Powell Duffryn
Encyclopedia
PD Ports is a Middlesbrough
-headquartered British
port
s operator.
Formerly known as Powell Duffryn, it dug its first coal mine in South Wales
in 1840, and later expanded into various sorts of manufacturing
. After its coal mines were nationalised (and subsequently operated by the National Coal Board
), the company continued to operate as a ports and engineering firm.
Nowadays PD Ports operates as a ports, shipping and logistics company at various locations throughout the UK.
It was acquired in 2000 by Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd., a unit of Nikko Cordial
Corp. of Japan.
PD Ports is now owned by Brookfield Asset Management
after a sale from Babcock & Brown. On 16 November 2009, PD Ports was sold to Brookfield Asset Management
of Canada
.
in the 18th century as a timber
merchant. Thomas Powell inherited the family business at the age of 14 on his father's death.
Unable to keep the firm profitable, Thomas saw the potential of coal as the Industrial Revolution
started, and sank his first deep mine at Cwmbach, Aberdare in 1840. Between then and 1863, he opened many more deep mines in Aberdare (Cwmdare, Abernant, Abergwawr, Middle Duffryn and Cwmpennar) and in the Rhymney Valley
.
In 1863 Thomas Powell instructed T. E. Forster, William Armstrong and George Elliott
to put a valuation on all his collieries. In 1864 Elliott formed the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd and acquired Powell’s collieries, with an initial capitalization of £500,000, producing 400,000 tons from the eight collieries.
In 1867 the company bought the Aberaman Estate from iron master Crawshay Bailey, including Aberaman Colliery, Ironworks, Brickworks, the Mansion and all adjoining land. Underneath the estate lay some of the best steam coal in the world, accessed via the new Middle Duffryn colliery. The business prospered as part of the development of the South Wales Coalfield
, and by 1913 launched a coal distribution subsidiary in France, Compagnie Francaise des Mines Powell Duffryn, with their main offices at Rouen
.
In 1916, E.M Hann was made a director of the company. After World War I
he drove the development of the company, acquiring all the adjoining collieries (Aberaman, Lletysiencyn, Abernant, Gadlys and Blaengwawr), succeeding in sinking every one of the company’s collieries in the Aberdare Valley to the lowest seam. The company started a joint venture in the shipping industry with Stephenson and Clarke in 1920, later acquiring their partners outright by 1928.
In 1935, Powell Duffryn merged its coal operations with those of Welsh Associated Collieries, who having been formed in 1930 owned 34 collieries, under the joint venture company Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries. In 1942, this company was merged with Messrs. Cory Brothers and Co. Ltd to form Powell Duffryn Ltd.
The United Kingdom coal industry was nationalised in 1946, and in 1947 the National Coal Board
took control of the coal division of Powell Duffryn, with the company being paid £16 million for the assets.
The firm diversified, expanding its engineering interests with several acquisitions, including Hamworthy Engineering Ltd in 1962. By the early 1980s, it had gained worldwide recognition in the fields of engineering, shipping (travel), bulk liquid storage, fuel distribution, construction and wagon manufacture. In 1980/81 its turnover was £456m. A period of consolidation followed, with sale of the shipping division by 1988 and purchase of the ports of Tees and Hartlepool
in 1992.
By 1994 the company had attracted the attention of the Hanson
conglomerate which attempted a takeover. Further restructuring followed, with sale of some peripheral businesses. Between 1996 and 1998, Powell Duffryn sold or closed some 14 subsidiaries, like the US fuel and chemical storage division which included: its Savannah, Georgia and Bayonne, New Jersey chemical storage terminals in 1996; its Eurogas liquefied heating fuel distribution subsidiary in 1997; and its National Pump subsidiary in 1998; the UK Petroleum Products subsidiary in 1998.
The company diversified and expanded its engineering operations with the purchase of "Kvaerner Ships Equipment" (KSE) for £34 million from the Swedish
Kvaerner shipping group in December 1998.
In 1992 Teesport
was privatised and then original three buyers were subsequently reduced to a single owner, Powell Duffryn Plc, in 1995.
