Fastlane Winter 2011

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FROM THE NO.1 PALLET NETWORK

WINTER 2011

PALL-EX ROMANIA DINNER DANCE UPDATE

PDA RELEASE

PALL-EX LAUNCHES SECOND NETWORK THIS YEAR

INCREASING CUSTOMER SERVICE

CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNING DEPOTS

PALL-EX DINNER DANCE AWARDS DEPOT OF THE YEAR – ADD EXPRESS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE NETWORK – PREMIER LOGISTICS SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – GIBBS TRANSPORT Pages 8 - 9

HILARY DEVEY WELCOME TO OUR WINTER EDITION OF FASTLANE A big congratulations to you all for your achievements in tackling, what has undoubtedly been a challenging 2011. This year has been one of the most difficult trading years in our history. General economic conditions and competitive pressures have created challenges for both the hub and our network members.

The Pall-Ex Annual Dinner Dance Event was another fantastic event this year. I would like to thank our network members for all your hard work. Congratulations to ADD Express, Premier Logistics and Gibbs Transport for winning your outstanding awards. Another great achievement was the £2,000 raised on the night for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

Successful lobbying with industry bodies has led the abolishment of the 4 metre trailer height legislation of double deck trailers. However we still have a fight on our hands as the European Commission legislation are still trying to limit single deck trailers to 4 metres and 80% of the UK road fleet is above this. Nevertheless, join me in this campaign and I believe we can overcome this in 2012.

Over the past few months, I have been very busy raising money for charities. On the 14th November, I arranged a Royal Dinner with the presence of HRH the Duke of Kent and raised an excess of £20,000 for the Stroke Association.

Bye for now and I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year.

Lastly, here is to a successful 2012 for the hub and our Network members.

PAUL REYNOLDS JOINS THE TEAM Paul has recently joined the Pall-Ex’s sales team as Director of Corporate Sales to further strengthen our retail sales developments. Among Paul’s aims is to raise Pall-Ex’s profile in the retail world and build its reputation within the retail market place.

Paul has worked at various management positions including 2 years as a Client Development Director at UK Mail and 3 years as a Corporate Development Director at UPS. Paul has worked at other major companies such as 5 years at DHL and Yodel.

The main highlight of his career, Paul commented; “For 5-7 years, I have generated £6-8 million revenue year on year from companies such as Argos, EMI Music, Staples, Camelot and Computer Centre. These are just some of the clients on my portfolio. The Pallet market operates in a more stable environment, however I plan to generate revenue from key clients to making Pall-Ex’s journey a success.”

Apart from having a strong sales background, Paul also has a football career playing 12 years at Watford football team and playing at other football teams including Sheffield United and Oxford. In his leisure time, Paul also enjoys Tennis and Athletics.

2

STEVE REED NEW NETWORK DIRECTOR Steve has recently been promoted to Network Development Director at Pall-Ex. His previous role was Northern Regional Network Manager within the network team.

Steve has also previously worked at Pallet Networks and has found his first year at Pall-Ex refreshing as the internal working relationships within various departments at Pall-Ex are based on a `service led` mentality.

Steve comments on 2012 network developments; “The two key areas of focus for my Network Development team next year are member retention and measured growth. I plan to foresee a tough year ahead for the Transport business industry in general but I am determined to make sure that there is a continued bond between Pall-Ex and its very valued membership.”

Next FASTLANE: SPRING 2012 | News & feedback contact: Holly Cave & Rohini Syal at marketing@pallex.co.uk / 01530 239065

MEMBER NEWS TIGHTENING REGULATIONS PUT THE BRAKES ON LONDON HAULIERS Adam Hopcroft, Managing Director of Premier Palletised Ltd (PPL, D91) has hit out at increasingly restrictive transport regulations in London, claiming that hauliers are being continually penalised and the industry is being strangled.

Adam stated that transport companies are now squeezed so tight that the industry as a whole in the area may face an unstable future, as more of their turnover is eaten up by trying to meet the new laws. The most recent threat is the introduction of the Greater London Low Emission Zone (LEZ).

The next stage of the LEZ comes into force on 3 January 2012, affecting commercial vehicles, which will need to conform to the Euro IV emissions legislation in order to drive into the capital.

Adam commented; “This is another heavy blow to the London haulage industry. Several businesses will be forced to spend a huge amount of money replacing perfectly good vehicles – entire fleets in some cases.

“Even then, those vehicles can’t then be sold to other hauliers in the area because of the legislation. It makes them worthless to any freight or distribution company operating in London.”

per vehicle per day toll presenting a significant drain on finances.

He added that the cost of fuel alone is enough of a restriction, saying that where once diesel was 10 per cent of PPL’s turnover, it is now 15 per cent and still rising.

“You can see the effect this has had on the industry when you see that there are no new hauliers in London. Whilst that means less competition for us, it also points to the fact that the market there is not as viable as it once was.

“It appears that this increasing amount of legislation is put into effect without considering the economic impacts. Nearly every shop in London has its goods delivered by lorry or van. What does it mean to them if they cannot get deliveries, or if the increased cost to the couriers is passed on to them – and, in turn, to their customers.”

Adam also said that the London Congestion Charge had a significant impact when it was introduced in 2003, with the £10

ANOTHER NEW MEMBER EXPANDING OUR NETWORK Pall-Ex has welcomed back Pegasus Express after a three-year absence.

Commenting on the return of Pegasus Express, Steve Reed, Pall-Ex’s Director of network development, said; “The Pegasus approach is service led and will enable Pall-Ex to improve efficiency in key postcode areas in Scotland. Furthermore, our relationship will also give Pegasus opportunities to expand their business requirements achieving a robust solution for all of their customers.”

Joe McNab, Sales Director at Pegasus Express, added:

“We are delighted to be back on board with Pall-Ex. 2012 will be a period of expansion for us and we are confident that Pall-Ex’s network model and membership benefits will help us to achieve the desired growth.”

www.pallex.com | The No. 1 Pallet Network

3

MEMBER NEWS TRIPLE A TRANSPORT – EXPANDS PORT CENTRIC OFFERING Triple A Transport who service the Romford area for Pall-Ex, have expanded their sister company, The Logistics Terminal (TLT).

The company can now offer the complete logistical and multimodal distribution operation from their Port Centric Warehouse at the Port of Tilbury.

The Logistics Terminal (TLT) is set to perform a phased takeover of one of Tilbury Docks’ largest multimodal distribution warehouses. Situated on a 10 acre plot adjacent to the Port of Tilbury, Dock Gate 2, the move represents the first of many port centric logistics terminals TLT setting up at major ports across the UK. TLT partner Richard Newbold explains the reasons behind the move; “We set up The Logistics Terminal in January 2011, and have seen the growth and demand for port centric operations become so great that we knew we had to take the opportunity to expand our offering.

For years, owners have incurred the financial and environmental costs of pointlessly hauling containers, weighing some forty four tonnes, hundreds of miles across the UK only for them to be returned to the port empty. Quite simply, the port centric logistics solution offered by TLT enables cargo owners to gain control of both supply-chain costs and the timely delivery of their goods.”

MEMBERS CONTINUE TO EXPAND FLEETS D A CLAYTON TRANSPORT LTD

CHURCHILL FREIGHT Churchill Freight Services has taken delivery of 15 new lorries, that is a combination of articulated units and rigid curtain sided vehicles.

D A Clayton Ltd has fully utilised its trunking vehicles for both day and night operations by introducing new rigid vehicles within their fleet to cover the additional volumes on both deliveries and collections experienced over the past 6 months.

D A Clayton Ltd purchased a brand new Wilson Urban Trailer to help with increased volumes within their RG postcodes.

Terry Reynolds, Managing Director of D A Clayton Transport Ltd commented; “This additional trailer went on the road on 1st November and will improve vehicle utilisation and help improve vehicle efficiencies within our modern fleet. With this acquisition our current fleet is 21 vehicles split 50 – 50 between Pall-Ex and general haulage.”

4

Churchill fulfils the majority of the transport requirements for the Bartholomews Group in addition to a number of major contracts with external companies.

While some of the new lorries form part of the ongoing replacement scheme, they represent an overall continued growth in vehicle numbers bringing the fleet to a total of 49 vehicles including 3 vans. Churchill’s robust and flexible fleet gives them the ability to provide greater customer service and offer a complete end to end solution.

Next FASTLANE: SPRING 2012 | News & feedback contact: Holly Cave & Rohini Syal at marketing@pallex.co.uk / 01530 239065

MEMBER NEWS CJE LOGISTICS ADDS HIAB CRANE MOUNTED DELIVERIES TO CUSTOMER OFFERING CJE Logistics are now offering customers specialist Hiab crane mounted vehicle transport designed to save costs and increase throughput for companies that need to transport large bulky items.

