Tees Valley Mayor Praises AV Dawson During Site Visit

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen visited an historic family Middlesbrough business, which continues to go from strength to strength.

AV Dawson, an integrated freight and logistics provider that has been based in Tees Valley for more than 78 years, welcomed the Mayor, who toured part of the 100 acre freight handling facility, based at the town’s Riverside Park.

The site incorporates an 850m quay with sufficient depth to enable vessels of up to 20,000 tonnes to berth and unload into storage or onward delivery by road and rail.

The company has recently completed a £12.6 million investment, supported by a £1.2 million Regional Growth Fund grant. This included the completion of a new rail linked steel coil store, a new deep-water quay and an intermodal rail terminal to service the container market.

The coil store holds up to 58,000 tonnes of steel coil for producers including Tata, which is used to supply Nissan’s plant in Sunderland.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “AV Dawson is a wonderful example of a Tees Valley business. It has all the passion that the region has and understands the importance of diversification and increasing its client base. That has seen the business grow over the years and today it employs more than 200 people.”

“It’s a fantastic success story for the area and one that we should be championing.”

Gary Dawson, AV Dawson managing director said: “It was great to have the opportunity to meet with the mayor and give him a tour of our Teesside freight terminal so he could see our operation first hand.

“It was reassuring to hear that he is very much focused on supporting business and recognises the importance of the river to our local economy.”