After being acquired by Nikko Cordial
Corp. of Japan, it disposed of its engineering division from September 2001, including Hamworthy and Belliss & Morcom divisions to the Gardner Denver Inc. of the USA for £21 million.
This stock exchange listed company was then itself taken over in 2000 by private Japanese owned banking group Nikko and its various maritime and port businesses re-branding in 2003 as PD Ports, Logistics and Shipping (PDPLS). In December 2004, the company, PD Ports plc, was listed on the London AIM stock market and was successfully taken over by Australian investment firm, Babcock and Brown
Infrastructure (BBI) in February 2006 to from PD Ports Limited.
Then in November 2009, Brookfield Asset Management
acquired PD Ports.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
-headquartered British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
s operator.
Formerly known as Powell Duffryn, it dug its first coal mine in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
in 1840, and later expanded into various sorts of manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
. After its coal mines were nationalised (and subsequently operated by the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
), the company continued to operate as a ports and engineering firm.
Nowadays PD Ports operates as a ports, shipping and logistics company at various locations throughout the UK.
It was acquired in 2000 by Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd., a unit of Nikko Cordial
Nikko Cordial
was a third largest Japanese brokerage firm and the holding company for Nikko Cordial Securities and subsidiaries. In 2008, Nikko Cordial Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., upon completion of share exchange and it merged with Citigroup Japan Holdings Ltd. to form Nikko...
Corp. of Japan.
PD Ports is now owned by Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
after a sale from Babcock & Brown. On 16 November 2009, PD Ports was sold to Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Background
The business started in NewportNewport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in the 18th century as a timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
merchant. Thomas Powell inherited the family business at the age of 14 on his father's death.
Unable to keep the firm profitable, Thomas saw the potential of coal as the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
started, and sank his first deep mine at Cwmbach, Aberdare in 1840. Between then and 1863, he opened many more deep mines in Aberdare (Cwmdare, Abernant, Abergwawr, Middle Duffryn and Cwmpennar) and in the Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
.
In 1863 Thomas Powell instructed T. E. Forster, William Armstrong and George Elliott
Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet
Sir George Elliot, 1st Baronet, JP was a self-made businessman from Gateshead in the North-East of England. A colliery labourer who went on to own several coal mines, he later bought a wire rope manufacturing company which manufactured the first Transatlantic telegraph cable...
to put a valuation on all his collieries. In 1864 Elliott formed the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd and acquired Powell’s collieries, with an initial capitalization of £500,000, producing 400,000 tons from the eight collieries.
In 1867 the company bought the Aberaman Estate from iron master Crawshay Bailey, including Aberaman Colliery, Ironworks, Brickworks, the Mansion and all adjoining land. Underneath the estate lay some of the best steam coal in the world, accessed via the new Middle Duffryn colliery. The business prospered as part of the development of the South Wales Coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
, and by 1913 launched a coal distribution subsidiary in France, Compagnie Francaise des Mines Powell Duffryn, with their main offices at Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
.
In 1916, E.M Hann was made a director of the company. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he drove the development of the company, acquiring all the adjoining collieries (Aberaman, Lletysiencyn, Abernant, Gadlys and Blaengwawr), succeeding in sinking every one of the company’s collieries in the Aberdare Valley to the lowest seam. The company started a joint venture in the shipping industry with Stephenson and Clarke in 1920, later acquiring their partners outright by 1928.
In 1935, Powell Duffryn merged its coal operations with those of Welsh Associated Collieries, who having been formed in 1930 owned 34 collieries, under the joint venture company Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries. In 1942, this company was merged with Messrs. Cory Brothers and Co. Ltd to form Powell Duffryn Ltd.
The United Kingdom coal industry was nationalised in 1946, and in 1947 the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
took control of the coal division of Powell Duffryn, with the company being paid £16 million for the assets.
The firm diversified, expanding its engineering interests with several acquisitions, including Hamworthy Engineering Ltd in 1962. By the early 1980s, it had gained worldwide recognition in the fields of engineering, shipping (travel), bulk liquid storage, fuel distribution, construction and wagon manufacture. In 1980/81 its turnover was £456m. A period of consolidation followed, with sale of the shipping division by 1988 and purchase of the ports of Tees and Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
in 1992.
