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A-BCC visit to Essex Chamber of Commerce

Since 1975, the A-BCC has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the Essex Chamber and views the county of Essex as the gateway for dynamic growth with its three international ports, links to the national motorway network and London Stansted airport.

Essex is at the heart of a thriving knowledge economy, with a highly skilled workforce, world-class universities and specialist schools that make the county a breeding ground for innovation.
That is why Essex is home to market-leading international companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Ford and BAE Systems to name but a few.
In Essex, Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby, Secretary General and CEO of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Abdeslam El Idrissi, Director of Trade Services, were received by John Clayton, Essex Chamber of Commerce CEO, and Denise Rossiter, Managing Director of Essex Chamber of Commerce, at the premises of Wilkin & Son Limited, the home of the world famous Tiptree preserves.

From left: Denise Rossiter, Walter Scott, Peter Wilkin, Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby and Abdeslam El Idrissi.

At Wilkin & Son Limited we were received by Mr Walter Scott, Joint Managing Director, who gave us a historical insight into the Wilkin family who have been in the Tiptree for 300 year and who started producing the first Tiptree conserves in 1885 and still specialize in fruit growing on the Tiptree estates. To this day the jams are made in the same traditional way as prescribed by Arthur Charles Wilkin who stipulated that the jam should be free of glucose, colouring and preservatives. Today the company has moved into running tea rooms, making ice cream, Christmas puddings and many other conserve products and in specializing in the manufacture for household names for Harrods and others. 
Mr Walter Scott went on to inform us that most of their business is run in a traditional manner from  the manufacturing to management practices and described how the company is gearing up to give ownership of the company to its employees.
Dr Afnan commended the high standard of the products and commented that keeping to traditional production methods and brand is highly sought after in the Arab region. She welcomed the opportunity to observe the manufacturing practices at first hand.
Thereafter we were given a grand tour of the factory to observe the washing, steaming and pressing of the fruit and final bottling of the jams and packing. Much of the production process we observed was manual and was only automated where necessary. 
Our next meeting was with DP World where we were received by Graeme Clarke Implementation Director and Charles Meaby, General Manager of London Gateway. Also present was a representation of 25 local businesses with interest in the Arab region.
Charles Meaby delivered a presentation where he stated that DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, with 49 terminals and 12 new developments across 31 countries. Its dedicated, experienced and professional team of nearly 30,000 people serves customers in some of the most dynamic economies in the world.

He then commented that taking a customer-centric approach, DP World will be building on the established relationships and superior level of service demonstrated at its flagship Jebel Ali facility in Dubai.
 He also pointed out that London Gateway is currently one of the largest inward investments into the UK and is the single largest jobs creation project, which will create some 36,000 jobs when complete. It was also at the forefront of port innovation and the port would have the best tidal window access for deep-drafted vessels and a capacity of 3.5m TEUs per annum, he said.
He added that with six berths and the capability to handle the Ultra Large Container Ships, the terminal will deploy automated container handling systems and controls that significantly improve handling speeds and provide a significant reduction in the time spent in port.
He further informed us that also under construction is Europe’s largest logistics park which will be adjacent to and integrated with the port, providing  a huge savings in transport costs and benefit the environment by removing unnecessary transport movements and ‘empty’ miles for container transport and delivery vehicles with speed to market will also be dramatically improved.
London Gateway, he stated, will also have its own rail terminal and feeder vessel services providing cost effective and environmentally friendly links to the rest of the UK and regional distribution centres. With barge services offered, linking locations along the Thames and Medway.
Dr Afnan enquired on what were the main challenges faced by DP world with this mammoth project while Charles Meaby responded by mentioning the colossal amount of red tape and bureaucracy in meeting environmental standards and protecting endangered species such as newts.
After a brief exchange with other attendees, a tour of the port was organized allowing us to view the dredging of the port in full operation.