MARITIME PR NEWS FROM POLARIS
Trade group Mersey Maritime has teamed up with Liverpool Football Club to host the latest instalment of its travelling business forum in a bid to help SMEs win more work in the maritime sector.
Mersey Maritime ‘On the Road’ is visiting all six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region.
Its latest event will be held in the Trophy Room at the Anfield club on Tuesday, October 15, running from 11.30am to 1pm. A spokesman for Liverpool Football Club is due to open and close the session.
The agenda will include an update on SuperPort, the £1.8billion infrastructure project which is expected to transform the regional economy over the next decade, from Mersey Maritime Group chief executive Jim Teasdale.
Discussions will also focus on the International Festival for Business (IFB 2014) with specific detail on the programme and opportunities for maritime SMEs to showcase products and services to a global audience.
Mersey Maritime commercial director Chris Shirling-Rooke said: “We are delighted to be taking our travelling business forum to such a prestigious venue in Liverpool Football Club,” he said. “This will provide a terrific setting to discuss the ambition of the region’s maritime sector.
“Our mission with the “On the Road” tour is to help firms across the Liverpool City Region spark new business relationships. We are working closely with Merseyside councils to broaden our impact. These sessions will enable maritime firms to gain a much deeper understanding of how they can capitalise on major future developments in the sector. The sessions we have run so far in Halton and Wallasey proved extremely popular, attracting large business audiences.
“The SuperPort project is set to have a dramatic impact on the economic landscape in this region over the next decade, creating in the region of 100,000 new jobs,” said Mr Shirling-Rooke. “In addition, next year’s IFB has the potential to be a game changer for Merseyside, which local business must take full advantage of.
“As the sector development body for the Liverpool City Region’s ports, maritime and logistics sector it is vital Mersey Maritime helps businesses prepare for these golden opportunities which lie ahead. We have driven great momentum over the past decade. We now want to accelerate this work by forging stronger local supply chains and connecting with a greater volume of local firms.”
Mersey Maritime already runs a popular monthly networking event at its Birkenhead base called Face-2-Face. This has become a very successful meeting point for businesses, attracting, on average, 80 firms each month.
The “On the Road” business forums are being delivered as part of Mersey Maritime’s Maritime Sector Development Programme, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (see notes to editors).The programme offers a broad range of support to the SMEs in the Liverpool City Region with maritime links.
For more details on the upcoming forums please email sarah.king@merseymaritime.co.uk or telephone 0151 647 4747.
Mersey Maritime Limited
Mersey Maritime is the private-public sector partnership that represents the interests of the shipping, ports and logistics sector on Merseyside, including improvements to the movement of freight across the region. It represents the interests of a cluster of 1700 businesses employing 28,000 people, with a combined turnover of £2.6bn. The organisation receives funding via the European Regional Development Fund (see below), matched by private sector income raised through membership, events and consultancy services.
SuperPort
SuperPort is the £1.8 billion transport and logistics strategy to expand the freight and passenger capacity of the River Mersey. It includes the £350 million Liverpool 2 deepwater container terminal scheduled to open in 2015 which will dock super-size Post-Panamax-class container ships, more than double the current handling capacity of the port. In addition, the Mersey Multi Modal Gateway (3MG), the six-lane Mersey Gateway Bridge, the Mersey Gateway Port, the World Cargo Centre expansion at John Lennon Airport, new logistical hubs planned for the Manchester Ship Canal, the Langton roll on-roll off ferry terminal, cruise liner facilities, port road access and the Liverpool-Manchester rail upgrade will complete the SuperPort hub.
The European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is making a real difference to people and businesses in the North West. With €755 million to invest between 2007 and 2013, ERDF is enhancing the competitiveness of the region’s economy by supporting growth in enterprise and employment. ERDF is managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government. ERDF’s Maritime Sector Development Programme has been extended to 2015. It aims to support productivity, business growth and job creation among small to medium sized enterprises on Merseyside, helping to enhance the competitiveness of the sub-region both nationally and internationally. For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/funding-debt/european-regional-development-funding
Polaris Media is a specialist marine and maritime sector PR agency. For details contact: ben@polarismediapr.com.