The UK’s largest independent freight forwarder, Europa Worldwide Group, is expanding its footprint and has chosen Sheffield as the location for its latest Europa Road Sales Branch.
Europa Road is a dedicated division for import and export logistics, offering comprehensive solutions with services including: express, groupage, full and part loads, and timed collection and delivery.
The new office will be based in thriving business park, Broadfield Close, located to the south of the city centre. The site location will create opportunities for the team to provide collection and distribution requirements across South Yorkshire, allowing shipments to be exported across Europe on a daily basis, departing on the same night from 1hub in Dartford.
With Sheffield named as a key city within the Government’s Northern Powerhouse project, and its economic strategy plans for 2020 to become a strong, sustainable, international economy driven by enterprise, innovation and knowledge, it’s no surprise Europa is keen to expand its network there.
The expansion into South Yorkshire will allow the division to tap into new customer markets within advanced manufacturing, presenting a wider opportunity for the company to boost growth and productivity.
Dionne Redpath, Branch Network and Sales Director at Europa, comments: “It’s an exciting time for Europa as we open another Road Sales Branch, helping to refine our footprint. To provide the best service, we’re always looking for new ways in which we can grow and develop the business, and we believe there is a huge opportunity in Sheffield. It’s actually my home town and it’s where I started my career as a transport buyer, so I’m thrilled to announce that we have extended our network there.
Dionne will be working with Branch Manager, Nathan Lynn, who successfully launched Europa’s Leeds branch in 2018 and it’s the intention to double the team of six within the next 18-24 months.
The Road Sales Branch opening comes at a time when business confidence in the South Yorkshire region is growing. Just last year, a Sheffield based SME (small/medium-sized enterprise) – leading manufacturer and supplier of TV aerials, electronics and AV accessories Blake UK – received a £100,000 investment, as part of the Northern Powerhouse project. Further examples of growth can be seen within the cities Growth Hub report, which has achieved a second record-breaking year, working with 5,086 businesses and creating over 1,200 jobs as a result.
This is the latest expansion into its network of 13 branches, situated across the UK and beyond, all linked to 1hub in Dartford, make it the UK’s largest European groupage.
Andrew Baxter, Managing Director of Europa Worldwide, added: “As a global operator it is vital that we have sales and distribution facilities in all of the key areas of the UK, particularly those showing growth. Sheffield is an area I know well as I started my career there, and is an area forecast to see fast economic growth in the coming years, making it very important for Europa Road to have a presence there. With a fantastic opportunity and a strong team in place we can expect to see positive results and business growth from the new opening.”
