Part of UM Group
One of the UK’s leading bulk liquid storage specialists says a “team effort” is behind a year of sustained growth.
UM Terminals has achieved several notable successes during the last 12 months, among the more important being the expansion of its operations in the biofuels sector.
Phil McEvoy, UM Terminals’ Managing Director, who has just marked his first anniversary in the role, said: “We have had customers come to us with specific logistical challenges and we have been able to provide them with tangible solutions in enabling them to meet their tank storage requirements in a very fast and efficient way.
“We set ourselves the goal of building our capability in the biofuels sector during 2023 and thanks to a huge team effort we have been able to achieve this.
“This has been possible thanks to a commitment to continual investment in our assets, the recruitment of talented people, including in engineering and project management, and rigorous processes around regulatory compliance.
“The additional competency within the business means that we can now manage over 80 per cent of our asset integrity inspections and assessments in-house, ensuring our asset base is fit for purpose and can provide a reliable ongoing service for all of our valuable customers.
“Much of our activity has been focussed on three of our main centres in Liverpool, Portbury and Hull. In total, we have created around 20 new jobs, strengthening our own in-house teams and giving a boost to the local economies of each of these areas.
“All of this has been achieved against the continuing tough macroeconomic environment which has been another reason for the focus on scaling our capability and commercial activity in the biofuels industry.”
Further organic growth and expansion is planned for 2024 with a focus on the East coast and South of England, while also increasing the business’s third-party tank storage capability in Ireland.
UM Terminals, part of the United Molasses Group, will also be rolling out various initiatives as part of its sustainability strategy.
Phil said: “We have already begun reviewing new low carbon technologies to heat and power our sites. As the biggest user of direct energy in the UM Group, we are committed to pursuing best practice in this highly important area.”
Another area of focus will be the further digitalisation of UM Terminals’ Client Central Services, enhancing the existing customer portal to make the experience as fast, automated and seamless as possible.
UM Terminals maintains a broad portfolio of around 40 products that it stores including vegetable oils, industrial, food and feed, chemical, fertiliser, fuels, biofuels and base oils.
It achieves this operating out of seven terminals, strategically located across the UK, with a current capacity of over 300,000 cubic metres of bulk liquid storage, but with an ambition to increase this to around 400,000 cubic metres. During 2023, the business divested itself of a non-strategic asset in Birkenhead to focus on core activities at its other sites.
Value-added services include biofuel feedstock pre-treatment, blending, water dilution, product packing, HMRC bonded warehouse and COMAH compliance.
Phil McEvoy said: “One of the main reasons for the success we have had in the last 12 months has been our willingness to respond quickly to various customer requests, many of them technically challenging.
“We provide our customers with robust and sustainable solutions that meet their logistical challenges as quickly and effectively as possible. We have continued to invest in building a highly skilled in-house team across engineering, project management, customer service and integrity management.
“We have a portfolio of blue-chip customers who have been with UM Terminals over a long period of time. We pride ourselves on being easy to do business with and are all about building long-term relationships.”
View the full article in the latest edition of the TSA’s Insight magazine:
https://tankstorage.org.uk/assets/Unorganized/Insight-Winter-2023.pdf
