As we head towards 2020, the team at International Forwarding (IFL) would like to wish all our customers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous year ahead. As an independent freight forwarder, we remain ever thankful for your continued business and support. (And if you want to send goods before or over the holidays, here is our shipping schedule.)
It would be easy to focus on 2019 as another year of Brexit uncertainty for UK freight forwarders. And at International Forwarding, we have certainly had to spend weekly time preparing for change, updating our Brexit guide and answering Brexit-related enquiries. Our Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status is a reassurance to many customers facing disruption in their European supply chain and we feel we are in as good position as we can be for our import-export customers trading with the EU.
But the big news this year wasn’t Brexit-related. It was celebrating our 30th anniversary in the international freight forwarding business. We’ve grown from three members of staff to a team of 60 and from a single vehicle to 20 trucks in our fleet. In 30 years, IFL has become a pan-European operation delivering more than 100,000 consignments every year to 20-plus countries. And this year we’ve added a new Spain service and nearly doubled our warehousing facilities at our hub in Coleshill, Birmingham
You might enjoy reading the founding MD’s interview about how the business has changed over the years. Roy Baker still works part-time for the company and has become our de facto ‘Brexit secretary’ for his expertise and experience. He even kicked off the year as an industry commentator on radio news talking about the freight and transport industry’s Brexit readiness.
Shortly afterwards, Rob Pike, IFL’s managing director, appeared on Channel 5 News, to be interviewed about the historic vote where Parliament voted overwhelmingly against Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Added to this, we’ve continued to be involved in charity work locally, supporting Paws2Rescue and Macmillan Cancer Support. We’ve also been profiled in various local media.
So 2019 has been an eventful year. As it comes to a close, we’d like to take this opportunity once again to say thanks for your support and we look forward to developing even stronger business relationships with you all in 2020.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – from all at International Forwarding.
