A number of opportunities are available at UM’s Gladstone terminal, which has two berths allowing for multiple ship and barging operations to run simultaneously, as well as at the company’s Regent Road facility, also in Liverpool. The tanks available range from 10,000 – 15,000 cubic metres.
Identifying new customers, specifically those seeking more of a long-term partnership, is a key plank of the UM Terminals strategic growth plan.
Launched towards the end of 2020, the three key pillars of the plan are:
- Maximise existing UK capability both in terms of current assets and, where appropriate, expanding existing terminals.
- Optimise the assets of the wider UM Group and its network of facilities in Europe and other parts of the world storing molasses but which could be used to store other products.
- Look for appropriate acquisition targets that complement the current UM Terminals offer.
Investing in flexible solutions
Bryan Davies, managing director of UM Terminals, said: “It is relatively unusual for storage of this nature to become available and presents a great opportunity for the right customers.
“The deep-sea facility provided at Gladstone is likely to be of particular interest and we have already had several enquiries from potential customers.
“In addition, we are able to offer excellent road and rail links across the UK from Liverpool.”
Bryan added: “One of our primary goals for this year is to explore new global markets including Asia and the United States.
“We are continually investing in our facilities and one of our key messages to the market is that for the right project, we will undertake bespoke investment to meet the exact requirements of the customer.
“We are seeking to build long-term partnerships with our customers, so we are willing to demonstrate our total commitment to ensuring that the storage capability we provide is best able to meet the future supply chain requirements of customers.”
UM Terminals maintains a broad portfolio of around 40 products that it stores including vegetable oils, industrial, food and feed, chemical, fertiliser, fuels, biofuels and base oils.
Ambition to acquire and grow
It achieves this operating out of 8 terminals, strategically located across the UK, with a current capacity of over 300,000 cubic metres of bulk liquid storage, but with an ambition to increase this to around 400,000 cubic metres.
Vic Brodrick, UM Terminals’ commercial director, said: “The product flexibility we offer is one of our key USPs. It allows us to adapt to meet the precise needs of a customer, even if this means investing in our facilities to handle a new product type.”
Exemplary customer service
The business also continues to invest in delivering the best possible customer service through its dedicated Client Central Services team.
Based out of Regent Road and headed by client central services manager Lynn McCoy, the service integrates all weighbridge and administration from across UM’s 8 terminals.
A dedicated portal gives clients instant access to essential weighbridge documentation and current stock levels for each tank. They also have a secure log-in and can access their data 24/7, 365 days a year via a desktop, tablet or mobile device.
Bryan added: “We are starting to see the benefits of the strategic growth plan we put in place just over a year ago, particularly in terms of maximising our existing UK capability while also playing to the inherent strengths of being part of the larger UM Group.”
UM Terminals is part of the United Molasses Group, led by CEO Ben Macer, whose history dates back almost 100 years with founder, Michael Kroyer-Keilberg, involved in bulk liquid storage even earlier than this – he constructed his first tank for the storage of bulk molasses in 1911 at Victoria Dock in Hull.
The Group’s other services include the international trading of molasses, the sales and distribution of molasses and the procurement and marketing of vegetable oils for use in the animal feed industry.