All is shipshape for Casper Shipping
A Teesside based shipping company,
founded in 1872, is looking ahead to its next century with
confidence as it continues to grow and diversify.
Casper Shipping, based in Middlesbrough, has recorded a 50%
growth in business over the past 12 months and 2011 began with the
signing of two major new accounts with ship-owners.
The company, which has 32 employees and additional offices in
Immingham, Hull and Grangemouth, deals with more than 130 vessels
each month at Tees port alone - one of the busiest ports in the UK.
It is actively exploiting the potential of major new markets such
as the shipping of wind farm components and bio-products and has
put a five year development plan in place to ensure expansion
despite the challenging economic times.
"We operate in a competitive market that is dependent on world
trade so we need to be highly pro-active," said Managing Director
Michael Shakesheff. "Our major strength is the knowledge and
expertise we have built up in nearly 140 years of operation.
"Some of our employees have been with us for 30 years, operating
on the river for decades and are highly experienced. When a ship
arrives in port an efficient and quick turn-around is absolutely
vital as delays can cost owners up to 100,000 dollars a day."
With such a high value placed on staff, Casper Shipping has been
working closely with Sunderland-based Assessment North East on
improving business performance through its workforce. The company
says Investors in People has been one of the factors behind its
consistent growth since it achieved accreditation in 1995 and,
having achieved Bronze status, is now going for Gold.
"The people we employ are the face of Casper Shipping; in some
cases they can be the first person a Captain and his crew see after
weeks at sea and they are invaluable," said Michael Shakesheff.
"Assessment North East's support has been very important to us and
we also work closely with other regional organisations."
With clients around the globe, Casper Shipping operates 365 days
of the year including Christmas Day. Customers include BP
Chemicals, Sabica, Greenergy Fuels and Tata Steel plus a raft of
individual ship-owners. The company has a specialist clearance
department dealing with customs, clearing 6000 cargoes last year,
and another section handles the highly specialised and important
area of claims.
Casper Shipping's sister company Camair Freight Solutions, which
now has a workforce of 14 operating from the airports at Newcastle
and Durham Tees Valley, grew out of meeting the ship-owners need
for parts and equipment to be freighted in speedily and is growing
fast.
"We are proud of our company history and very committed to the
region," says Michael Shakesheff. "We want to do everything we can
to improve the local economy by bringing business to our Northern
ports and airports as well as building our own company."
Assessment North East can be contacted on 0191 516 6464 and at
www.aneltd.co.uk. Casper Shipping
is on 01642 243 662 and at www.casperltd.com