MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
When Kent-based Prospect Commercials joined the Fortec Pallet Distribution Network three years ago company bosses set aside three staff and three or four vehicles to handle the Fortec side of the operation.
Today, under the direction of partners Danny Latham and John Bailey, as well as Managing Director Gary Monks and Operations Manager Angela Roope, 16 members of staff oversee the Fortec accounts and the Fortec fleet has grown to 11.
Danny said joining the pallet network had proven hugely beneficial to Prospect Commercials and had given the firm plenty of scope to grow.
Not a firm to rest on its laurels Prospect Commercials is continuing to grow and Danny said a large part of that was down to the ongoing support received from the Fortec team.
He said: "Fortec has played a significant part in our growth. Based in Maidstone we cover the whole of Kent – the CT, ME, DA and TN postcodes.
"Altogether in the firm we employ 45 staff, operate about 40 vehicles on the road – ranging from Sprinter and Courier vans to 18-tonne lorries and we have probably about 30 customers at any one time. We have certainly grown since joining Fortec, both in terms of size of fleet and staff, and financially too."
Prospect Commercials has proven to be a real success story within the Network. The company first joined Fortec in February 2007 and decided to give the new partnership a six-month trial.
Company bosses soon realised the potential of the move to Fortec when the firm started to grow at a faster pace than anyone had anticipated – within the first year it had tripled in size. This accomplishment helped Prospect Commercials win the prestigious Fortec Pallet Distribution Network Best Newcomer Award 2008.
Danny said: "Fortec first approached us asking if we were interested in joining the Network. Obviously we never like to turn opportunities down so we invested in some new vehicles and joined the Network within two weeks.
"The beauty of Fortec is it has helped us grow but has given us the potential to keep growing. Joining the Network has proven hugely beneficial.
"It has given us a tremendous opportunity to expand and as a result we have seen our turnover and profits increase. It has been a challenge but the beauty of Fortec is it has given us so much more scope. By joining a pallet network we have another string to our bow and the support we get from Fortec is fantastic.
"We have had success year on year in our time with the Network and we are confident the partnership will help us to continue in our success in the years to come."
