Old School Road Haulage Operator Morphs into International Freight Forwarder and Logistics Firm

UK – WORLDWIDE – Since beginning as a local road haulage company in Wales over sixty years ago Rhys Davies slowly became known nationally as a reliable haulier for domestic freight throughout the UK. With the growth of palletised loads, the group has developed from that one base of twenty years ago to one which not only has a bunch of transport hubs strategically placed throughout Britain stretching from the South of England up into Scotland, but is now building a reputation as an international freight forwarder and logistics provider.

The company joined the British International Freight Association (BIFA) and nowadays often provides import and export services for a wide range of goods, including those that are hazardous or difficult to handle such as flammable gases, explosives, chemicals and paint, to and from any location in the world. One of the group’s long term customers is Gwent based KJ Services Ltd which supplies plant and machinery to the civil engineering and mining industry, and now uses Rhys Davies Logistics to handle the shipment of parts to over 40 countries around the world.

Consignments range from reconditioned engines and transmissions for plant such as Caterpillar, Volvo and Komatsu excavators and dozers, to smaller components urgently needed to repair equipment on site with urgent items needing to travel as air cargo, despite often weighing in at several tonnes. Some destinations are extremely remote and difficult to access, for example a mine in Sierra Leone, or a road construction site in the mountains of Spain as Freight Forwarding Manager John Lyon, explains:

“We’ve been working with KJ Services for many years and some of the shipments can be quite a challenge. I remember on one occasion we were asked to deliver an urgently needed part to what amounted to a hole in the road in Spain where a piece of plant had broken down and was lying idle. There was no address as such, just a rough location a certain distance and direction from a nearby village. However, through our contacts we were able to find a local agent who knew the area and was able to deliver the part to the customer.”

As all service providers know the key to success is retaining happy customers and KJ Services’ Parts Manager Lawrence Barry, was happy to endorse the Welsh based group, saying:

“We use Rhys Davies Logistics exclusively for many reasons – the most important one being they offer great service and have the experience to sort out problems before they become disasters. They are good at what they do, plain and simple!”