Corus contract boosts A.V.Dawson
ONE of Teesside's leading logistics firms is expanding its operations at Corus after winning a new contract with the steel giant.
A.V.Dawson has been appointed to handle the scale-cleaning operations at the Special Profiles mill in Skinningrove which will help keep the 24-hour operation running smoothly.
Gary Dawson, managing director of A.V.Dawson, explained: "As the steel is rolled, hot scale is removed as it passes through the mill in order to ensure top quality surface condition. That scale continually has to be collected and removed otherwise it clogs up the system."
As a result of the new deal, 17 existing contractors staff have become A.V.Dawson employees - taking the company's staffing levels at the site to 30.
Mr Dawson said: "This latest contract win is based on the flexibility A.V.Dawson provides and the trust and honesty we have built with Corus as a contractor. The fact that we are still a family-run business is also a major factor and has seen us win contracts in the past over major national and international companies."
A.V.Dawson has had a long and productive relationship with Corus after starting as one of a number of hauliers moving steel products from the Skinningrove site.
In October 2004, it successfully tendered to become the sole domestic distributor of steel for the Skinningrove mill and had 22 trailers working out of the site.
Corus has grown productivity over the intervening years that has led to A.V.Dawson now operating more than 70 trailers out of Skinningrove.
This success was followed by a subsequent contract win to take over all the shunting work at the plant.
Mr Dawson said: "Corus has no area for domestic distribution at Skinningrove where it can put the steel on the floor and pick it up for distribution. Everything that is made in the mill goes straight on to trailers which need shunting. We have made a number of safety improvements since winning this contract in August 2005."
AV Dawson has operated freight transport in Middlesbrough since 1938, and is now a major multi-modal logistics concern managing worldwide transport supply chains. Facilities based on Teesside include rail freight terminals and port operations, including warehousing and a road transport fleet.
