Irish customers with a team of managers dedicated to the different market sectors. This ensures that the company's sales organisation has the opportunity to be fully responsive to our ever evolving customer needs and exciting future growth plans," says Mike Smith.

As well as the new sales organizational structure, the company's UK logistics will be managed by the Unidrug Distribution Group (UDG) based in South Normanton. This new service will come into effect for all direct deliveries from 1st January 2008.

Mentholatum has also joined forces with Ceuta Healthcare, one of the UK's leading contract sales organizations. Ceuta will service orders and distribution in the UK for the independent pharmacy, convenience store and cash and carry sectors. Ceuta's extensive coverage of these areas will provide continuous support for all existing and new Mentholatum customers.

Ceuta Healthcare
Tel: 01202 780558
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 21/01/08
Calypso Soft Drinks Ltd refreshes EDI with Inovis solution

Leading soft drinks brand improves speed and reliability of electronic orders with trading partners

Inovis, a leading provider of on-demand Business Community Management solutions, has supplied its Inovisworks value added network (VAN) to Calypso Soft Drinks Ltd. Over 80% of customer orders are now sent electronically to Calypso's system for processing, taking seconds instead of minutes to receive. Since using the new Inovis system, Calypso has made substantial savings both on subscription costs and those associated with exchanging data.

Calypso selected the Inovisworks platform to replace its previous EDI VAN that used an unreliable and slow dial up modem. Orders are now taken directly via a secure Internet connection into Calypso's System 21 iSeries Based ERP system from Infor, where they are processed.

"EDI is a business critical system for Calypso. Over 80% of our orders by volume are received by EDI, with next day or day after delivery," said James Holmes, IT/CRM Director. "For us Inovis' solution just works Ð it gives us the speed and reliability that we need without even having to think about it."

Inovis is able to provide Calypso with a comprehensive, integrated communication solution consisting of Inovis BizManagerª and Inovisworks. The combined solution enables both the secure transport of electronic data and documents, including EDI, XML and flat files such as spreadsheets and CAD drawings. Interoperability with third-party solutions and standards-based data transport further simplify the management of diverse trading partner communities.

John Redfern, Managing Director of Inovis EMEA said: "With large trading communities that require fast turnaround of orders, companies like Calypso require reliable, fast and secure systems to enable the exchange of electronic documents.

"Inovisworks has been designed to provide flexible, resilient communications that enable trading partners with different data formats to connect seamlessly and removes the need for paper or fax transactions, reducing errors and lost orders. Managing the flow of information also ensures reliable delivery, critical where turnaround times are short."

Inovis
John Redfern
Tel: 01483 547912
www.inovis.com
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 14/01/08
New flexible POS scanner from Datalogic

Datalogic Scanning Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of high performance POS (point-of-sale) retail bar code scanners, has launched the QuickScan(R) Mobile retail POS handheld reader, ideal for use at the point-of-sale, as well as inventory counting, price checking and shelf replenishment.

The QuickScan Mobile reader features Datalogic's cordless STAR-System(TM) radio technology, the most secure system for narrow band communications available today. The wide 40 foot / 12 metre working range eliminates the restraints of cabled devices while making the workplace safer and more efficient. The QuickScan Mobile reader is targeted at small-to-medium retail stores where it is crucial to have one device capable of performing many tasks.

"The QuickScan(R) Mobile handheld reader provides an outstanding return-on-investment for users seeking a cordless handheld device for retail, general purpose, and commercial data collection applications," said Pietro Todescato, Datalogic Scanning General Manager for Handheld Scanning Products. "The introduction of this product makes it advantageous for any customer to migrate from tethered to cordless handheld scanning to gain all of the benefits of mobile scanning."

Customers understand the importance and benefits of "going cordless," in retail and office automation environments. Over 23% of the bar code reader market has already gone cordless or expects to go cordless within the next year, according to Venture Development Corporation, a leading industry analyst for the Auto Identification and Data Collection sector. As a result, expected sales of cordless handheld scanners are projected to outpace sales of corded scanners over the next few years.

The goal at Datalogic Scanning is to make cordless solutions accessible to all customers. Offering both Bluetooth(R) wireless technology and the Datalogic STAR(TM) System narrow band radios (for applications where radio interference is an issue), Datalogic Scanning provides customers the right technology for their specific application needs.

Datalogic Scanning has long been a pioneer in cordless handheld technology. The QuickScan Mobile continues the company's commitment to bringing to market innovative, cordless handheld readers for use in different industries and applications. The release of the QuickScan Mobile reader extends Datalogic Scanning's broad line of cordless readers which includes the following products:
- Dragon(TM) Mobile family of industrial handheld readers (1998)
- PowerScan(R) RF industrial handheld reader (2000)
- Gryphon(TM) mobile family of general purpose handheld readers (2000)
- QuickScan(R) 6500BT general purpose handheld reader (2006)
- PowerScan(R) 7000BT SRI industrial handheld reader (2007)
- QuickScan(R) Mobile retail handheld reader (November 2007)


Datalogic
Charlie Trumpess
Tel: 01923 809511
www.scanning.datalogic.com
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 07/01/08
Real deal for Oakland and Get Real Organic

Midlands based multi temperature supply chain specialist, Oakland International Limited, is not only working with Shrewsbury based Get Real Organics to get their product to market but helping lower the company's overall carbon footprint.

