Press Release

Ref: PRCSH114
Date: 24th January 2017

King's Lynn to benefit from £1.1million

investment at local port

High resolution image for download

A £1.1million investment in award-winning hydraulic crane technology is set to strengthen the strategic economic importance of ABP's Port of King's Lynn.

Contributing £40million to the regional economy, the port offers a route to international markets for local farmers and supports the construction sector.

ABP is committed to driving growth in the region and the decision to enhance the Short Sea Port's loading and unloading capabilities is part of a wider investment programme involving infrastructure improvements at the 97 acre site.

The Port of King's Lynn, which supports 590 local jobs and handles over 500,000 tonnes of cargo, specialises in agribulks, including fertiliser and grain. The Alexandra Grain Silo Complex offers 25,000 tonne storage capacity and a 6,000 tonne silo and supplementary flat store for cereals and pulses is based at the port. The new Mantsinen 120M hydraulic crane, which has been supplied by Cooper Specialised Handling, the UK's largest independent provider of port equipment, is set to play a central role as ABP develops its agribulks business.

Paul Brooks, ABP's Port Manager at King's Lynn and Lowestoft, said: "By enabling us to handle wider vessels more efficiently, the new crane will deliver significant improvements in cargo handling for our primary grain trade while also supporting our plans to develop trade in aggregates and building products.

"Increases in efficiency coupled with the enhanced service we can provide to our customers will contribute to making the port fit for the future, enabling us to support a regional economy that is likely to become increasingly reliant on export markets and the growing offshore energy industry."

Throughout the procurement process crane operators at the Port of King's Lynn worked closely with Cooper Specialised Handling, both on the specification of the new crane and to design a customised lifting beam attachment that will boost productivity in the port's bagged cargo operations.

This is the third Mantsinen crane supplied by Cooper Specialised Handling to ABP as part of a £6million investment. Similar equipment is already in operation at ABP's ports in Teignmouth and Swansea, while further equipment is destined for Ipswich and Garston. 

Caption: By enabling the Short Sea Port of King's Lynn to handle a wider range of cargo, ABP's investment in a Mantsinen 120M crane is set to support economic growth across East Anglia. 

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Editor's Notes

Cooper Handling Group operates in all sectors of lifting and materials handling across the UK and Ireland. Cooper Specialised Handling is its heavy handling division and is the exclusive UK distributor for Meclift and Sany equipment, sole importer and distributor for Mantsinen cranes and a specialist in Konecranes lift trucks. The company has a specialist aftersales division, Cooper Handling Solutions, while Cooper Materials Handling specialises in industrial forklift trucks and is the UK distributor for the Maximal brand.  Independently owned, Cooper offers total solutions for forklifts from 6 to 60 metric tonnes and a complete range of hydraulic cranes for solid and bulk handling. It provides high quality, high value products and reliable service to customers who operate in the toughest sectors across freight, ports, inter-modal terminals and other heavy lifting industries, together with a broad range of industrial materials handling applications from manufacturing to distribution.

Media contact:

Martine Layland

CHANGEWORKS Communications Limited
t: + 44 (0) 1785 247588
e: mlayland@changeworkscom.co.uk

Company contact:

Natasha Barnes

Business Development Manager

Cooper SH Limited
Holly Farm Business Park
Honiley
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
CV8 1NP
United Kingdom

Tel: 01926 658900
email:natasha@cooperhandling.com

W:www.cooperhandling.com