The first major building project of a $32 million redevelopment plan announced last year by Port Nelson is open for business.
Transport minister Simon Bridges officially opened the Patterson logistics centre, which is Port Nelson’s new 13,000 square metre storage facility.
It is the Nelson logistics hub of QuayConnect, the port’s Nelson-Marlborough integrated warehousing, transport, and logistics service.
QuayConnect was established in February 2016 and partnered with Central Express Ltd, to optimise import and export loads, reducing the number of trucks on the road without reducing actual freight movement.
It operates three storage facilities in Blenheim and until this month had used temporary facilities at Port Nelson while the building of the Patterson Logistics Centre was completed.
Port Nelson boss Martin Byrne says with the new building now open the service’s capacity is increased by 40%.
“Over its first year QuayConnect’s primary focus has been in the wine industry,” Byrne says. “We efficiently move substantial freight between Nelson and Marlborough and manage 80% of the South Island’s wine exports and 90% of the inbound dry goods.”
“QuayConnect has had three trucks operating 24/7, but with the Patterson logistics centre now open, we can increase our cartage movements by another ten dedicated line haul truck movements per day and provide the capacity to store an additional 18,000 pallets,” he says.
“Over the last few months, we’ve been recruiting logistics and transport staff for the facility to meet demand, which intensified after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake when we became a key logistics partner for Marlborough wine producers after their traditional transport routes became unusable,” says Byrne.
Port Nelson is dedicating the new facility to the late Nick Patterson, who served for more than two decades on its board. He was a director from 1994 and chair from 2001 to 2014. He passed away in January 2016.
Byrne says it is a privilege to honour Patterson by naming the new facility after him.
