Member Article

Sunderland team sell port prowess in Antwerp

A team of Sunderland City Council officials have been in Antwerp to sell the city’s Port as a top player in the world of bulk cargo, project cargo and breakbulk.

The group visited Breakbulk Europe 2014 - the largest conference and exhibition in Europe last week (May 12-15) to see some of the industry’s leading lights address the needs of traditional bulk cargo and project cargo logisticians.

A record number of participants and delegates attended Breakbulk Europe 2014, which had over 200 international exhibitors and sponsors.

The expo gave attendees the opportunity to hear from industry experts during the executive presentations and learn new skills in the educational workshops, as well as networking opportunities with key businesses and suppliers.

Matthew Hunt, port director believed the expo was an unmissable opportunity to network with industry experts and establish Sunderland as a hub for traditional breakbulk and project cargo projects.

He said: “Last years’ expo saw Port of Sunderland come away with a number of valuable contacts from across the board so it made good business sense to visit Antwerp for the second time to further strengthen our European presence and I am confident that this years’ conference and exhibitionhas been just as successful.

“It was a great networking opportunity which helped to build traction at the port and give us a platform to really showcase the exciting developments that are putting Sunderland at the fore as a destination for bulk cargo handling and project cargo operations.

“We feel we are already taking strides to help grow our reputation in this arena, and having a presence at the exhibition has helped to galvanise our existing relationships and put us in a strong position to be able to forge new ones.”

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council and chair of the port board, said: “As a result of last years’ positive feedback, the team took the strategic decision to once again attend the Antwerp Expo.

“The 2014 exhibition offered representatives from Port of Sunderland an unrivalled opportunity to develop new business leads, reacquaint ourselves with existing contacts and see where our competitors and peers are heading over the forthcoming year.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .