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An overnight success

23rd July 2009, Page 18
23rd July 2009
Page 18
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Page 18, 23rd July 2009 — An overnight success
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

How does a small, new company become part of one of the largest transport businesses in Europe? CM talks to QD Logistics to find out.

Words: Louise Cole Images: Tom Cunningham

"THERE IS NO STATION Road, and there is no QD Logistics," I am told firmly by a competitor just down the road from the company I'm trying to visit. They're wrong... on both counts.

QD Logistics is not only a new and vibrant business in Holme, on Spalding Moor. 20 miles south of York. but it has also just sold a 50% equity stake to the Dutch transport group Butter, which, overnight, has established itself in the UK with 21 vehicles and at least one substantial contract.

QD Logistics may be easy for locals and rivals to overlook; the operating centre is located a kilometre down a rough farm track and is surrounded by whinnying horses. Its HO is a portable office, equipped with a portable loo, But it would be a mistake for anyone to ignore or underestimate the business that has emerged from this 10-acre site.

Directors Mike Simpson and Frank van Kerkhof met when Frank recruited Mike from his own haulage business to act as transport manager for the new UK arm of AB Texel. the large Dutch transport operation.

When the two men departed the company to pursue their individual careers elsewhere, though, a former large customer, Sitos Commodities, pursued them with a challenge to find it the best transport solution.

-Mike worked out the implications of running their own fleet for them. But these days, you have to be a little bit crazy to do that." laughs van Kerkhof

Instead, the men decided to go down the crazy route and established their own fleet to fulfil the contract. "Mike rang me in Holland and said he wanted to do it. The decision took us about two minutes to make." That was 1 October 2007, and they went live 1 January 2008.

No hesitation

Van Kerkhof was running a transport consultancy in Holland at this time, and both men freely admit how difficult the life of a transport operator is. So why go hack into haulage? Simpson replies: "We didn't hesitate because we have set tonnages, seven days a week feeding blue-chip factories. And the commodities we're shipping do not disappear."

The company initially Look on Silos' incoming loads from Tilbury into the South of England. Green coffee beans (pre-roasting) and cocoa are the staple loads, with potatoes supplementing the seasonal rota.

This was fine, but we had to grow.says van Kerkhof."There is a Dutch saying: 'Too big for a napkin, too small for the table: So we found other customers and grew from no trucks to 13 in just six months. Then we took over Sitos' contract for the North of England so, nationally, we do 95% of Sitos work."

The duo's journey has included overcoming some major hurdles not least anyone believing they could do it.

Van Kerkhof says: "The Sitos contract instantly pulled 10 loads a day out of Holland into the UK. We needed 20 trucks, but only had five at the time, so no one actually believed that we would pull it off but we did."

The work involves feeding Nestle factories at York. Hayes and Tutbury, taking all Sitos goods from ship to store.

In total, the business handles around 3,000 containers a year and ships about 200,000 tonnes of product.

Unusable loads

While potato loads are worth around £3.000, coffee beans cost £4,000 a tonne and cocoa £2,000 per tonne. Although not a theft risk the loads are virtually unusable before processing -such value means absolute attention has to be given to how the product is handled.

Butter's interest was fortuitous, and the pair's background with its biggest Dutch rival didn't hurt. "We needed to grow, and to offer a wide professional service. Now, we do not need to have 40 trucks because through Butter we have 200-plus on the Continent. Our job is to keep coming up with solutions to improve customer service and boost our margins which are just touching 4%," revals van Kerkhof.

But while Butter has leapfrogged into the UK, he and Simpson intend to stay masters of QD, "We retain control and the directorships. It's part of the deal we will always be OD Logistics." • HFOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT:


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