Q1 2019

6 SME NEWS / Q1 2019 , France Line International Transport Ltd is an independent European freight forwarder who has specialised in cross channel freight between the UK and France since its inception in 1980. More recently, theManchester-based company has seen impressive expansion across the European continent and received regional recognition as a Finalist in the 2018 Greater Manchester Awards. In December, SME News recognised the firmas the ‘Best Transport Company of the Year’ inWestern Europe. We invited its dynamic owner andMD, Marie Boyer, to tell us more about the company and its ongoing success. France Line : An Established European Goliath in the Freight and Transportation Industry Please give us a brief overview of your company, your clients and the services you offer? France Line International Transport Ltd, known as France Line, is a 39 years old freight forwarder who provides road freight services between the UK and France, Western and Eastern Europe. We service English, French and European manufacturers from different sectors of industry, including automotive, plastics, packaging and chemicals, as well as larger freight forwarders and logistics agents. France has always been and remains our specialist market, due to having many French partners and depots throughout the country and due to our in depth knowledge of the political and economic climate in France. But over the past few years, we have expanded our geographical reach in Europe, and we are moving an increasing amount of freight to and from Belgium and the Netherlands, Poland, and the main other Western and Eastern European countries. We handle part loads and full loads, standard freight, express loads and also out of gauge / abnormal cargo. How does it feel to have been voted Best Transport Company of the Year for Western Europe and to have won another award? Our team was proud and excited; it was a nice independent recognition of our focused hard work, and a good endorsement. The win helps cement our good reputation, not just for our specialist market of France but also for our new Western European services. It is an effective way to keep our name in the public arena and in front of some of our audiences, raise our profile and brand with potential customers. What do you think made your entry stand out from the strong competition? We explained exactly what we do clearly and gave evidence of our ongoing growth in turnover and profitability, the key success factors for that growth over the past 12 to 18 months and our consistent record of 98.5% of deliveries on time. We talked about the development of our more recently introduced services, a few specific freight NWE18032 jobs which we managed to pulled off at short notice, as well as some of the unusual freight we have moved recently. We also included some testimonials which we received unsolicited from customers very happy with our service. On tip of this, I explained how I motivate my French bilingual team and the positive and rewarding working culture that inspires my team to go the extra mile for France Line’s customers. What growth have you achieved over the past year? France Line enjoyed an ongoing turnover, profits and services growth over the past year. Our financial year ending at 30 April 2018 was extremely positive; our turnover increased by 20% to just under £2.7 million whilst