Britain's largest container port, on the Suffolk coast, which has been bringing in the goods on shop shelves since the first container terminal opened in 1967.
The Port of Felixstowe, in Suffolk, is the UK's largest container port. Wikipedia says it handles about 48% of Britain's containerised trade, and the port's own brochure says it handles around four million containers (TEU) a year. Its quay is 3,773 metres long, with 29 quayside cranes and 82 yard cranes on a site of 342.9 hectares. It also has Britain's largest rail freight facility for containers, with three rail terminals and about 76 trains a day to 16 inland locations, so goods can travel on from the coast by train as well as by lorry.
The port opened in 1875 and set up Britain's first container terminal in 1967, according to Wikipedia. The brochure describes it as the number one port since 1981 and says it has handled more than 100 million containers. It is part of Hutchison Ports, which runs ports in 26 countries. The brochure's stated values centre on the word "Unity", with commitments to make informed decisions, be trusted and honest, and act as customers' partners. We did not find a separate mission statement.
Felixstowe is on the east coast of Suffolk, with its address at Tomline House, The Dock, Felixstowe. Road links include the A14 to the Midlands, where upgrades were completed in 2020, and the port runs a short-sea roll-on roll-off service to the Netherlands with three sailings a day. The port is part of the Freeport East partnership, which aims to regenerate local areas and projects 13,500 new jobs across the partnership over ten years. Wikipedia gave around 3,500 employees in 2017, which is an older figure.
On technology and culture, the brochure highlights a private 5G network, a container-tracking app, remote-controlled yard cranes and transport-planning software called PARIS. It also reports orders for 48 battery-powered terminal tractors and 17 zero-emission remote-controlled yard cranes, and says the port has cut sulphur dioxide by 90% since 2009. Hutchison Logistics teams are based inside the port to help shippers plan their supply chains. These are the port's own claims in marketing material. The brochure gives little detail on staff, and we did not find a culture statement.
A port this size employs crane and equipment operators, engineers and electricians, rail and road planners, customs and border-control staff, health and safety teams, IT and automation specialists, and commercial, finance and human resources staff. The brochure's mix of 5G, remote control and tracking software shows how much technology now sits alongside the cranes. If you like engineering, computing, logistics or how the things you buy get to the UK, this is one of the busiest places to see it happen.
Website: www.portoffelixstowe.co.uk
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