Kirkcaldy port is days away from welcoming its first cargo ship for more than two decades.
The harbour has been upgraded so Hutchisons Flour Mill, a division of Carr’s Flour Mills Limited, can import wheat by sea.
It will not only save the company money but will also help reduce carbon emissions by removing almost 250,000 lorry miles from Scotland’s roads.
Harbour owner Forth Ports was only too happy to see the port up-and-running again after Hutchisons was awarded £800,000 from the Scottish Government’s freight facilities grant scheme to fund the project.
Forth Ports worked in partnership with parent company Carr’s which has two other mills in the UK, one in Cumbria and one in Essex on the project.
The Kirkcaldy mill’s operations director, Tim Hall, said, “We’re particularly excited about it because it will breathe new life into a fairly rundown part of Kirkcaldy. It’s a big project for us and it shows confidence in the business.
We’re investing in the business in the long term, despite the fact it’s a very challenging market to operate in. This will make us more competitive because we’ll be able to get wheat in cheaper by vessel than we would by road.”
The first shipload is expected early next week, when a vessel from the German port of Rostock will bring in 2000 tonnes of wheat.
“Reopening the port after so many years in disuse signals a new start for ship-borne trade linking Kirkcaldy to the rest of the world.”PreparationsPreparations have been taking place over the summer to get the port ready.
Equipment including silos has been installed to allow wheat to be unloaded at the harbour and dredging to remove silt from the river bed has been completed.
Hutchisons employs more than 70 people in Fife, including drivers, sales representatives and administration staff.
It is hoped that getting the port back into use will help secure the workforce for years to come.
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Gordon Brown said this heralded a new era for the town.
“Reopening the port after so many years in disuse signals a new start for ship-borne trade linking Kirkcaldy to the rest of the world,” he said.
“Historically Kirkcaldy has been one of the great ports from which much trade in all kinds of goods has been conducted.
“For a time Kirkcaldy was a whaling port and whaling ships left for months to travel afar to catch whales.
“Now Kirkcaldy stands again with Burntisland, Rosyth and Methil as an important port in Fife.
“While the reintroduction of the grain trade to Kirkcaldy is a big boost, I hope that exports and imports other than grain will evolve for the port.
“I believe that, because of the care taken to ensure the project fits in with local needs, the port can happily exist side by side with the boat club and other parts of the harbour.”