Member Article

Port of Tyne strikes new deal with Ringtons Coffee

A new deal with the Port of Tyne is already brewing up.

45 tonnes of coffee beans – enough to make 4.5 million cups, once roasted, have been imported into Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the first three weeks of a new partnership between Ringtons and Port of Tyne.

Ringtons is a family owned and run Newcastle based business with its roots dating back to founder Samuel Smith in 1907. It’s renowned for its doorstep delivery service, a way of directly delivering to customers, which today is having somewhat of a resurgence as a sales channel. Ringtons is still best known for its personal service and being a quality tea merchant, but the Ringtons coffee business has grown substantially in recent years and the company is now producing significantly more coffee than it was just five years ago.

Ringtons Beverages for Business division has seen a surge in coffee sales and the company is continuously investing in its coffee roasting facilities at its site at Baliol Business Park where the business produces all of its tea and coffee.

Port of Tyne has over 15 years’ experience in handling tea with over a third of the UK’s tea imports arriving via the North East port. It has been working with Ringtons since 2012 handling all of their tea imports and the Port will now use that experience in handling beverages in a new partnership importing coffee.

The relationship with Port of Tyne is enabling Ringtons to streamline their supply chain and reduce their impact on the environment.

Stephen Drysdale, Ringtons Head of Coffee, said: “The Port of Tyne has always been hugely supportive of Ringtons and have been successfully storing our tea and making daily deliveries to our factory for over seven years now. We know the team well and they understand our business demands so when we were looking at import options for coffee they were top of our list of suppliers to meet. Previously our coffee was stored in Antwerp and transferred by truck, which meant it had to travel by road to our facilities in Newcastle; switching from Antwerp to receiving direct containers from origin via the Port of Tyne offers us a more environmentally friendly, time efficient and cost-effective solution. This is, ultimately, a more sustainable process, which can be built upon alongside the growth of our coffee business. As a proud North East family business, we are also delighted to work with another well-respected local company and to continue to support the vibrant North East business scene.”

Coffee from around the world had been arriving in the UK via Europe and delivered to Ringtons by road – now the coffee beans will arrive by ship direct from Brazil, Mexico and Honduras and will be stored at the Port of Tyne, before being delivered direct to the Ringtons roasting facility in Newcastle.

Richard Newton, Port of Tyne Commercial Director Logistics, said: “This is the first time that the Port has handled coffee.

“We are very proud to be building on our partnership with a great local business. It’s great to be working with an existing customer and supporting them as they grow and develop. Our port centric logistics approach means Ringtons will benefit from our seamless handling of their goods from start to finish including increased and more flexible storage facilities, whilst at the same time reducing their costs and carbon footprint.”

The port centric operation means the Port of Tyne offers logistics and distribution services at the location where goods arrive in the UK, saving both time, money and miles for importers, by removing unnecessary road miles. Customers benefit from lower costs, shorter lead times, a more efficient supply chain, reduced carbon footprint and cost-effective logistics and distribution with a trusted partner.

Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports – operating in bulk and conventional cargo, car terminals, cruise & ferry, port centric logistics and estates. Overall the Port of Tyne adds some £621 million gross value added to the economy of North East England supporting over 12,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nicole Mullen .