The Hiab service is designed for clients who need haulage for large and heavy loads that require the use of a crane for offloading, such as cabins, containers, modular buildings, plant and machinery etc. The lifting capability is up to 12 tonnes, and a Hiab mounted vehicle effectively removes the need for a crane on-site which saves time and money.

The fleet has a double drive capability that makes it ideal for tough conditions such as uneven ground present on construction sites, as well as being hardier than a traditional crane to environmental conditions such as wind.

The Hiab solution has now overcome the problem of undeliverable consignments. Specialised training is required to operate a crane, and CJE has also invested in two new members of staff, as well as the recruitment of an industry expert in specialised and abnormal loads.

ALLMI (Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers) is the UK’s official body for lorry loader safety and training, which also plays an important part in developing legislation. New CJE staff members Martyn Ward and Pete Young have undergone extensive training, passing the ALLMI Operator exam. This official qualification was complimented by an additional in-house training programme developed by Industry Expert and CJE’s newly recruited Specialist Transport Advisor Pat Spamer, who has worked with Hiab mounted vehicles for over 10 years.

Pat Spamer commented; “At CJE we pride ourselves in going the extra mile, which is why Nick asked me to develop this additional training programme.

So that we can ensure that the service is of a high standard, offering a safe and legal customer experience that also meets ALLMI standards.”

“I’m delighted to welcome the new team on-board and I am excited by this new offering, which is already going down very well with some of our established customers who are pleased to be able to come to us for this service. As a well-established family owned business, we always strive to remain dynamic and the addition of Hiab transportation is a complement to our existing offerings. It means that we can now offer our customers an additional and highly specialised service at the usual high standards they expect from CJE,” Managing Director of CJE Logistics, Nick Carter.

The company also sets future plans in becoming a leading player in the local area for pallet distribution, specialised transportation loads and warehousing.

www.pallex.com | The No. 1 Pallet Network

5

CHARITIES & COMPETITIONS MEMBERS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT CHARITIES STD DEVELOPMENTS LTD Jill Gallagher from STD Limited is raising money in the aid of Macmillan nurses. Jill’s mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour and terminal lung cancer just over 3 months ago and has recently passed away. Jill’s mum received a vast amount of help and support from Macmillan nurses, which Jill and her family are very grateful for.

Jill works as a part-time consultant for The Body Shop at Home and would like to hold a Christmas raffle for the Macmillan nurses.

Raffle tickets are being sold for £1.00 each and the raffle prize consists of products from The Christmas Body Shop at Home catalogue at a value of £300.

We would like our Pall-Ex members to help Jill raise over £1,000!

If you would like to help raise money for Macmillan nurses, please visit Jill’s Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/Jill-Gallagher. Please state your depot name on the Just Giving website and raffle tickets will be arranged through the Pall-Ex internal post system.

AARON LOGISTICS Lee Gorton from Aaron Logistics gave up smoking and alcohol for 13 weeks in training for the Ellesmere 10k run. Lee raised £1,800 for Hope House Children’s Hospice.

If you would like to donate money to Hope House Children’s Hospice People, please visit Lee’s Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/lee-gorton.

Champagne & Feathers Ball l Date...Saturday 3rd March 2012 l Venue...Marriott Gosforth Park l Champagne Reception l 4 Course Meal PLUS bacon sandwiches at midnight l Live Entertainment & Dancing with the Anna Reay Band & Disco till Late l Dress: Black Tie l Ticket Price £60 each or early Bird Bookings £55 each if paid for prior to 31.12.11 To reserve your tickets please contact Caroline Crawford on 07801 088596 or email cjcrawford@talktalk.net

l Private tables of 8, 10 or 12 available In Aid of

Design and Print donated by Crescent Printing Co. Tel: 01670 816407

6

Next FASTLANE: SPRING 2012 | News & feedback contact: Holly Cave & Rohini Syal at marketing@pallex.co.uk / 01530 239065

CHARITIES & COMPETITIONS PALL-EX RAISES OVER £15,000 TO SUPPORT UK CARERS Pall-Ex has donated over £15,000 to The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. The money was raised via the network’s innovative ‘Penny-a-Pallet’ scheme, devised by CEO Hilary Devey.

First launched in 1996, the initiative sees one penny being donated to charity for every pallet delivered by Pall-Ex. With the network continuing to go from strength-to-strength, the amount raised has increased annually, with an impressive £150,000 being raised for The Princess Royal Trust for Carers since it became the scheme’s chosen charity in 2007.

