MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
Hilary Devey, founder and Managing Director of the Pall-Ex group of companies, has been named by The Prowess Organisation as Inspirational Woman of the Year. The award, sponsored by HSBC, is given to a successful woman entrepreneur who is a role model and active supporter of other women. It was presented during the Prowess Fourth Annual International Conference in Brighton on 7 February.
Hilary runs a highly successful multi-million pound logistics business that collects and distributes palletised freight across the UK and Europe. She is a role model for all female entrepreneurs and plays an active part in encouraging women in business, especially in non-traditional careers such as the transport sector.
Founded in November 1996, Pall-Ex began with a network of 29 hauliers and a distribution of 117 pallets on its first night of operations. Today the company employs 180 staff with over 100 depot locations across the UK. The purpose-built hub at Ellistown in Leicestershire regularly handles approaching 10,000 units of palletised freight per night.
One of the transport industry’s few female entrepreneurs, Hilary is a well-known personality and a trailblazer for the industry. She has won many personal accolades – from Midlands Businesswoman of the Year in 2004, to Leicestershire Businesswoman of the Year and Leicestershire Business Personality of the Year in 2005. Motor Transport (the transport sector’s most prestigious publication) voted Hilary their Personality of the Year in December 2005. In 2006 she won the CBI’s First Women Award for Business Services.
Commenting on the Prowess Woman of Inspiration Award, Hilary said: “I am proud to be associated with an organisation that is doing such excellent work in supporting women in business. Being able to help other women to be successful is one of the perks of my job and to be recognised with this award for doing something I enjoy so much is doubly special.”
About Pall-Ex
Pall-Ex was established in 1996 by Hilary Devey to deliver small consignments of palletised freight cost-effectively throughout the UK. In less than ten years, the company has become the No.1 operator of a palletised “hub and spoke” freight network, with over 100 depot locations throughout the UK and Europe and a purpose-built £12M hub in Leicestershire. Pall-Ex offers a comprehensive range of pallet storage and delivery solutions, with access to over 7,500 vehicles and over five million square feet of warehousing in the UK and Europe. It also supports the industry’s charity, Transaid, with its ‘Penny-A-Pallet’ scheme.
