Westmill Foods has awarded Potter Logistics a £1 million contract to handle raw materials for its Yorkshire based rice milling and packaging facility.
The two year deal includes handling, warehousing and transport of bulk and bagged rice.
Potter’s northern rail freight terminal and Selby distribution centre is located on a 62 acre site near Westmill’s factory.
Rice will be delivered to Potter via two main channels. Firstly, Westmill, in conjunction with shipping line MSC, will deliver rice in containers from around the world using the daily multi-modal service from Felixstowe. Secondly, Potter Logistics will be collecting bulk rice shipped into the port of Hull.
Once the rice arrives at Selby, Potter will transfer the containers and bulk loads to the dedicated warehouse. Here, bulk rice will be sampled and unloaded by rice type into specially built bays, capable of storing up to 2,400 tonnes each. The bagged rice will be palletised and stored in a dedicated 60,000 sq ft warehouse. Organic rice will be handled in a specified area elsewhere on the Selby site.
Westmill Foods is part of Associated British Foods. Bob Amon, head of logistics for Westmill said: “Westmill has had a strong relationship with Potter Logistics since 2005 which has developed into a true partnership. The recent development of un-milled rice storage strengthens our relationship with Potter Logistics and enables us to reduce our carbon footprint by transferring inland movement of containers from Felixstowe to Selby, from road to rail.”
