A&P announce record sales

A&P Tyne has announced record sales in the first half of 2004 with turnover in excess of £30m, an increase of 50% on the first half of the previous year (2003). This has been complemented by the steady growth of the sister facility on Teesside.

Despite this success A&P Tyne continues to review its operational costs in an effort to further improve the value offered to customers.

Following the successful completion of the Haewene Brim contract at the Hebburn facility, it is A&P’s intention to build upon this success by shifting the focus of activity. Previously A&P has been centred at the Wallsend site and operated Hebburn as a satellite, however, the strength of the Hebburn site is such that this situation will now be reversed. Consequently, as from 1 October 2004, A&P Tyne will concentrate repair and conversion operations around the Hebburn site with Wallsend available as an overflow facility.

Fred Newman, Managing Director of A&P Tyne said “We realised that Hebburn was a significant asset when we initially acquired the site and it?s true capability has been confirmed by the series of successful conversion projects undertaken there in the recent past.

We believe that due to the efficiencies gained the changes will not materially affect the overall throughput of ships seen in recent years, and should it be necessary, the Wallsend yard could be reactivated at short notice.”

The Hebburn drydock, which is the largest on the North East Coast of England is 259m long x 44m wide at the gate, it has 9.5m water depth over the sill and can accommodate all vessel sizes up to Aframax tankers. Craneage services are 2 x 100 Te, 1 x 50 Te and 1 x 25 Te. There have been a number of modifications to the dock, including the introduction of several recesses in the dock bottom, allowing specialist vessels such as FPSO?s, offshore construction vessels, etc., to be accommodated.

Further South at the Teesside yard, plans are in place to invest in infrastructure changes and capital expenditure to provide a centre of excellence for smaller vessels, in particular offshore support vessels, dredgers, and coastal traders of all types.