UK port receives 1 million tonne of wheat

Carr’s Flour Mills Ltd. and Forth Ports has surpassed 1 million tonnes of wheat received at the Kirkcaldy Harbour facility since its reopening in 2011.

The milestone was reached earlier this month with the arrival of the latest wheat delivery onboard the Shetland Trader cargo ship. Moving wheat by 506 ship journeys over the past 12 years has reduced truck deliveries by 70,000, a substantial environmental and traffic benefit for the region.

The wheat is delivered into Kirkcaldy Harbour, which is owned and operated by Forth Ports, from Dover in Kent and discharged directly into Carr’s Flour Mills’ mill. The 1 million tonnes of wheat is enough to bake about 2.5 billion loaves of bread.

Carr’s Flour Mills, in business for nearly 200 years, manufactures and distributes a wide variety of flours for use throughout the food industry. The company has three mills based in Kirkcaldy (Fife), Silloth (Cumbria) and Maldon (Essex).

“It is a great pleasure to see that we have reached this milestone, especially with the challenges of COVID lockdowns,” said Julius Deane, wheat and supply chain specialist with Carr’s Flour Mills. “Having direct access to vessels bringing wheat into our mill really helps us efficiently supply consistent high-quality flour to our many customers, as well as reducing our carbon footprint. We are pleased to have a strong working relationship with Forth Ports, Forth Pilots, Leith & Granton Boatmen, W Knight Watson and Cargo Mariners to make this operate smoothly, and we are looking forward to soon being able to bring larger vessels into the Kirkcaldy harbor.”

The harbor was reopened to commercial traffic in 2011 with the help of a Freight Facilities Grant from Transport Scotland. The port is owned and operated by Forth Ports, with all the shipping organized by Carr’s Flour Mills to bring high-quality milling wheat from the UK and Europe direct into the Kirkcaldy mill.

As part of the investment in the facility, Carr’s Flour Mills built new silo storage and infrastructure, and Forth Ports provided discharge equipment, fendering and dredging at the harbor.

“This is an important milestone for Carr’s and the harbor as it demonstrates the success of a quayside milling facility with direct access to regular shipping activity,” said Andy Lamb, deputy port manager at Kirkcaldy Harbour. “Coastal shipping delivers a greener transport alternative with shipments being over 10 times more carbon efficient than road deliveries, aligning with our commitment to achieving net zero by 2042. We have exciting plans in place for Kirkcaldy Harbour to ensure that it can handle even larger cargo vessels to further increase efficiency.”

Tags: Carr’s Flour Mills Ltd., Forth Ports, wheat, Kirkcaldy Harbour