Infrastructure
North East England has world class infrastructure for the process industry. All aspects of the infrastructure are privately owned and always commercially competitive. Whatever the sector capacity and capability, North East England is the location to help develop your business in the UK and Europe.
PORTS
The region has two substantial ports, one at Teesside, the UKs 2nd biggest port in tonnage terms, which is 70% occupied with the bulk handling of process industry products, On Tyneside, the other major port facility, there is are also passenger ferry services to the continent of Europe . Both these ports have direct links to the UKs rail and road network and have portside land available for development.
On Teesside, PD Ports is the high performing specialist ports business offering a wide variety of supply chain services to improve customers’ international product and material movements. Its business is in both bulks and unitised logistics. PD Logistics also offers warehousing and distribution services throughout the UK.
The Port of Tyne is the other key player in the North East region; a dynamic trading hub with five business areas; conventional and bulk cargoes, logistics, car terminals, cruise and ferries and estates.
ROAD & RAIL
There are excellent rail freight facilities with both EWS and Freightliner operating modern rolling stock. They have connections to all parts of the UK and Europe via the Channel Tunnel. EWS is the prime mover of heavy freight in Tees Valley and partners with PD Ports to operate their Tees Yard rail hub.
Teesport also has a hub for its intermodal maritime movements. Freightliner operates its own rail freight terminal and provides trunk rail services between key ports and inland rail freight interchanges within the UK including a daily direct service.
There are two main motorway arteries in the region connecting it ti the rest of the UK and Europe: the A19 and the A1. There are several large road transport fleets with vehicles and trained staff servicing the process sector. PD Ports and The Port of Tyne are haulage operators as well asas along with several large independents, such as Prestons of Potto, Imperial Tankers and Stillers alongside multinationals like Hoya, Bulkhaul & TDG.
www.stiller.co.uk, www.tdg.eu.com
AIRPORTS
Industry here benefits from the services of two excellent regional airports with short connections to major international hubs such as London, Heathrow, Schipol, Gatwick, Paris and Charles de Galle. Newcastle International is the North East’s largest airport, handling over five million passengers a year. The airport boasts a choice of over 85 destinations worldwide, including long-haul scheduled services to Dubai from Newcastle.
Durham Tees Valley Airport is one of Europe’s fastest growing freight airports with a very competitive offering. It can accommodate large ad hoc charter flights and has no slot constraints, excellent year round weather and efficient handling accommodate large ad hoc charter flights and has no slot constraints, excellent
year round weather and efficient handling operations. It has International Passenger Flight Connections via Schipol and other European Hubs.
www.durhamteesvalleyairport.com
BULK STORAGE
Bulk storage facilities are available for a wide range of products. Gas, bulk liquid and solids can all be stored and managed. The Bulk facilities on Teesside are world class. For example Vopak Terminal Teesside Limited is one of a network of 4 UK and 79 worldwide terminals, run by global market leader in bulk liquid storage; Royal Vopak of Rotterdam. The Teesside terminal, conveniently situated for shipping, at the mouth of the River Tees at Seal Sands, is one of the largest dedicated bulk liquid chemical and fuel blending facilities in the UK, with a capacity of 287,000m3 of bulk liquid storage in 168 tanks.
Simon Storage is also an international operator with a total capacity in excess of 1 million m3. They have extensive operations in the region with two terminals on the Tees estuary and one on the Tyne, together providing over 340,000m3 of storage in support of
local industries.
LARGE SCALE COAL, GAS, BIOMASS AND WASTE HANDLING
Coal handling facilities remain significant in the region with nearby open castsurface mines and importation through our ports. This enables both coke and steel making to continue on Teesside. This infrastructural capability, to handle large scale imports and exports of natural recourses and minerals, also enables the waste and biomass to energy, fuels and products industry to blossom. Similarly the landing of gas, from off shore production in the North Sea, at Teesside for the UK national gas grid has resulted in the largest gas fired power station in Europe being built here. There are plans being developed to make synthetic bio SNG on a large scale because of these grid connections for industrial and consumer use.
CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE
The close proximity of the North Sea oil and gas fields, and further geological studies, show that this region is where facilities for undersea carbon capture and storage can be developed. NEPICs process industry carbon capture and storage initiative (PICCSI) is a leading collaborative forum aiming to ensure that the facilities, when built, will enable the carbon dioxide released from industry can to be captured by the system as well as that at from energy producing facilities. This aims to reduce the risk of high carbon taxes on the sector in future.
