FPC visits George Hammond PLC at the Port of Dover

There is something special about a sunny summer day in England - combine this with a trip to one of England's most famous, historic sea ports with a great bunch of people and you have a perfect day. 14 June was such a day and we took a team of members to visit James Ryeland, Steve Whale and the team at George Hammond, Dover.

George Hammond PLC remains a family run business, it was founded in 1767 as a shipping agency for vessels using the English Channel and Kent ports. Partners at the time were appointed to represent many European countries, a tradition that continues as James holds Honorary Consul and Vice Consul positions. In the 1920's his grandfather took over the Hammond operation focussing on salvage work, then on to passenger handling, ship's agency and stevedoring. After WWII deep sea pilotage was added to the portfolio and the stevedoring business grew handling fruit, veg, timber and grain. In the 1960s/70s George Hammond (Shipping) Ltd was formed with new divisions of transport, warehousing, ro-ro clearance and petrol retailing. It became a public limited company in 1992 and established itself at the forefront of shipping services in the UK. This is a great company and a longstanding valued FPC member. Find out more www.georgehammond.plc.uk/portservices.html

Our group included friends from Agility Logistics, Fesa, Fresh Fruit Services, Mack Multiples, Spitalfields, Technofresh, Total World Fresh, Univeg, Worldwide Fruit, WT Perishables and there was a special welcome for Hans van Zetten whose trading relationship with George Hammond began in 1969!
All duly assembled, we proceeded through security before heading to the Eastern Docks to meet Hammond General Manager Richard Doyle and the Port's Head of Commercial & Marketing, Kate O'Hara, who each provided an informative update on development projects and proposals for investment - future plans are impressive and we will follow their progress with interest. Then off we went for a tour of the Dover Cargo Terminal where a container ship was in the process of being unloaded - an average of 100 pallets an hour are discharged with peak discharge rates far in excess of this. Hammond handles cargo from West Africa and Central America on a weekly basis and with the majority discharging part cargoes at Dover, a quick dispatch and the port's unique position adjacent to the shipping lanes in the Dover Strait allows vessels to discharge and sail on to continental ports in the shortest possible time frame. We followed consignments from ship to cold store - the popular LinkFresh business system is used and it was interesting to see it in operation.

With much to talk about we hopped back on the transport and disembarked at our lunch destination - the MS Saga Ruby pictured below, awaited at Dover Cruise Terminal One, Western Docks. This was one of the smaller ships but nonetheless impressive offering superb food, fine wine and a truly excellent service - with great company added to the mix time flew. However, there was just enough time for a tour of the port by sea onboard a launch kindly organised by James!

The sun was high in the sky, sea resembled a mill pond, the sun reflected off the white cliffs and as if it couldn't get any better, Dick our "driver" and experienced Dover sea dog took us outside the harbour walls and provided a guided tour complete with all manor of intriguing stories of shipwrecks and rescues..... a perfect end to a perfect day!

This was a great networking opportunity for members - the majority of the group either currently use the Dover facilities or have an interest in doing so. Part of the FPC service is to liaise with businesses and effect introductions with a view to increasing trading relationships. We wish George Hammond and the Port of Dover continued success and we look forward to a return visit.