We’re back for 2022 but what floated your boat in the Humber when it came to business news in 2021? Here David Laister takes a look at the top 10 best-read stories from last year.
Did you miss any? Make it a new year's resolution to sign up for our free daily newsletter from the region that matters most to you, and follow BusinessLive Humber on Twitter and LinkedIn.
New rail freight service launches out of Port of Immingham taking 80 HGVs off the road a day
We were at the height of the HGV crisis, containers were mounting up on quaysides and an air of concern could be felt on the breeze over Christmas. Would the goods be on the shelves?
So the launch of the Humber Express - a new rail freight service out of Port of Immingham - became to the most turned to tale of 2021, as it immediately freed up 80 lorries, and crucially the drivers.
DFDS is behind the service, linking to Doncaster’s IPort Rail terminal, the central hub sitting by the East Coast Main Line and the UK’s ‘golden triangle’ of logistics.
Turbine recycling plan from inward-investing Pensana as it plots long-term Humber expansion
New jobs, infrastructure and opportunity will always be lapped up - and when it taps into the emerging trend of 2021 (Covid aside) then it is a formula for success.
Pensana had announced its intentions for a £100 million rare earth separation facility at Saltend as 2020 closed. The complex chemical engineering process, creating 100-plus jobs, starts the magnet metal supply chain - vital materials for electric vehicles and wind turbines.
When a recycling role for the latter was announced as part of a Humber Business Week event, interest was fully charged.
Rough to return - a £1.6b plan for Britain's biggest gas storage facility to play huge hydrogen role
From new to repurposing of old, we stayed with heavy industry on the Humber.
Centrica’s £1.6 billion proposal for the huge Rough gas field off the East Yorkshire coast to become a hydrogen storage hub tapped into other big plans on the Energy Estuary.
Revealed in July, the owner of British Gas then put it at the heart of its response to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s post-COP26 plea to the city. The clean fuel switch is clearly going to be a big focus in this and coming years, with Scunthorpe also touted for a ‘hydrogen town trial’ as 2021 closed.
What looked like a subtle sale and leaseback arrangement for a food production facility in Grimsby - future-proofing a fish processor for long-term growth - became something a little more when grand relocation plans were outlined for one party.
New England Seafood International’s acquisition of the neighbouring Haith’s premises on Europarc was certainly notable - but the plans for the bird seed and bait specialist to further green up credentials and invest in a new ‘nest’ in nearby Louth caught the attention after more than 80 years in North East Lincolnshire.
Work starts on world's largest vertical farm build from Ocado-backed Jones Food Company
Staying on the food theme, and Scunthorpe’s innovative vertical farming specialist’s reveal of its second site set news pulses racing.
Ocado-backed Jones Food Company is building new - and much bigger - in Gloucestershire. Ground was broken on a 148,000 sq ft addition in September, the first major capital investment since the online retailer came on board.
Bosses anticipate producing 1,000 tonnes of fresh produce from what will be a world-leader in the field of stacked, science-heavy fields.
World's first at-scale hydrogen power plant heading to the Humber as SSE and Equinor join forces
Energy giants SSE and Equinor joining forces to build a first at-scale hydrogen power plant at the former’s existing Keadby cluster came in at number six.
Welcomed by Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, it could produce a third of the 5GW goal for hydrogen-fuelled power before the decade's end.
The thousands of roles generated in the build-out will no doubt have propelled interest from the contracting community too, keen to grab a piece of the action on such huge infrastructure additions.
70 new jobs as Victory Leisure Homes brings manufacturing back to Hull
Jobs were at the fore too when it came to the next big-hitter in Business Live’s top stories from the Humber.
Rix Group’s caravan company - Victory Leisure Homes - brought manufacturing back into Hull in early 2021, with January’s recruitment drive a big hook for many.
It was creating 70 new roles to staff up the Leads Road plant that has helped it triple manufacturing capacity in a booming industry clustered in East Yorkshire. Long may the staycation reign in 2022 and beyond.
Amazon unwraps plans for Hull-serving site - with 400 jobs to be created at £30m facility
Jobs, jobs, jobs again - and maybe, just maybe, interest in what is still to come. Amazon’s new last-mile distribution centre at Melton West was announced in April.
A total of 400 roles were created, with 70 permanent positions at the £30 million, 10,000 sq m facility.
Covid has accelerated the trend for online ordering and the global giant is going big - and tipped to go bigger over the road, where a huge regional distribution plant got the go-ahead in December despite fierce opposition. Surely it will be revealed soon?
400-home major development outlined for South Humber Bank by North East builder
It could well be serving the subject of the story that came in eighth on the list too. A 390-home major development was outlined for Barton by North East builder Banks Property in July.
Stretching the town that sits at the south end of the Humber Bridge along the A15, it would be a significant addition and strategically placed for economic activity across the estuary.
Further details on the 25-hectare proposal came with December’s planning application submission to North Lincolnshire Council.
New insurance brokerage launches backed by industry veteran Joe Henderson
We stayed on the South Bank with a start-up involving an industry veteran to complete the top 10.
Joe Henderson emerged as a key figure behind new insurance brokerage Attis in March, with former employees as directors.
It came three years after the sale of his eponymous business to US giant Aon.
By the year-end Attis was employing 75 staff across six offices and eyeing £50m of premiums.
Just missing out on top spots? Here's the best of the rest...
20 jobs created as construction product made from recycled plastics finds iconic industrial home - Mytum and Selby welcomes Protomax Plastics' processing to Hull site
Largest offshore wind turbine ever installed off the Humber now standing proud - Triton Knoll's first 9.5MW machine emerged in January.
More jobs heading to Hull as Ineos adds to 'thriving super cluster of world chemicals businesses' - Acquisition of BP chemicals business set in action a move to reshore roles ahead of a big decision on a new £150m Saltend plant
