Strong automotive sector buoys Birmingham logistics group
A Birmingham logistics business has seen a strong first quarter, with export volumes up 60% compared with the same period last year.
Europa Road, a division of Europa Worldwide Group – which also includes Air & Sea, Showfreight and Warehouse, has attributed the rise to increasing productivity amongst firms in the West Midlands, especially in its core automotive sector.
Europa has been based at the £20m 155,000 sq ft facility at Prologis Park, Minworth since 2011. During this time it has built up a strong client base.
The team’s average number of European export consignments was 187 per week in January 2016, compared to an average of more than 300 per week so far this quarter.
Branch manager Dave Hodgson said the figures laid a solid foundation for further growth in 2017.
“The region is buoyant and trade is consistent – we certainly haven’t noticed a negative impact after the Brexit vote,” he said.
“Our growth in export numbers is largely down to new business wins. We’ve already attracted almost 30 new accounts since January, which comes off the back of record booking numbers in the second half of 2016.”
He said a strong core sales team combined with a £2m investment in an IT upgrade had left the firm well positioned for further growth.
Averaging around 1,800 – 2,000 import and export consignments per month, the firm’s most in demand territories for West Midlands firms are the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, France and Poland, with its largest customer base being the automotive sector.
Dionne Redpath, Branch Network and Sales Director at Europa Worldwide Group, said: “We’ve had an extremely strong start to 2017 and we’re thrilled to be reporting such impressive growth figures from one of our key sites in Birmingham.
“Our West Midlands base plays a vital role in the overall growth of the business due to its key strategic position. We aim to be the market leader for the distribution of goods between the UK and Europe by 2018 – an ambitious goal which we are well on track to achieve.”
Europa Worldwide Group now employs more than 600 people across 12 sites in the UK and Hong Kong. It is represented in 100 countries and pushed through the £100m turnover mark at the end of 2016.