Hilary Devey commented; “I’m lucky enough to be a patron of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and I have witnessed first-hand the vital work that this organisation does. When I first started the ‘Penny-a-Pallet’ scheme, I wanted an initiative that would grow in line with the business and enable us to donate more and more each year to worthwhile causes. I’m delighted that this has been able to happen and I am really humbled to hear the stories of how our money is being put to good use.”

Liz Fenton, Chief Executive of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, added: “We are very grateful to our committed supporters like Hilary, who really understand the difficulties of being a carer and help us to provide support to carers across the UK.” The money raised by Pall-Ex’s ‘Penny-a-Pallet’ scheme goes towards The Trust’s support for the 142 independently-managed Carers’ Centres across the UK, enabling them to continue to offer help and advice to thousands of carers.

Additional information on the work of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers can be found at www.carers.org

We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s sales competition: Power Play.

DW Clark and Son (D21) and CDK Pallet Distribution (D32) have both received £1,000 holiday vouchers, as they have inputted the most amount of pallets throughout the network for newly registered customers.

CONGRATULATIONS! Further information on details of the 2012 sales competition will follow early next year.

www.pallex.com | The No. 1 Pallet Network

7

PALL-EX’S ANNUAL 2011 DINNER DANCE EVENT

Again, Pall-Ex has had another great Annual Dinner Dance Event this year. Pall-Ex members ADD Express, Premier Logistics and Gibbs Transport were all recognised award winners at the Annual Dinner Dance at the Lancaster London Hotel.

Guests were entertained by Status Quo and comedienne Vicki Stone (pictured below in a strangely familiar jacket!).

ADD Express received the award for Depot of the Year. The award for Outstanding Contribution to the Network went to Premier Logistics and the Special Achievement award was won by Gibbs Transport.

“This event is designed to say thank you to the membership for their extremely hard work and achievements over the past year.

I would like to again congratulate the winners and runners up in each category, and thank the entire membership that continually helps to make Pall-Ex the leading network that it is today;” commented Hilary Devey.

STD Logistics, and Shears Brothers Transport were runners up in the Outstanding Contribution to the Network category, and Cartwright Brothers Logistics and Linkline Express were runners up for the Depot of the Year category.

Additionally, over £2,000 was raised on the night for Pall-Ex’s chosen charity, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

8

Next FASTLANE: SPRING 2012 | News & feedback contact: Holly Cave & Rohini Syal at marketing@pallex.co.uk / 01530 239065

PALL-EX’S ANNUAL 2011 DINNER DANCE EVENT

HIGHLIGHTS

ADD Express receive their rewards for Depot of the Year

Gibbs Transport proudly claimed this year’s Special Achievement award

www.pallex.com | The No. 1 Pallet Network

The hard work from Premier Logistics didn’t go unnoticed as they took their Outstanding Contribution award

Over £2,000 raised – thank you all so much!

9

IT UPDATE NEW PDA DELIVERS RESULTS Pall-Ex has rolled out new PDA devices amongst its drivers. The company has issued Motorola ES400 devices to its members to help increase service levels and the efficiency of its freight delivery system.

Using the devices, drivers scan consignments at the delivery point and along with proof of delivery information the data is transmitted in real time using 3G mobile technology, directly to Pall-Ex TWINE IT system. This scan data compliments the already detailed depot and hub location scanning, helping to avoid discrepancies, boost efficiency and provide complete transparency of a consignment’s journey through the network as it happens.

Adrian Russell, Managing Director of Pall-Ex, commented; “Pall-Ex partners using the new system have told us how it has improved their service. The system allows members to take pictures of freight to provide evidence of condition and location. Additionally the PDA’s will enable time and delivery stamping.”

David McDonald, operations manager at Port of Tyne Distribution Ltd is one of the Pall-Ex members using the new devices, he says; “The PDA units are so easy to use and sync very quickly each morning. This cuts out the inputting of the POD’s and gives any depot chasing a delivery instant visibility, thus cutting down the chasing of ETAs etc.”

A WORD FROM OUR I.T DIRECTOR...

As 2011 comes to an end, I think we can definitely state that this year has been our busiest year for the Pall-Ex IT department.

During 2011, there have been various IT developments. We have developed and launched the digital signature capture and supported the Integration of TWINE links into numerous 3rd party systems. Over the year, we replaced and enhanced the PallEx hub IT security and infrastructure.

