Kia Motors signs multi-million pound deal for new UK port operation

A multi million pound ten year deal has been signed by Kia Motors UK Ltd. and Paragon to operate a key automotive storage and preparation centre at Stallingborough, North East Lincolnshire to handle and process up to 120,000 cars every year. The operation will move from the existing site in Killingholme by December 2015, expecting to employ 150 staff – these include existing Paragon and GBA staff but will also create new roles and opportunities for the local area.  The specialist facilities will allow Kia vehicles to be fitted out to buyers’ specification before distribution to Kia’s 185 UK dealers.

Injecting millions into the future of Stallingborough, the purchase will see the development of 88 acres of land to a fully functioning compound for automotive storage, preparation and distribution. The purchase of the land totals £9m, which will involve re-development and extension of the existing workshop and bodyshop to encompass state of the art facilities spanning over 75,000 square feet.

“The port on the Humber is a strategic and extremely important part of Kia’s UK car import and distribution,” said Yaser Shabsogh, Commercial Director of Kia. “The facilities which will be available for us to process our cars will be fantastically state of the art, and will allow us to keep delivering expertly designed, quality vehicles to our dealerships up and down the UK.”

Mark Hindley Commercial Director of Paragon added, “We are delighted to have this opportunity to develop a flagship technical centre for Kia Motors UK, which will process up to 120,000 new and used vehicles each year.  This partnership will allow us to invest in facilities and people in the North East, to provide an excellent service and one which is hugely important of the UK’s car import structure.”