Transport specialist cements growth with £8m investment

YORKSHIRE-based Simon Gibson Transport is to invest £8m and create jobs in six ports across the UK, including Goole, after securing a multi-million pound, five-year contract with one of the largest importers of cement in the UK.

The company, which has its headquarters in Goole, East Yorkshire and currently has 13 operating centres across the UK, has secured a contract with Aggregate Industries, which will see it collecting bulk cement from six UK import terminals and distributing it nationwide over a five-year period.

The contract win means that, from January, Simon Gibson Transport will increase its fleet of trucks from 85 to 147 by recruiting new drivers in each of the six areas of the UK where the ports are located – Plymouth, Glasgow, Ellesmere, Chatham and Ridham in Kent, and Goole.

This represents a total investment of around £8m by the business.

Managing director Simon Gibson said: “’Aggregate Industries is one of the largest importers of cement into the UK. It’s fantastic news for us as a company and will see us drastically increase the size of our fleet from January 2017.

“It also means that we’ll be investing in each of the six areas of the UK where the ports are located, creating new jobs. We’ll be establishing a presence close to each of the port terminals, and will need to have drivers and management based there to deliver the contract.”

The new contract with Aggregate Industries will see Simon Gibson Transport’s turnover rise to £24m during the next financial year.

The company is one of the largest specialist transporters of bulk powder and granular products in the UK, operating across Europe. 

In January, French transport giant Group Charles André bought a 75% stake in Simon Gibson Transport.