Finally, our last project of the year has been Solitaire Enterprise, which is now ready for customers to start using.

Following on the principles of the web based Solitaire system, which is used by over 800 customers, the Enterprise version allows customers to produce pallet labels and delivery notes from their own internal system as well as automatically retrieve POD data in real time. The solution has been designed to minimise the development for customers and network trials have proven that customers can easily integrate and go live with this solution within a short time scale. There are many advantages with this solution that benefit both Members and customers.

Over 2012, we will see the continuing refinement of our TWINE system along with European developments and large developments benefiting Members and customers. Next year, there will be a diverse range of solutions to help drive operational efficiencies and business growth.

Finally, I would like to thank all of our Members and Customers for their continued support and a special thanks to the Pall-Ex IT team who have all worked very hard this year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sean Sherwin-Smith Director of IT For more information, please contact our IT team on 01530 239007.

10

Next FASTLANE: SPRING 2012 | News & feedback contact: Holly Cave & Rohini Syal at marketing@pallex.co.uk / 01530 239065

EUROPEAN EXPANSION UPDATE The Pall-Ex European Expansion programme is moving at a fast pace, it has seen the launch of two networks this year. Both Pall-Ex Iberia and Pall-Ex Romania have commenced operations and join established Pall-Ex Italia, which was launched in 2009.

PALL-EX LAUNCHES ROMANIAN PARTNER Pall-Ex has now officially launched the first ever Eastern European network, Pall-Ex Romania. The commencement of operations for Pall-Ex Romania, the second National partner to join Pall-Ex in less than a year, takes Pall-Ex one step closer to establishing the first ever Pan European pallet network.

ROMANIA

The Romanian hub, which is centrally located in Sibiu commenced operations with its 16 founder members, handling 180 pallets in the first night.

The No.1 Pallet Network

“We have launched a new and agile distribution model for the Romanian marketplace, which will allow us and our members to react to changing consumer and corporate trends,” explains Claudiu Hila, General Director of Pall-Ex Romania.

Mr. Claudiu Hila recently presented the Pall-Ex concept at two important conferences in Bucharest and Timisoara. Both of which were successful, resulting in a lot of interest in the model from potential members and customers.

Pall-Ex Project Director, Anand Assi commented; “The model has already been successfully implemented in sister networks in Italy and Iberia, and we are confident that we can build upon this success and deliver excellence in Romania. We are delighted to see the first ever Eastern European network up and running. Not only will this bring efficient, next day palletised freight delivery to the fast growing Romanian domestic market, but it also opens up the Eastern European market.”

Follow us on Twitter @PallExRomania for more news updates

PALL-EX IBERIA SEES GROWTH Launched in June, Pall-Ex Iberia has grown its volume by almost 200 per cent over the past 6 months. Now regularly handing in excess of 550 pallets each night the Iberian network continues to meet and exceed expectations.

In November, Pall-Ex Iberia launched the ‘full light pallet’, this new service option allows the network to target a new market of freight. Since its launch this new pallet type already constitutes circa five per cent of the traffic handled, but we expect in the future that the “full light” to be around 20% of the volume.

Enric Estruch, Managing Director, commented; “The first six months have been very positive, we are looking forward to closing the first years business handling a nightly average of between 700-800 pallets. The full light has equipped our membership with a new tool to target freight from sectors like; pharma, toys, plastic cases etc. We continue to build our network strength and are closely monitoring discipline within the network”.

November also saw Pall-Ex Iberia mark their first 6 months by holding a convention for their Iberian members in Barcelona. Enric commented on the convention: “The network are happy and busy on selling the new pallet concept to the new and existing customer base, they see the mutual benefit of belonging to our Pall-Ex network”.

Grupo sarosa, Valencian member Managing Director Enrique Anzar stated; “We are very positive with our progress in the network and putting efforts into building our volumes.”

Follow us on Twitter @PallExIberia for more news updates www.pallex.com | The No. 1 Pallet Network

11

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER

For years hauliers grappled with the economic challenges of sending various size pallets to multiple destinations.

Then Pall-Ex changed everything.

Our eagerness to manage full, half and quarter pallet loads and trunk through our state of the art hubs provides an unparalleled freight corridor throughout the UK and Europe.

Now, all your palletised freight problems solved with just one call or visit to our website.

FREEPHONE 0808 144 2808 www.pallex.com info@pallex.com

The No.1 Pallet Network