King's Lynn - Economy

Economy

King's Lynn has always been a centre for the fishing and seafood industry (especially inshore prawns, shrimps and cockles). There have also been glass-making and small-scale engineering works (many fairground and steam engines were built here), and today, it is still the location for much agricultural-related industry including food processing. There are a number of chemical factories and the town retains a role as an import centre. It is a regional centre for what is still a sparsely populated part of England.

King's Lynn was the fastest growing port in Great Britain in 2008. The figures from the Department for Transport show that trade in the King's Lynn increased by 33 per cent.

In 2008, the German Palm Group began to erect one of the world's largest paper machines. The machine was constructed by Voith Paper. With a web speed of up to 2000 m/min and a web width of 10.63m, it can produce 400.000 per year of newsprint paper. The production is based on 100% recycled paper. The start-up was on 21 August 2009.

The Port of King's Lynn has facilities for dry bulk cargo such as cereals and liquid bulk products such as petroleum products for Pace Petroleum. It also handles timber imported from Scandinavia and the Baltics, and has large handling sheds for steel imports.