Freight firm invests £700k in new crane at Ellesmere Port terminal

Quality Freight UK (QF) has increased cranage capability at its main operation in Ellesmere Port with a six-figure investment.

The company spent over £700k in acquiring a Fuchs MHL390 crane, capable of handling more than 400 metric tons every hour on cargoes.

The machine will complement the other cranes at QF UK’s 40-acre Ellesmere Port facility, including a MHL360 wheeled crane, a Liebherr 150 and an RHL340 tracked crane.

QF UK said the investment will also allow it to maximise usage of its mobile cranes at client sites across the North West.

The firm’s MHL360 and RHL340 machines are regularly moved at short notice, for projects such as loading bulk ships at the INEOS terminal in Runcorn.

QF UK managing director Sebastian Gardiner said: “This significant further investment in the business will achieve a number of objectives.

“It will allow us to increase bulk volumes in the port, allow multi-vessel working and enhance customer service through faster vessel turnaround.”

He continued: “We have seen volumes increase by over 20% during the past 12 months and are extremely confident about business prospects moving into 2018.

“Adding this new Fuchs crane to our fleet was therefore a natural next step, increasing cranage at Ellesmere Port and futureproofing QF UK’s handling capabilities.”

In addition to its Ellesmere Port base, the Quality Freight Group has operations in Hull, Chatham, Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Knock and Rotterdam.