A V Dawson has amalgamated several parts of its Middlesbrough-based port and logistics operations to form one, integrated port facility as it drives forward with further growth and expansion.

The business has called this new facility Port of Middlesbrough, harking back to a name from the 1830s.

Gary Dawson, managing director at A V Dawson said: “Over the years, we’ve acquired various sites as we’ve expanded our operations and it’s become a challenge to describe succinctly what A V Dawson Ltd is.

“We have thought long and hard about what drives the business forward and what defines us – we’ve concluded that our location and the River Tees are key to this, neither of which feature in the company name. So given the nature of all of the multimodal assets and activities that we own and operate, we are best positioned from a marketing perspective describing ourselves as a port.

“We wanted to consolidate under one new encompassing brand and image, but with a continuation of the A V Dawson name and legacy. ‘Port of Middlesbrough – an A V Dawson facility’ fits with our history and reflects the growth of our business and the town.

“Being a Teesside family business, founded over 80 years ago, the history of the area is really important to us so it seemed logical to reignite the Port of Middlesbrough name.”

The new name marks the start of a three-year port masterplan to develop the site. This plan, an investment of over £10M, includes the construction of a plastic waste recycling plant, a new head office and the enhancement the existing quayside to accommodate larger vessels.