£2m warehouse investment restates shipping firm’s commitment to Montrose

The business, based on a Merdian Street, has acquired two blocks of warehouses on Broomfield Industrial Estate totalling 100,000sqft, and is investing a further £1m in refurbishing them.

The site will assist the expansion of Rix Shipping’s agribulk business, storing grain and other agricultural products moving through Montrose’s ports.

It brings the company’s storage capacity in the town to 150,000 tons across this site and its warehousing complex on the docks.

James Doyle, Managing Director of the business, said the acquisition would create upwards of 10 full-time jobs once the warehouse was fully refurbished and operational.

As well as being used to supplement the company’s storage facilities, Mr Doyle added the business would be looking for further commercial opportunities for the site, to maximise the economic benefits it brings to the area.

He said: “Montrose sits in a strategic location on the east coast and provides an excellent base from which to export cereals and oilseeds, produced by Scottish farmers, which is in great demand internationally.

“Imports of animal feeds and specialised grains also continue to increase through the ports, significantly reducing ‘food road miles’.

“We have invested millions of pounds in developing our warehousing and logistics operation in the town, and this recent acquisition is a significant expansion of that.

“Rix Shipping has operated in Montrose for almost 70 years, creating local employment, supporting the local economy, and helping to make the town a great place to live and do business.

“This acquisition ensures we will continue to do this for many more years to come.”

The move follows several other significant investments Rix Shipping has made in Montrose over the past eight years, particularly around the ports.

Since 2015, Rix Shipping (Scotland) has invested more than £5m in new warehousing facilities on the port and over that time has tripled its workforce in the town.

The company has also invested a further £1.5m in plant and equipment, including bringing the biggest material handler on the east coast of Scotland to the town in 2018.

The impressive piece of kit – a German-made Liebherr LH110 – has a reach of 25m and an eight-cubic metre grab, meaning it can move larger volumes of materials than previous equipment operating on the dockside had been able to.

More recently, Rix Shipping and its sister company Rix Renewables have become a significant partner in the construction of offshore windfarm sub-stations off the east coast of Scotland, and in the process make extensive use of local businesses to provide accommodation and hospitality for its technicians.

Rix Renewables has also invested in specialised service equipment for on-shore wind turbines which created two full-time jobs, and the company is now targeting similar contracts in the off-shore sector which will help to create further employment.