A THIRD-GENERATION distribution firm has strengthened its industry position after signing a deal to improve access to the East Coast Main Line.

AV Dawson, in Middlesbrough, says it has an agreement with Network Rail to take control of sidings linking its 80-acre site to the route.

The deal comes after the 77-year-old company completed a £12.5m expansion, which has seen it create more than 60 jobs, build a £3.4m River Tees deepwater quay and set up a £2.6m rail terminal linked to the East Coast track, capable of handling 80-container trains and storing up to 1,200 loaded containers.

Earlier this year, it also opened a £6.5m shed to handle nearly 300,000 of tonnes of automotive steel annually, with trains delivering cargo from Tata Steel’s south Wales operations.

The firm says its Network Rail agreement includes a 99-year lease to manage the seven-acre Middlesbrough Goods Yard, with bosses planning to spend £500,000 on improvements.

Gary Dawson, AV Dawson’s managing director, said: “Taking ownership of the yard underpins the investments we have made in additional rail facilities, all of which rely on the yard for main line connection.

“It gives our investors and customers increased confidence in our business model and in their rail served supply chains.

“Now we have ownership of the yard, we can make some much needed improvements to raise the standards of the tracks and meet increased traffic and greater train lengths.

“We are committed to improving it and plan to expand its capacity through re-design and the laying of additional track, with work set to begin over the next few weeks.”

The firm has also taken over responsibility for maintaining the private infrastructure of Cobra Middlesbrough, which operates a dry bulk handling terminal.

Mr Dawson added: “Working closer with Cobra will only strengthen the position of both companies in the Teesside rail freight industry.”

In February, AV Dawson opened its automotive shed, which includes a rail track and a specialist dehumidification system to keep the coil in perfect condition.

Sunderland-based Nissan will use the coil across its various models and it is expected to help build the new sporty Infiniti Q30, which will roll off the Japanese company's production line this year.

It is understood a daily train from Tata’s Port Talbot plant will deliver products to the shed, with goods taken to customers using Dawson’s road haulage division.

Bosses believe the site, which The Northern Echo exclusively revealed last year, is the first of its type in the UK.

Mr Dawson, grandson of company founders Vernie and Eleanor, who set up the company in 1938 with £50 for horse Dina, her shoes, and a cart to deliver coal, said it will help the firm target new work across energy markets.

He also said the company, which employs about 240 workers, needed to expand after years of running at full capacity across other steel sheds, highlighting work on the renewable and waste-to-energy sectors as a driver to build on £20m turnover.

Mr Dawson added: “Moving everything into one will help us reduce the need for shunting the trains between sheds.

“But we have ambitions to do more things outside steel, such as renewables and waste-to-energy, and this will help because we will be more efficient.”