Reliability and Competence Mean Booming Business for Feed Ingredients Logistics—INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

08 March 2021- The animal nutrition business is simultaneously a highly globalised and a highly localised affair. On the one hand, you have huge multinationals designing and manufacturing additives, sometimes at only one or two sites per continent, as well as giant commodity traders shuffling grains around vast worldwide networks. But on the other hand, the final customer is sourcing their feed from a facility within driving distance of their farm, oftentimes in some of the least well-connected parts of a country.

Spanning that divide is the role of companies such as Newport Feeds, part of UK-based Newport Industries, one of the largest bulk powder chemical suppliers in the UK and Ireland. In the decade since its launch, Newport's food and feed division has grown into a GBP 10 million business, acting as an exclusive distributor for certain commoditised feed additives and handling the UK logistics for other animal nutrition companies who rely on Newport to safely store and package ingredients before delivering them to feed mills. The company has reinvested some of this revenue into all new port assets, expanding its capacity for handling feed ingredients safely in UFAS-certified facilities.

To better understand the keys for success in this vital but often-overlooked space, Feedinfo spoke to Andrew Smart, Director of Sales at Newport Feeds.

[Feedinfo] Can you start by giving us an understanding of the scale of the feed activities within Newport Industries, which also supplies dry bulk chemicals for other industries?

[Feedinfo] With a portfolio currently including sodium bicarbonate, feed phosphates, calcined magnesite, calcium chloride, and speciality clays, Newport Feeds claims to be already delivering to a majority of the feed mills in the UK and Ireland. Where do you see Newport Feeds going from here? In what directions do you aim to grow over the next 5 years, particularly in terms of product expansion?

[Andrew Smart] We have focused on the importation, storage and final distribution of specific dry bulk chemicals/minerals to the feed industry through our own state-of-the-art dock side facility in Liverpool. We can ensure a safe, reliable and efficient supply chain for materials to our customers. Based on these core competencies we expect to gain new suppliers in complementary commoditized feed additives and ingredients for UK/Irish markets and achieve ambitious growth targets over the next ten years.

[Feedinfo] Newport Feeds maintains that “we differentiate ourselves from existing competitors [by] relying on sources which are natural and sustainable.” How does this positioning impact your choice of manufacturing partners? What kinds of companies/products are you seeking to represent as your portfolio as a bulk feed additives distributor grows?

[Andrew Smart] We believe sustainability is very important for consumers and we are currently representing manufacturers with energy-efficient production and with an emphasis on reducing their environmental footprint. As part of the food chain, we believe we have a responsibility to proactively source products from ecological and energy-efficient manufacturing sites with less reliance on carbon-based and synthetic raw materials. As a company we have adopted a goal to become carbon net zero by 2030 for our UK/Irish operations.

[Feedinfo] Can you talk about the capacity and capabilities of Bulk Powder Terminals in Liverpool? What are the specific services this division offers to the feed ingredients industry?

[Andrew Smart] Bulk Powder Terminals (BPT) is a brand-new dock side facility and a GPB 10 million investment. We have constructed 2x 8,000 metric tonne silos and two warehouses for pallet and bulk storage of over 100,000 sq. ft. in addition to two smaller silos on site. We also have installed a state-of-the-art packing and palletising line supplied by Windmoeller & Hoelscher of Germany. BPT has a deep-water berth with access for vessels in excess of 10 meters and 320 meters in length. Efficiency and speed come from having this entirely dock-side operation in which product is shipped directly from the supplier, right to the door of the warehouse from where it can be sent out to mills in bulk, big bags, or 25kg bags. This allows for flexibility, quality assurance and reduced risk of contamination.

[Feedinfo] What drove your decision to bring these supply chain activities in-house instead of continuing to rely on third parties for this?

[Andrew Smart] Until recently, all products were brought in and stored at third party warehouses. A decision was made to invest in infrastructure to introduce innovative and streamlined ways of handling and packaging of materials, in addition to adopting e-commerce abilities and Client Relationship Management utilizing new IT tools. Bulk Powder Terminals is currently handling over 350,000 metric tonnes of bulk powders across all industries. Newport Feeds benefits from these economies of scale, delivering material to customers with better quality, faster and ultimately at a very competitive price point.

[Feedinfo] The capacity of Bulk Powder Terminals is far beyond what Newport Feeds itself needs, and some of the extra capacity is used for the importing, warehousing and delivery operations you conduct on behalf of multinational feed companies. What is the benefit for a feed industry customer to such an arrangement? How much room for growth do you see in this part of the business?

[Andrew Smart] Bulk Powder Terminals is a new UFAS accredited facility with a total capacity of up to 800,000mt a year. It has the capacity to provide industry-leading deep water terminal services. As part of the Newport Group, Bulk Powder Terminals is providing services for Newport Industries and is currently providing logistical and storage services to some UK feed companies. We can provide vessel discharge, container unloading, logistical services, storage and packing. In the near future there are plans for providing air classification and blending services. These services are of interest to companies wanting to access the UK and Irish market. This includes those who just want storage and logistical services as well as those relying on Newport Industries to manage the complete supply chain from manufacturer through to end user clients.

[Feedinfo] You particularly prize your UFAS and FEMAS certifications. What kinds of safety guarantees do those ensure for feed customers?

[Andrew Smart] Providing safe feed is essential as part of the agri-food supply chain. The materials we supply are sourced from FEMAS-assured (or equivalent standard) manufacturers. Bulk powder Terminals was built to very high standards, specifically designed to accommodate feed materials and is a UFAS-accredited site.

[Feedinfo] While Bulk Powder Terminals in Liverpool is certainly the largest capital investment project for the foreseeable future of the company, you are also exploring the idea of “mini-terminals.” How advanced are the plans for mini terminals? Where are you looking to put them? And what will they mean for the companies currently operating in those areas?

[Andrew Smart] Following the success of the Liverpool facility and to meet the growth objectives of the group, we plan to build smaller terminals in the UK and Ireland. These would serve the feed industry and other industries in those geographical areas. We have the engineering and IT/ERP system capabilities, and we can replicate our success through a tried and tested model.

[Feedinfo] How is a logistics and distribution company like Newport Industries important in helping its customers adapt to the changes facing the animal nutrition industry?

[Andrew Smart] As the UK/Irish feed industries face the challenges of operating in a post-Brexit world, the globalisation of markets, and the challenges of achieving net zero carbon emissions, efficiencies will be key to ensuring costs are maintained or reduced, as well as eliminating packaging waste and reducing transport costs.
Our goal is to assist in this by transforming as many materials as possible into bulk form, where traditionally minerals are sent to mills/pre-mixers in 25kg bags or big bags. Currently, it is common for these materials to be sent via warehouses or distribution partners who are not located at port locations, adding to costs and time.
It will take time to make these changes at an industry-wide level, but at Bulk Powder Terminals we have already set in motion a system for supplying bulk minerals serving a potentially ‘automated’ client base.

Published in association with Newport Industries