Historically, Get Real Organic supplied frozen product and after securing a large account for chilled product, they needed a specialist chilled distribution partner. Utilising Oakland's consolidation schemes, where a number of suppliers share the same retail pallet, Get Real Organic not only secured a route to market they also reduced costs and their distribution operation impact on the environment. Oakland MD, Dean Attwell, said: "Oakland is delighted to be Get Real Organics chosen distribution partner, providing a cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly route to market."

"Reducing Oakland's impact on the environment whilst providing our personal commitment to customer service is top priority. Offering a number of options such as our shared user pallet consolidation scheme not only means we save our customers money, it means we make it possible for the smaller producers and manufacturers to get product on to the shelves of retailers and food service outlets such as Asda, Tesco, Waitrose and 3663."

Get Real Organics is a well known for providing innovative, healthy and mouth wateringly tasty food products. From their award winning bakery in Shropshire the company produces high quality organic 'meat free' meals and desserts that are low in fat, salt, GI and do not contain preservatives, additives, or any hydrogenated fat.

Oakland's Worcestershire depot supports Get Real Organics distribution operation of organic quiche range, nut roasts, healthy snack falafel and Ambledown roasts and pies. Dai Williams, operations director for Get Real Organic Foods, said: "One of the main issues for a small trading company in the chilled, short shelf life business is finding an efficient and cost effect route to market. Having identified Oakland as the right trading partner, success has allowed us to develop with Get Real Organic now servicing a number of food retail chains, with Oakland undertaking all our chilled business."

Said Dean: "Get Real Organics are a fantastic company to work with and a company who produce great products. "


Oakland International Ltd
Tel: 01527 596222
www.oakland-international.com
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GroceryTrader.co.uk Headline Story - 28/01/08
PD Ports appoints Infinity as Far East representative

PD Ports has signed a major, forward-looking deal to help develop its deepsea container business coming from the Far East. In late December, PD Ports' senior managers visited Singapore and Malaysia in order to complete the signing of Infinity as the ports' representative in the important South East Asia market.

Speaking from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where the ink was still wet on an agreement that could bring some of the world's biggest ships to Teesside, PD Ports Director Martyn Pellew said: "Malaysia and its neighbours Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are a key region for building traffic with the tiger economies of China and India. Malaysia and Singapore see vast numbers of containers transhipped at their major ports, as well as a strong stream of locally produced exports moving to the same ports destined for the wealthy consumer markets of Northern Europe.

"There are a number of ports here expanding their capacity to handle transhipments from China and India. It is that traffic destined for the retailers and consumers of northern Britain that we are after. One port in the south of Malaysia that we visited is dealing with as many containers a day as the whole of the UK. This port alone has an incredible ambition. It plans to expand to handle up to 70 million teu (twenty foot equivalent unit) of containers a year and all vessels of the largest new generation of container ships. Today the whole of Europe only handles about 75 million teu per year."

Mr Pellew said the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur involved the Malaysian Department of Transport and locally based representatives from the UK Trade and Industry team. The atmosphere at the ceremony had been given a major boost by Middlesbrough FC's recent win over Arsenal: "The Malaysians are football mad, so it was the best possible news we could have had to coincide with our week long visit. We are on a mission to raise awareness of Teesport, and Boro's result did more for that than I could have done in a week!"

Malaysian-based freight forwarding company Infinity runs local and long-distance road vehicles and Intermodal trains to meet vessels from South East Asia on their way to Europe and America. Infinity will now act as PD Port's agent for the region.

"We signed an agreement in front of 250 people from the shipping world. This is an important first step towards developing an awareness that UK bound traffic can go through Teesport," said Mr Pellew. "There's no point us building a £300million container port on Teesside, to be known as the Northern Gateway Container Terminal (NGCT), if no one knows about it. Today, these manufacturers can only use Teesport for container freight traffic coming on smaller feeder ships through Rotterdam or Zeebrugge, but in two or three years' time after our build programme, they can come direct."

Also in December The Grand Alliance (GA) of leading container shipping lines said it was boycotting the UK's southeast ports because of congestion. From now on, GA goods destined for the UK will instead be shipped to northern mainland European ports and transferred on to smaller feeder vessels that can access the Northeast's ports such as Teesport. Importers will have to pick up the extra shipping costs of a second sailing, but will save on expensive reduced inland UK road and rail distances in order to get goods onto store shelves in the likes of Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow.

"The fact that GA has said they are no longer going to use Felixstowe or Southampton very strongly supports our bid for building a deep sea container port in the North-east," said Mr Pellew. He added that oceangoing freight was growing by more than 10% a year. Asda has already consolidated its general merchandise Far Eastern imports at Teesdock, and another major UK retailer is expected to move into Teesport during 2008 following an application to build another retail import distribution centre, over three times the size of Asda's current 350k sq ft facility adjacent to the docks.

About the outstanding planning application for the new NGCT terminal with 1.5m teu capacity, Mr Pellew commented: "Christmas is coming, but there's still no news from the Department of Transport. I know of no reason why we should not get approval through now or at worst early in the new year."

PD Ports
Martyn Pellew
Group Development Director
Tel: 01642 877200
www.pdports.co.uk
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