Jobs created as Teesside logistics firm nabs ‘major’ deal with blue-chip manufacturer

Teesside freight logistics firm AV Dawson is creating a raft of jobs after signing a multi-million pound deal with blue-chip manufacturer British Gypsum.

British Gypsum, part of French multinational Saint Gobain, will import a product used to make plaster and plasterboard through AV Dawson’s freight terminal on Riverside Park, Middlesbrough.

The agreement will see 10 new staff hired at AV Dawson and more than £2m invested in the firm’s facilities and plant equipment.

The company will create a new £1m canopy on the southern end of its site to store the British Gypsum imports. A direct rail link entering the canopy will offer protection against adverse weather as the products are loaded directly onto trains for daily deliveries to the East Midlands.

Gary Dawson, managing director at AV Dawson, said: “We’re thrilled to bring a big hitter such as British Gypsum to the Tees.

“This is a major new contract for our business and represents a significant increase in the number of ships and trains coming into our site.”

He continued: “With the addition of the new rail canopy, which we’ve invested in to provide British Gypsum with a purpose-built storage and loading solution, we have developed an environmentally efficient solution that enables our customer to reduce its energy and CO2.

“This new contract will create new jobs at AV Dawson and help secure the future for over 200 existing employees. It also represents a significant leap forward for our longer term strategy to expand our operations in the aggregates and minerals sector.”

Saint Gobain’s senior procurement manager, Kevin Flinton, commented: “We awarded this new contract to AV Dawson because of the flexible and environmentally efficient solution they’ve provided to our business.

“We also liked that the business was prepared to take a long term view; investing further in its facilities to ensure it could deliver the highest quality service for us.”