1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
Innovate 'on target' after buying GCT
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Growing Nottinghamshire firm Innovate Logistics has moved further along the acquisition trail.
Guy Sheppard reports.
INNOVATE 1.0G ISTICS has taken a significant step towards becoming UK market leader in refrigerated transport by buying the distribution arm of Grampian Country Food Group.
Pete Osborne, Innovate's managing director,reporis that the acquisition of Grampian CountryTransport (CiCT) will add more than 100 vehicles to its fleet.
"This gives us a proper network and infrastructure and it also gives us the quality of staff we need for that," he adds.
OCT is based in Thorne. South Yorkshire and has satellite depots in Perthshire and Suffolk. Osborne says the acquisition means Innovate is on target to become market leader in temperature-controlled transport by 2008.
The company was formed in 2003 through the incorporation of five companies including Solar Cold Services of Nottingham and Round Oak Rail in the Black Country.
In October 2005, Nottinghambased company Phil Hanley was bought for an undisclosed sum, boosting the size of Innovate's fleet to 150 tractor units and 230 reefer trailers and adding £25m to its annual turnover.
The company is also understood to be buying Stockport haulier RF Fielding (CM 9 February).
Innovate's acquisition of OCT. which employs more than 200 people, follows the start of a major warehousing contract with Grampian last year. Osborne says: We haven't done any transport for Grampian before. GCT is going to concentrate on food."