Davies Turner enjoys Anglo-Dutch freight success

Davies Turner’s business in the Benelux region has gone from strength-to-strength since starting a daily trailer service with Mainfreight in the trade between the Netherlands and the UK in June last year.

One year on, head of European network at Davies Turner, Danny Southby (pictured), says that the exclusive cooperation agreement with the Dutch subsidiary of global forwarder Mainfreight has been a great success since day one.

Southby notes: “Despite the difficult trading and operating conditions caused by the pandemic and Brexit, the daily service between Mainfreight’s 110,000 sq m (1.2 million sq ft) hub in ’s-Heerenberg and our regional distribution hubs at Dartford and Coleshill, has been maintained.”

The service offers a rapid collection and delivery system combined with full in-house Import and Export Customs solutions provided by dedicated Customs specialists.

While Mainfreight is present in a range of markets worldwide, prior to the agreement to work with the company in the Netherlands, Davies Turner already had a successful working relationship with the company in Belgium and France.

Southby explains: “The alliance is a sign of Davies Turner’s commitment to short haul markets such as the Netherlands and Belgium despite fierce competition, as well as maintaining a leading range of daily services to and from markets across Europe.

“For the Netherlands, we have daily services into our hubs in both Dartford and Birmingham, along with regular services to Manchester and Bristol.

“The arrangement has proved more than capable of coping with the effects of Brexit, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenges we faced were met head on, and together we found solutions to reduce the possible impacts. While there inevitably were some bottlenecks, as with all European markets, these have since been resolved.

“All our hubs that are involved in this operation are customs bonded for on-site clearance upon arrival, which helps smooth the customs clearance process.”

The Belgian market has also prospered under the partnership. The Belgian import service into the UK now offers direct departures from both Ghent and Genk – respectively, to the west and east of Brussels – offering excellent coverage of the country’s industrial heartland.

In regards to its operations with Mainfreight in France, Davies Turner operates a daily trailer service between Dartford and Mitry Mory (Paris). Southby says that via the Mitry Mory hub, Mainfreight’s good network and comprehensive distribution services throughout France, facilitates comprehensive coverage of the market, particularly for palletised freight.