By Daniel Hunter

Exporting from the Sheffield City region has received a significant boost with the creation of a new international freight terminal.

The 14,000sqft Sheffield International Freight Terminal (SH-I-F-T) will provide exporters with a regional facility to transport goods to thousands of overseas markets.

SH-I-F-T will be based on Grange Mill Lane, near to junction 34 of the M1 motorway and close to the proposed location for the Sheffield City Region High Speed Rail station.

It will be one of only two Government approved bonded warehouses in South Yorkshire and plans are already in place to extend the terminal by a further 25,000sqft in the future.

To mark its development SH-I-F-T (www.sh-i-f-t.co.uk) and leading international freight management company 512 (Sheffield) Ltd have both become partners of the South Yorkshire International Trade Centre (SYITC).

512 (Sheffield) Ltd, which is based at the international terminal, provides a full range of export and import services to businesses.

The ISO accredited company manages up to 200 export consignments a day to thousands of locations around the world, providing support with airfreight, seafreight, courier , trailer, documentation and insurance.

It has also developed an online shipping office allowing businesses to place orders and track shipments across the globe as well as view, print and electronically store shipment records and documents.

Beth Barber-Atkinson, director at Sheffield International Freight Terminal, said: “SH-I-F-T is an exciting development for Sheffield City Region. It will make this area more self-sufficient and provide a direct route to overseas markets.

“By joining forces with SYITC we will be able to inform companies that we are here to take their business global.”

Karen Mosley, head of business development at 512 (Sheffield) Ltd, added: “This is a fantastic partnership for us. SYITC is renowned for guiding businesses on exporting and identifying the trade opportunities available, while SH-I-F-T will improve Sheffield’s position as a key location for international freight.

“512 ensure the process of exporting is extremely easy by managing the entire process, so through this partnership businesses will receive expert advice and assistance with each step they take when dealing with international trade, which has never been easier in this region.”

SYITC offers broad support for local businesses to grow their global market, including assisting exporters throughout the process of completing the documentation; from choosing the correct documents to ensuring that they are completed correctly.

Michelle Daniel, international trade manager at South Yorkshire International Trade Centre, said: “We are delighted to gain two exporting organisations as partners to help more companies do business across the globe.

“Having 512 (Sheffield) Ltd and SH-I-F-T located in the city region, providing professional assistance, ensures any company can take their products to any location throughout the world.

“We need more businesses in the UK to export as this will generate new wealth from abroad which will ultimately generate sustainable growth and a positive future for our economy in this country.”

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