'Small is beautiful' for growing network
Pall-Ex, the UK’s largest pallet network, believes the slowing economy won’t damage its prospects for growth.
Alan Cramley, sales and marketing director, said last week: “People may be saying the economy is quiet, but that means small deliveries more often, which suits our typical consignment size of one to three pallets.” The company is confident of matching last year ‘s 40% growth rate and last week moved into its new £10m ( t14.5m) hub near Coalville in Leicestershire.
Founder and MD Hilary Sharples described the opening as a “quantum leap forward” for a business founded only in 1996.
In November that year, the 29 founders of Pall-Ex transhipped just 117 pallets through a second world war aircraft hangar in Wymeswold powered by a mobile generator.
Logistics Manager, May 03
Pall-Ex, formed 7 years ago, now handles between 6,000 and 6,500 pallets a night. The company predicts that its new hub will enable it to reach 15,000 pallets a night.
The new facility, by contrast, includes a 20,000sq metre transhipment area, 48 loading bays, 3,000sq metres of racked storage and a trailer exchange and park.
“I was convinced from the outset we had the potential to operate from a big dedicated centre like this.
“We have come a long way in seven years, helping to shape and define a sector of transportation that didn’t exist, ” Sharples said.
Cramley said an increasing UK membership, greater activity in Europe and the ability to attract corporate accounts, many of them delivering direct to the hub on their own vehicles, were all helping maintain the network’s growth rate.
He added that the network, now with 86 UK members, could probably grow to 100 as blanks on the map were filled, and predicted rapid expansion in European shipments. Pall-Ex Scandinavia was launched in January and a similar system covering Spain and Portugal goes live later this month.
A Benelux partner would be in place by the end of April or early May, Cramley said.
The hub was opened by the Princess Royal, patron of transport charity Transaid, who commended the Penny-a-Pallet scheme started by Pall-Ex last September. It has already raised £11,500 ( t17,000) to help develop transport infrastructure in famine-hit Malawi.
The Princess smiled that a penny a pallet “may not sound much – but given Pall-Ex’s success, our future income looks pretty stable”.
Welcoming Pall-Ex’s “huge investment in the future”, she added: “More people in the UK needed to understand the importance of transport in their own lives. We can’t keep tucking it away into the dark hours.” A cheque for £4,000, ( t5,800) – the Penny-a-Pallet contribution from the last quarter – was presented to Tibbett & Britten’s John Harvey, chairman of Transaid.
He described how Sharples had helped build the hanging garments operation at T&B before striking out on her own and said: “You’ve got an enormously important model here.”
Posted: 07/04/2003
