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One of the UK’s major port groups has been recognised as Water Business of the Year at the Freight Transport Association (FTA) Logistics Annual awards in London.

PD Ports scooped the top prize at the glamourous event held at the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge which was attended by leaders and experts from across the logistics industry.

The judges commended PD Ports for offering the ‘highest standards of service’ for its customers across its road, sea and rail networks when moving freight inland.

Frans Calje, PD Ports’ CEO, said:

“We are delighted to have won this award and be recognised for both our operations and our customer relations but also for the work that we do in our role as the Statutory Harbour Authority.

“Our ethos is built on creating trusted, long-lasting partnerships that allow us to understand customers and their unique requirements. We acknowledge that without our customers we wouldn’t be able to operate, and that is why we go the extra mile to support their success and secure their futures as well as our own.

“To have this appreciated by the FTA and the judges is truly rewarding.”

The award not only demonstrates PD Ports’ commitment to adding value to services, and building strong relationships with customers and partners, it also commends the port operator’s role as the Statutory Harbour Authority for the River Tees, through which the firm ensures the safe navigation of vessels as well as maintaining and managing the river itself.

The judges also paid tribute to the commission of the Teesport Express, PD Ports’ second daily service to Scotland, and the seamless work undertaken with partners P&O Ferries to achieve a remarkable seven hour turnaround from the arrival of the ferry to the departure of the train.

Teesport has become the port of choice to connect shippers with Scotland as with 10 trains running each week, it offers more direct, daily rail connections to and from the continent and the Baltics than any other port in the north of England.

Frans added,

“The Teesport Express is a fine example of the strong relationships that we hold with our partners.

“We worked meticulously with P&O Ferries and were able to influence decision making to agree enhanced capacity of over 25% on the ferry service in order to service additional demand for our customers.

“Our priority during development was always our customers. We ensures that they would have a new reliable and dependable service that would exceed their expectations, and we couldn’t have done this without our partners at P&O Ferries.”

The FTA is one of the biggest business groups in the UK, and is the only organisation to represent the full logistics industry with members from road, rail, sea and air.

The awards, now in their third year, celebrate the companies and individuals who have made invaluable contributions to the logistics and supply industry.