www.truckandtrack.com Summer 2025 Truck and Track 5 BUSINESS NEWS The Thames Freeport is delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Bellamy, Chairman of Salamanca Group, as Chair of its newly established Thames Freeport Industry Council. Thames Freeport represents one of Europe’s largest regional development programmes and one of the most ambitious initiatives globally. Spanning 312 square kilometres across the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham and Havering and Thurrock in Essex, the Freeport offers unrivalled potential to integrate logistics, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure and workforce development—all underpinned by a firm commitment to net-zero principles and long-term economic growth. The Thames Freeport Industry Council will guide the master planning of the region and advise on the commercial strategy for the redevelopment as a whole. Martin Bellamy’s appointment brings exceptional expertise, strategic foresight and a deep understanding of how to leverage private capital alongside public ambition to deliver nationally significant projects. Under Martin’s leadership, Salamanca Group has delivered transformative projects that have attracted global investment, revitalised disused sites and created thousands of high-quality jobs. Among his achievements: Instrumental in securing the £5 billion Tata/Jaguar Land Rover battery gigafactory project at Gravity, the UK’s largest building and a key driver of the green industrial transition, hailed as “the most important deal of the year” by the then Prime Minister. Led the acquisition and repositioning of the former Britishvolt site in Blyth, Northumberland. With government backing, Salamanca Group structured the sale of the site to Blackstone to enable development of a 1.1 GW AI data campus, set to become Europe’s largest. Martin’s proven track record of enabling globally significant infrastructure and AI-related developments, uniquely positions him to play a pivotal role in delivering Thames Freeport’s long-term vision to become a globally competitive hub for innovation, trade and investment. “Martin’s appointment is a major step forward for Thames Freeport,” said Martin Whiteley, CEO of Thames Freeport. “His expertise in delivering complex, high-value projects and attracting international investment will be invaluable as we shape the next chapter of the Freeport’s growth. We are thrilled to have him lead our Industry Council at this exciting time.” Martin Bellamy Appointed Chair of Thames Freeport Industry Council Martin Bellamy, Chair of the Thames Freeport Industry Council XPO Logistics, a leading provider of innovative and sustainable end-to-end logistics solutions across Europe, has extended its partnership with building materials manufacturer Etex. The extension results from XPO Logistics’ strong and consistent delivery performance on key indicators while offering innovative, flexible solutions to Etex where required. Added to that is the ongoing strong partnership between the companies, which has developed through working collaboratively on all aspects of transport operations, including safety, service and cost reduction, creating continuous improvements since early 2019. Etex Building Performance (EBP), a specialist division of the Etex Group, operates three sites in the UK—Portbury in Bristol, Ferrybridge in Knottingly and Grangemouth in Falkirk—and works with XPO Logistics on various transport and service solutions including multimodal, rail and warehouse support teams, including vehicle load strappers. In the coming year, XPO Logistics will continue to offer even more innovative solutions to support future growth strategies for the Etex business. It will diversify its service offerings to other EBP portfolio departments. The Portbury manufacturing facility recently underwent a significant expansion project, which opened officially in March 2025. It now boasts one of the longest and fastest plasterboard production line facilities in the UK and Europe. To help reduce the business’s CO2 emissions, XPO Logistics introduced a new multimodal rail solution in January to transport products between the new manufacturing facility in Portbury and Grangemouth in Scotland. This collaboration with Etex and Malcolm Rail transports seven multimodal rail boxes daily between the sites. Since December 2024, XPO Logistics has successfully transported over 500 multimodal rail swap bodies with its new sustainable transport solution, saving over 332,000 kg (332 tonnes) of CO2. By the end of 2025, the company anticipates transporting 1,500 rail swap bodies, with an estimated CO2 saving of 970,000 kg (970 tonnes), equivalent to 786 vehicles removed from the road. Dan Myers, managing director – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics, said, “This contract extension is testament to the excellent collaborative partnership we have built with Etex, and this will be strengthened even further in the coming year. The new multimodal transport solution for Etex between Portbury and Grangemouth offers significantly lower carbon emissions than other transport solutions could bring. Reducing CO2 emissions across the business continues to be a primary aim for both companies.” XPO Logistics has also supported Etex in its recent rebranding of part of the existing fleet with a new Siniat livery. The fleet is also due to expand in the coming months. Rob Ford, head of supply chain – UK and Ireland, Etex, said, “XPO Logistics has proved to be a trusted partner for Etex time after time. The breadth of transport expertise, relentless pursuit of carbon reductions and excellence in all areas of our combined operations have led to this extension. We look forward to working even closer together.” XPO Logistics is a leading innovative supply chain company in Europe, offering end-to-end logistics solutions that combine full-truckload, less-than-truckload, pallet distribution, last-mile delivery, global freight forwarding and warehousing services. The company tailors its solutions to the specific needs of its customers in a wide range of industrial and consumer sectors. XPO Logistics extends partnership with building materials manufacturer Etex TRUCK & TRAILER SOLUTIONS WELCOME TOALLPORTS GROUP allportsgroup.co.uk
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