Member Article

Branch goes from strength to strength

At a time when manufacturing in the region looks to be on the up, one Wakefield business that serves the sector is also flourishing.

Europa, one of the UK’s largest privately owned transport companies opened a new branch at Calder Park in November last year to support businesses looking to import and export.

It was reported earlier in the month that small to medium sized manufacturers in Yorkshire and Humber are set to embark on a major investment drive in order to meet expected new demand - according to the results of the latest ‘barometer’ survey carried out by the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Nearly nine in ten (88%) of the region’s manufacturers plan to invest in capital equipment over the next 12 months, with average investments approaching £150,000. With just under 9,000 SMEs in the sector across Yorkshire and the Humber, the planned spend equates to hundreds of £millions of fresh industry investment between now and 2015.

Two members of Europa’s Wakefield team have now being promoted to new roles at Europa following the success of their efforts and the growth of the operation which serves the region’s manufacturers.

Nathan Lynn from West Bretton who has been at Europa since the opening of the Calder Park office has become the new branch manager replacing Miles O’Donnell who moves to the new role of National Air and Sea Freight Sales Manager at Europa based in Birmingham.

Nathan (28) a graduate from Leeds University has worked in the logistics industry for the past six years. He started his career as a Freight Account Manager at RH Freight working both in Leeds and London which was later taken became Kuehne & Nagel.

Calder Park is the fastest growing business park in the region with Wakefield just four miles away and the site is close to both Leeds and Sheffield. The strategic location close to the intersection of the M1 and M62 motorways gives easy access to London as well as the North of England.

Europa’s Calder Park office is supported by a local distribution partner that covers collection and distribution requirements mainly from local manufacturing firms across Yorkshire. Each night vehicles connect the branch to Europa’s northern hub in Birmingham allowing consignments to be exported across Europe on a daily basis.

Dionne Redpath Sales Director at Europa added “I’m pleased to announce the promotion of Nathan Lynn as Branch Manager, he has a proven track record and has been working hard since the inception of Leeds. Nathan will be a superb addition to the sales team management structure and is already making inroads into the development of the team at Leeds.

“I’d like to personally thank Miles for his efforts with the branch since it’s start-up and wish both Miles and Nathan the best of luck in their new roles in which they will be extremely successful.”

Europa employs 500 people across 10 sites in the UK, plus an office in Hong Kong and carries around 500,000 consignments annually. It’s new branch is based at Calder Park provides excellent access to the region’s motorways.

Nathan Lynn commented “It’s an exciting time for both Europa and the region as we move out of recession and I’m looking forward to leading the team here as such an exciting time for the business.” DRAFT

Europa invested in the 2,500 square foot new office as it had no presence in the region previously; it’s nearest northern location being in Manchester. This new branch enables the firm to maximise its services and meet growing customer demand for both import and export – specifically on its pan European daily services.

Europa is represented in 100 countries across six continents, providing an unrivalled land service to the whole of Europe.

This is the latest development, which has seen Europa extend its services over the past 12 months. Europa is expecting to add a number of additional routes throughout the year and it also has plans to open another branch in the east midlands to further strengthen its distribution infrastructure. Europa has just announced it’s investing in a state-of-the-art 262,500 sq. ft head office and South of England hub, at Prologis Park near Dartford.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathryn Greenwood .