By 1994 the company had attracted the attention of the Hanson
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
conglomerate which attempted a takeover. Further restructuring followed, with sale of some peripheral businesses. Between 1996 and 1998, Powell Duffryn sold or closed some 14 subsidiaries, like the US fuel and chemical storage division which included: its Savannah, Georgia and Bayonne, New Jersey chemical storage terminals in 1996; its Eurogas liquefied heating fuel distribution subsidiary in 1997; and its National Pump subsidiary in 1998; the UK Petroleum Products subsidiary in 1998.
The company diversified and expanded its engineering operations with the purchase of "Kvaerner Ships Equipment" (KSE) for £34 million from the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Kvaerner shipping group in December 1998.
In 1992 Teesport
Teesport
Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in north east England...
was privatised and then original three buyers were subsequently reduced to a single owner, Powell Duffryn Plc, in 1995.
After being acquired by Nikko Cordial
Nikko Cordial
was a third largest Japanese brokerage firm and the holding company for Nikko Cordial Securities and subsidiaries. In 2008, Nikko Cordial Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., upon completion of share exchange and it merged with Citigroup Japan Holdings Ltd. to form Nikko...
Corp. of Japan, it disposed of its engineering division from September 2001, including Hamworthy and Belliss & Morcom divisions to the Gardner Denver Inc. of the USA for £21 million.
This stock exchange listed company was then itself taken over in 2000 by private Japanese owned banking group Nikko and its various maritime and port businesses re-branding in 2003 as PD Ports, Logistics and Shipping (PDPLS). In December 2004, the company, PD Ports plc, was listed on the London AIM stock market and was successfully taken over by Australian investment firm, Babcock and Brown
Babcock and Brown
Babcock & Brown was a global investment and advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia that went into liquidation in 2009. It was best known in financial markets for structured finance deals. The company had at its peak 28 offices and over 1,500 employees worldwide. Although headquartered in Sydney,...
Infrastructure (BBI) in February 2006 to from PD Ports Limited.
Then in November 2009, Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
acquired PD Ports.
Operations
- Ports:
- TeesportTeesportTeesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in north east England...
- HartlepoolHartlepoolHartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
- ImminghamImminghamImmingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
- Teesport
- Humberside Holdings Ltd. (UK)
- Humberside Sea & Land Services Ltd. (UK)
- Powell Duffryn Shipping Ltd. (UK)
- Powell Duffryn Storage Ltd. (UK)
Former operations
- Air Compressor Products Inc. (USA);
- Belliss & Morcom Ltd. (UK)
- Eagle Compressors Inc. (USA)
- Eurogas, to Calor Gas for £13.5m, 1997
- Hamwothy Division:
- Hamworthy Combustion Engineering Ltd. (UK)
- Hamworthy Heating Ltd. (UK)
- Hamworthy Compressor Group (UK)
- Hamworthy Canada Ltd
- Hamworthy Compressor Systems Ltd. (UK)
- Hamworthy Marine Ltd. (UK);
- Hamworthy Marine Technology Ltd. (UK)
- Hamworthy Pumps and Compressors Ltd. (UK)
- H & L Garages Ltd. (UK)
- JIP Kugleventiler (Denmark)
- Geesink Norba sold to Oshkosh TruckOshkosh TruckOshkosh Corporation , formerly Oshkosh Truck, designs and builds specialty trucks and truck bodies and access equipment. Based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the company employs 12,300 people around the world...
for £91m in 2001 - Hymac engineering (Excavators) (UK)
- Peabody Engineering Corporation (USA)
- Svanehoj International A/S (Denmark)
- UKPP to CPL Industries for £29m, completing Powell Duffryn's withdrawal from the fuel distribution business
See also
Other Port operators in the UK include:- Associated British Ports
- Mersey Docks and Harbour CompanyMersey Docks and Harbour CompanyThe Mersey Docks and Harbour Company , formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board , owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England...
- Peninsular and Oriental group
External links
- PD Ports
- History of Powell Duffryn at Rhondda Cynon TaffRhondda Cynon TaffRhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...