A LOCAL chemical storage company received a bumper birthday present yesterday.

Tees Storage Company, based at Seal Sands, Middlesbrough, received a £2.5m boost from its new owners, Dutch company Royal Vopak. Tees Storage stores and distributes bulk liquid chemicals for many large manufacturers both on Teesside and in other parts of the country.

The investment packaged will be used to construct 13 new storage tanks, increasing the firm's on-site storage capacity to 238,500 tonnes and allowing it to increase its customer base.

Tees Storage, which this month celebrates its 35th birthday, also launched its new name - Vopak Terminal Teesside. Royal Vopak owned a 50 per cent stake in Tees Storage, and has succeeded in becoming sole owner of the company after acquiring the other 50 per cent share from GATX Terminals Corporate based in the USA.

David Bishop, Vopak Terminal Teesside's MD, said: "The chemical industry is globalising and becoming highly sophisticated in its logistics planning.

"Service companies without international links are finding it increasingly difficult to give the international solutions needed by the chemical industry," he explained. "Our new parent company - Royal Vopak - is the world leader in chemicals logistics. It's clear that our closer links with the Vopak group, plus continued investment, are vital if we are to meet our existing and new customers' specialised requirements."

With 162 storage tanks, Vopak Terminal Teesside is the largest chemical storage company on Teesside and last year handled and stored three million tonnes of liquid chemicals. The firm employs 63 people.