ONE of Felixstowe's biggest shipping companies has opened a new base just yards from the entrance to the port.International freight and logistics specialist Cory Brothers' new 15,000 sq ft offices at the growing Haven Exchange complex off Walton Avenue, opposite Dock Gate One, are the largest on the site.

ONE of Felixstowe's biggest shipping companies has opened a new base just yards from the entrance to the port.

International freight and logistics specialist Cory Brothers' new 15,000 sq ft offices at the growing Haven Exchange complex off Walton Avenue, opposite Dock Gate One, are the largest on the site.

The three-storey building will be home to Cory Brothers Shipping Agency and Cory Logistics, which have about 100 of their 200 staff in Suffolk.

John van Bergen, managing director of the freight forwarding and logistics division of Cory Brothers, said: “We are delighted to be opening this new facility which will enable us to provide an even better service for our customers.

“This development emphasises the investments we are making in our products to ensure our customers receive superior support and care in these most demanding of times.”

Cory Brothers provides a wide range of port, hub, liner, cruise and forwarding services from its bases throughout the UK and internationally, including from its new hub in Singapore.

The company, which can trace its history back to 1842 where it began as Richard Cory & Sons in the Cardiff Docks, is looking optimistically to the future and has enjoyed recent growth with the purchase of Fred Olsen Freight and Freight Action Ltd.

Mr van Bergen said: “A new office was long overdue and despite what's happening around us with the economic climate, there is no question in our minds that this is the right thing to do and we will continue to sail a steady course.

“We are being responsible and we are managing the business for the shareholder but also for us and our staff.

“There is business to be had out there.”

The offices were opened by Suffolk Coastal MP John Gummer.

Alan Marsh, chief executive of Cory's parent company, Braemar Shipping Services Group, said: “We are pleased that Cory Brothers continues to go from strength to strength. Cory Brothers represents an important component within the Braemar Shipping Services Group, which has developed marine services business divisions in parallel to ship broking, and these divisions now represent a growing percentage of the group's profitability.”