Palletforce founder member celebrates 25 years
Nov 12, 2012
A Palletforce founder member is celebrating 25 years in a business that began life at a kitchen table. Darren Hammond set up C & D South West in 1987 with his father Charles. Both had experience working within the haulage industry but decided to seize the opportunity and set themselves up as a same day delivery service working from the kitchen table in Charles' home in Sheffield with one van.
"As the business kept building up more momentum we added more vehicles and diversified into part-loads, which is the area we had both previously worked in," said Darren, who had previously been both a Fork Lift Truck driver and HGV driver. "We then bought the next door neighbour's house and used that as our office space before we bought our first industrial unit a few years later."
In 1999 the company opened the depot it currently operates from in Chard, Somerset, while still retaining its base in Sheffield. Five years later the company, which now employs 36 people, relinquished its Sheffield base and moved all its operations to Chard from which it offers delivery services across the UK and Europe.
In 2001 C & D South West became a founder member of Palletforce, the UK's leading palletised distribution network consisting of the nation's top transport companies working together to cut unnecessary journeys and reduce the number of empty trucks on the roads.
"We found there was something a bit different about Palletforce, they just seemed to really want us involved in their network and took a genuine interest in our company," said Darren. "Having the support of a network like Palletforce has allowed us to compete on a bigger stage and enhance the services we offer."
In its 25th year C & D South West is constantly looking to expand and will soon take delivery of two new single deck trailers.
"It is great to see one of our founder members celebrating success and longevity with this milestone," said Michael Conroy, Chief Executive of Palletforce. "Reaching this landmark anniversary is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished by entrepreneurial spirit, hard work and dedication to providing a quality service. Congratulations to everyone at C & D South West for this brilliant achievement."
