200 jobs to be created as Hull’s Spencer Group wins major Port of Tyne contract

Hull-based Spencer Group has won a new contract to design and build wood pellet facilities at the Port of Tyne.

Up to 200 construction jobs will be created as a result of the contract win, and work is now underway on the project.

Lynemouth Power Ltd, which operates Lynemouth Power Station on the Northumberland coast, awarded a contract to the specialist engineering business for the design and construction of a facility for the handling, storage and rail-loading of wood pellets at the port.

The facilities being designed and built by Spencer are at Tyne Dock, South Shields, where the Port of Tyne recently invested £25m in extending Riverside Quay to support the project.

The new facilities will handle up to 1.8m tonnes annually of wood pellets, offering the capability to meet the full requirements of Lynemouth Power Station.

The fully integrated and automated Spencer system will enable wood pellets to be conveyed mechanically to one of three newly-built silos, each capable of storing 25,000 tonnes of material. The pellets will then be discharged from the silos via two conveying streams to a rail-loading facility to take the material to Lynemouth.

Spencer’s in-house Slipform Engineering technology and equipment will be used for construction of the silos.

The Spencer project also includes construction of a control room, workshops, stores and welfare facilities, creating a standalone facility at the port. In addition, Spencer will carry out modifications to the existing rail infrastructure to provide dedicated rail lines to serve Lynemouth Power Station and connect the new facilities to the 11,000-volts mains supply.

Charlie Spencer OBE, Spencer founder and executive chairman, said: “This is the largest single contract Spencer Group has secured in the materials handling and storage sector and is great news for everyone within the business.

“It validates our long-term strategic focus on major infrastructure projects in the renewable energy field and recognises our industry-leading capability in the safe, reliable and efficient movement, storage and loading of biomass materials.

“We are proud to be contributing once again to a significant project supporting the UK’s transition to a secure and sustainable low-carbon economy.”

Ian Atkinson, engineering director, added: “We are delighted to have worked with the Port of Tyne and Lynemouth Power to develop a design and build solution to meet the exacting requirements of both the port and the power station.

“Our in-house expertise and proven track record in developing and delivering materials handling, storage and loading systems gives the client, Lynemouth Power, the confidence that we will deliver this business-critical project in line with their programme, performance and cost expectations.”

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