Palletforce, the UK’s leading palletised distribution network, more than doubled its European volumes during 2017 and has strengthened its platform for further growth by adding express services to five new countries this week.
The increase in pallets delivered across Europe represents a 65 per cent growth in the company’s international volumes over the last 12 months.
The success is due entirely to growth across the Palletforce membership and that trend is expected to continue as Palletforce added express services to Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania this week.
While the weakened pound has been a contributory factor in UK exports, Palletforce attributes its overseas success to continual investment, including the ongoing addition of new services and improved consignment tracking. This has enabled Palletforce’s UK members to offer a higher quality service to their customers and drive the record growth.
As part of its commitment to boosting international volumes, the company appointed Mark Tabor as European development director – he has more than 30 years’ experience as a consultant and director of a major freight forwarding company.
Mark Tabor said: “Upon arriving at Palletforce I could immediately see the huge potential for European growth. Our aim is now to grow and develop the product, to the extent that it will become a market leader, giving our members a real edge over the competition in Europe.”
In October last year Palletforce further boosted its operational strength with the launch of a new £50m SuperHub at its headquarters in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire.
Palletforce chief executive Michael Conroy said: “The record growth is testament to the strategic investments throughout the European portfolio – helping our members to grow by offering a high-quality and consistent continental service to their customers.
“Alongside the SuperHub, our European service is another key strand in our strategy of ‘creating capacity and enabling growth’ for our members. Despite some uncertainty over Brexit, Europe is, and will continue to be, a growth market for Palletforce, which is why we have sought to strengthen that platform by strategically investing in the services.”
