Darren Coleman and Anthony Paxton
Overnight 31 August to 1 September 2012 -Two of PD Ports’ employees, Anthony Paxton and Darren Coleman, have great cause for celebration having recently completed specialist engineering degrees, achieving first class honours at Teesside University.
Anthony and Darren, both based at PD Ports’ North East locations, have been working for four years on a part time basis to gain this qualification. Both employees joined PD Ports as apprentices some eight years ago and have continued to study within their chosen field of engineering throughout this time.
Currently, Anthony works as Engineering Mobile Plant Superintendant at Teesport, the 2nd largest container port in the North of the UK, and Darren has been recently promoted to Project Engineer Electrical working within the projects office at Vulcan Street, Middlesbrough.
Teesside University will be officially awarding Anthony a BA Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and Darren a BA Honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University’s annual graduation ceremony in November.
Looking ahead, Anthony and Darren are both planning to take the next step in their chosen careers and begin the progression towards achieving full chartered engineering status as a member of IMechE (Institute of Mechanical Engineers) and IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology) respectively.
Russ McCallion, PD Ports’ group human resources director, said: “We are delighted to see Anthony and Darren achieve first class honours in their degrees. At PD Ports we see the ongoing training and development of our people as critical to our long term success. Offering employees the opportunity to further their skills and knowledge base not only helps raise aspirations and increase motivation but it also ensures that our business is backed by a highly skilled and happy workforce.
“Anthony and Darren have demonstrated how this commitment to training is embraced by our employees and achieving first class honours is a clear reflection of the hard work and dedication Anthony and Darren have given to their studies. Congratulations to you both.”
About PD Ports
PD Ports is a multi award winning ports and logistics business delivering solutions to improve supply chains. Based in the north of England, PD Ports operates from locations at many key UK ports and logistics centres.
PD Ports owns and operates one of the largest UK ports, Teesport. It handles over 35M tonnes each year and has increased container volumes by more than 40% in the past five years. It has been developed to become the northern gateway for container traffic, handling over 420, 000 TEU last year, and is positioned for further significant growth.
All port operations are backed by a comprehensive logistics network through PD Logistics, which is part of the PD Ports Group.
PD Ports is owned by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $150 billion in assets under management. It has over a 100 year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has $19 billion of assets in infrastructure, which includes its port related interests. Brookfield’s investment in PD Ports represents its first foray into the ports business with a view to expanding this portfolio.
