Sheffield City Region’s logistics sector was told it was one of the most “exciting prospects in the country” at an event last week to help raise the profile of the area’s multimodal capabilities.
The gathering of local operators was arranged by Logistics Hub UK (LHUK), a partnership of private sector companies seeking to promote growth in the logistics sector across South Yorkshire.
Keynote speaker at the event, Rob Bell, CEO at consultancy Archomai, told the group that if they start to look at the global perspective and form strong supply chains then they are “one of the most exciting prospects in the country”.
He said: “Supply chains compete, not companies. The strength of your offer as a region is the strength of your supply chain. The logistics effort is the story for the Sheffield City Region because that is where we link into supply chains globally.
“We need to start seeing the North as an interconnected gateway and focus on trade corridors and our multimodel offer,” Bell added.
Attendees also heard from Gary Winterman, MD at Anglo World Cargo, which handles freight operations at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
He spoke of the positive impact the motorway link road opened in February, the Great Yorkshire Way, connecting junction 3 of the M18 with Doncaster Sheffield Airport, has had on operations and talked about the increase in cargo going through the airport year on year.
Steve Swann, who heads up the LHUK project, said: “Logistics is a vital sector for any region and we really need to start to shout about what we have in the Sheffield City Region. Our logistics businesses and super connectivity really does make us stand out from the crowd.”