UTILITIES - WATER & EFFLUENT
The Northeast has significant infrastructure for industrial water supply and effluent treatment. One of Europe’s largest man-made lakes, Keilder Water in Northumberland, was created to supply water to the industry of NE England. Substantial resources are still available for new developments. In addition there is significant provision for industrial water treatment. Both supply and treatment facilities, which are key to many industrial processes, are operated and provided by Northumbrian Water, who can deliver a complete range of water and effluent management services to industrial and commercial customers, including analytical services and bespoke treatment solutions. It operates world class large scale effluent treatment facilities for Industry at Brand Sands on Teesside.
UTILITIES - CHEMICAL PARK
Sembcorp UK is a dynamic, innovative and responsive industrial utilities and services company based in North East England. It is owned by the Singapore based Sembcorp Industries Group, which provides centralized utilities, energy and water to industrial and other customers. It’s Utilities and Services business owns and markets much of the available development land on the internationally renowned 2,000 acre Wilton International site. It works closely with NEPIC to bring investment and jobs to the region. Sembcorp supplies steam and electrical power, but also water and industrial gas - to chemical companies and other customers including international chemical manufacturers SABIC, INVISTA, Huntsman, Artenius, Ensus, Biffa - each operating high-quality, multi-million pound plant assets.
Wilton Power Station, the main Utilities asset, is a 194MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant capable of producing up to 600 tonnes of steam an hour. The associated Water Treatment Plant supplies up to 2,000 cubic metres of demineralised water an hour (making it the largest demineralised water facility in the UK).
The company also manages cable and pipework distribution systems for electricity, steam, compressed air, nitrogen and water. Significant investment into green technology saw the company open the UK’s first large scale ‘wood to energy’ plant - the Sembcorp Biomass Power Station - to enhance its operations. The plant, which is carbon neutral by virtue of its use of totally sustainable sources of wood and, can make enough electricity to power a small town, came on line in 2007.
UTILITIES - INDUSTRIAL GAS
BOC - Linde is internationally renowned for the delivery of value-added solutions based on the supply of gases. In Teesside BOC operates one of the world’s largest industrial gas pipeline grids supplying hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and argon to leading companies and has expansion capabilities to supply the complete range of gases throughout
North East England.
TRAINING & SKILLS - GRADUATES
The North East of England has five campus based universities (Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, the University of Sunderland, Teesside University) and plus the Open University in the North. These universities are an important resource, and partner, to the process Industry and have many technology, engineering and science departments underpinning the sector that are rated 5 Sstars in their research and teaching capabilities.
These excellent universities have combined income in excess of £1 billion, approximately 13% of which was derived from research grants and contracts. They employ over 23,000 staff and educate ~120,000 students of which over 20,000 are International. In a year they will award over 37,000 qualifications,
including 2,370 First Class Honours Degrees and 680 Doctorates. Typically in a year they will produce over 20,000 graduates.
In a typical year these Universities will have substantial interactions with Industry including 1,700 research contracts, 18,000 consultancy contracts, provide 275 facilities and equipment-related services, make 42 new patent applications, grant 26 non-software licences, initiate 26 Spin-offs which are still active and surviving three years, and see over 100 of their graduates start -up new businesses.
TRAINING & SKILLS - APPRENTICES
With 20 Higher Further Education Colleges (HEC’s) there is excellent provision for technical and commercial apprenticeships. There are also a number of specialist training organisations that focus on the needs of the process sector. One college and a specialist provider are featured here.
In UK national school and college performance tables Newcastle College has been ranked as the best performing general FE College for 16-18 year olds in England for the second consecutive year. They offer a wide range of full time 16-18 provision, including A- levels, Diplomas, National Diplomas and the International Baccalaureate programme.
Apprenticeship programmes are a combination of assessment in the workplace and college-based learning and can be tailored to the specific needs of organisation, ensuring the course focuses on the needs of the business.
The TTE Technical Training Group is a ‘Group Training Association’ and a leading provider of technical training and consultancy services to the engineering, process and oil & gas sectors. Its technical training
programmes range from longer-term advanced apprenticeships and technician development programmes at HNC and graduate Graduate level to a wide range of short courses and client specific skills development programmes.
These are delivered in training centres or on the clients own facilities, and offer industry-led accredited ‘hands on’ practical training alongside formal technical qualifications, delivered both on and off-the-job.
SCALE-UP & INNOVATION FACILITES
The region has several internationally renowned Innovation centres two of which are particularly relevant to the process sector.
The Centre for Process Innovation - CPI, is based at the Wilton Centre near Redcar is a technology innovation centre that uses market knowledge and technology understanding to develop and prototype products and processes quickly and efficiently with minimal risk to its public and private sector partners. It has commercial open access scale up facilities.
For further details visit www.nepic.co.uk,
or contact enquiries@nepic.co.uk / 01642 442 560
