A SPECIAL topping out ceremony has been held to mark the final touches of a dockside warehouse that is creating 25 new jobs.

It comes as work to create new facilities for Import Services in Southampton is on schedule to open in July.

The new £3.7m warehouse expansion is set to enable the company to move to a 24- hour operation.

The new facility is owned and managed by Associated British Ports, and will boost the company’s overall capacity from 40,000 pallets to 53,000 pallets.

It has been built by Midas Southern and is set to achieve the highest environmentally- friendly rating thanks to its green credentials – which include more than 3,000 solar panels installed on the roof.

Import Services’ client services director Mike Thomas said the company was delighted that the much-needed additional space is on target to open in July.

He said: “Watching the transformation of the site has been amazing and we are looking forward to moving into the new space which will ensure we are well placed to handle imports from existing and new clients.

“Our container port facility is the only one of its kind in the UK and this expansion in co-operation with ABP Southampton is designed to meet increased demand for moving imported product quickly from ship to warehouse.

“We are in the right place to prepare stock and process orders for onward delivery to a wide range of retailers from Amazon, Argos and Tesco to John Lewis, Harrods and increasingly direct to consumer at home.’’ Import Services is the leading container portbased logistics company in the UK, based in Southampton and linking supply chain services, with global real time information, to meet the new world of retailing.