European sales boost for Newtownabbey logistics company

Deliveries across Europe for the network increased by 35 per cent last year and are forecasted to rise by 50 per cent in the 12 months ahead.

Montgomery Distribution Ltd, which is a member of the network, collects goods from their local area and through the network delivers to 14 European countries.

Depot Principal at Montgomery Distribution Ltd Mark Montgomery commented: “These are very exciting times for both the Palletways Group and Montgomery Distribution as together we can collect and deliver all pan-European consignments on one vehicle.

“Being a member of Palletways allows us to grow our business beyond borders and we have never been more proud to be part of such a well-established and robust network.”

Key to the expansion and success of the Group’s operations across Europe has been its investment in IT to provide a value-rich service for customers. This started with the development of a bespoke pan-European IT platform that enabled deliveries between its different networks in Europe and has continued with the recent introduction of the Digital Information Hub, a tool designed to greatly enhance operational efficiencies and the customer experience by optimising the use of live data.

Other recent key developments driving growth include offering services to Austria, the creation of a centralised customer service in Madrid, increasing the frequency of line hauls through the introduction of daily services between several hubs including London and Nijmegen, London and Paris, Paris and Madrid and investment in domestic networks such as a new hub in Milan.

Group Chief Executive at Palletways James Wilson stated: “Our strategy has been to establish our domestic markets in Europe and then offer services between those countries. This is where we see significant new business opportunities as borne out by the cross border growth over the last year, which is predicted to rise by another 50 per cent over the year.”

“Unlike most of our competitors who have gone down the route of sub-contracting pan-European services, we have focused on developing our own infrastructure over the last decade.

“We were confident that we could mirror our success across Europe, particularly as express palletised freight networks were a niche opportunity, and that’s what we’ve done.

“We now offer an extremely efficient logistics solution, providing both cost and service benefits.”