Q. What in your background prepared you for your
current role?
I’ve been in logistics for 38 years, and in perishables for about
36 years. It’s a long time. I’ve prepared for my current role
through this experience – there is not much I haven’t come
across in this area.
Q. What has been the key challenge in getting your
organisation ready for Brexit?
The biggest challenge is the continual changing of the rules and
not knowing exactly where we’ll stand once Brexit occurs. This
all could have been handled more than two years ago and we
would have all been ready. It’s not complicated and would have
been done. With a deal or not, it would have been made a lot
easier if they’d have stopped moving the goalposts. The country
most ready for these changes is the Dutch, and they are miles
ahead of everyone else.
For us, we’ve recruited a bit, and we are doing continual train- ing on all the different scenarios and every eventuality. We are ready for whatever happens. For example, we partnered with transport and logistics company FreshLinc to operate an HMRC/ Defra approved border control post (BCP) and ERT (bonded warehouse) facility at Fresh Linc’s Spalding headquarters, enabling a speedier movement of product from the ports and extending shelf life by up to 48 hours.
The BCP, which has been in development for the last four months, will be effective from 1 January 2021 and represents a £400,000 (€439,360) investment. This includes the creation of a purpose-built, 10,000 square-foot warehouse with the ability to store 330 pallets; dedicated inspection areas for customs and Defra and the training of four new dedicated staff to run the 24-hour operation.
Q. How has the business changed in light of recent
events such as Covid-19?
Covid-19 has been a huge challenge for the business. We have
spent a fortune keeping our 70 to 100 employees and contrac-
tors safe with gloves, masks, temperature checks and keeping
a safe distance. We have foreign lorry drivers delivering loads,
and they have to be kept safe too when they come to our facility.
The aviation industry furloughed a lot of staff, and this had a knock-on effect on us in handling freight, not to mention the airlines added a surcharge for Covid-19 – the latter move baffled me.
Q. What has been your greatest achievement/greatest
challenge?
Our company started in 2003 and we are in our 18th year now.
Our greatest achievement has been to develop a really good
team in all areas of the business: sales, operations, adminis-
tration. Putting a team together is like getting a football team
together. You have talented players and they have to work as a
team to succeed. Challenges are ongoing, and the leaders in our
industry stay at the top by continuing to challenge themselves.
The minute it stops being challenging, I might as well retire.
Q. What do you think the perishable business will look like in a few years, considering the changes? Brexit will thin the industry from a freight aspect. I suspect the big players will get bigger, while the smaller players will struggle. On a company level, we’re planning to develop a purpose-built site, once the lease runs out on our current facility – one that will last for another 20 years.
Q. How do you expect dairy to expand?
British dairy is coming on strong, as we are exporting a lot of cheese all over the world. The rest of the world sees our cheese as a quality product, and I think the dairy industry will grow a lot in exports. In the Middle East, in countries such as Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong, they love British products, so I expect that area of our business to grow substantially. Long may it last.
Q. What does a typical day look like for you?
It’s always opening hours somewhere with logistics. I was at the office at 5am this morning and starting early to deal with the rest of the world – it never stops. I am always either on email or on the phone, and it can be seven days a week. We opened our doors in 2003 and the doors have never been locked since. In fact, Christmas Day is usually a busy one for us, as we help top-up the supermarket shelves.
Q. Outside of work, what are your hobbies/interests?
I am a family man – I have seven children of varying ages, so they keep me busy. I also like a bit of golf and to watch football.