Hemisphere Freight Services (HFS) is celebrating another strong year of growth, which also saw the company proudly add to its ever-expanding award cabinet.
Revenue was up 9% for the financial year ending July 2019, with shipment numbers increasing from 28,322 to 34,163 – a rise of 17.1%. This growth has been supported by the addition of 24 new colleagues across our Ipswich, Liverpool and Heathrow offices. With the HFS team growing by 12.9 % since July 2018, we now employ more than 115 fantastic staff in the UK, China and New Zealand, home to our overseas operation HGL Limited.
Expanding Our Integrated Logistics Offering
At HFS, we endeavour to assist customers with all aspects of moving and storing their products globally. From arranging shipment, taking care of customs processes, warehousing and distribution, through to providing expert advice and consultancy, we take pride in removing the hassle from logistics for every client.
In April 2019, we broadened our logistics offering to include case making and export packing, a service we’d previously offered through an external partner. The addition of this new service line created eight new jobs at HFS, with Mark Foster joining as packing manager and Peter Hume rejoining HFS as commercial manager for the newly-created packing division.
To accommodate our packing team, we opened a new facility and warehouse in Ipswich Port – close to our Ipswich HQ and the Port of Felixstowe. Fully-equipped and accompanied by an additional 22,000 sq ft of warehousing space, it allows our team to deliver professional packing solutions for all products including machinery, motorcycles, automotive parts, oil and gas equipment, and high-value artefacts, to name but a few.
We look forward to growing this service over the coming years, as well as introducing a new apprenticeship scheme to help train anyone looking to pursue a career in export packing and case making.
The Awards Keep on Coming
Building on the numerous awards we picked up in the first half of 2018, we have been fortunate to receive further industry recognition over the past 12 months.
In September 2018, director Louis Perrin was named Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year at the FIATA World Congress. The award is handed to freight professionals aged under 32 who have demonstrated industry excellence, and requires entrants to complete a 6,000-word dissertation which is then presented to the final judging panel. “This award is for our brilliant team as much as it is for me,” said Louis.
Following this, HFS claimed the Staff Development Award at the 2018 BIFA Freight Service Awards. This was awarded to HFS in recognition of our commitment to looking after the health and wellbeing of our team, while giving them ample opportunities for training and professional development. Judges also recognised our work with local charity Inspire Suffolk, which helps get disadvantaged young adults back into employment.
Inspire Suffolk recognised two HFS employees at its own awards in April 2019. Warehouse operative Dean Lambert was named ‘Inspirational Young Person of the Year’, while managing director Andy Perrin won the ‘Supporter of the Year’ award. Dean was offered a full-time job at HFS following a work placement he completed as part of an Inspire Suffolk programme, run in conjunction with The Prince’s Trust.
More recently, there was well-deserved recognition for both our project logistics and warehousing teams. For the second year running, we were named Best European Project Partner at the WCA Projects Annual Conference, this year held in Amsterdam. Our warehouse and transport manager Craig Perrin then picked up the Warehouse Manager of the Year award at the UKWA Awards for Industry Excellence.
“The past year has been an incredibly successful one for the whole team at HFS,” said Andy Perrin. “Despite an uncertain economic backdrop, we have enjoyed another year of sustained revenue growth, expanded our team across all departments, and arranged a record-breaking number of shipments for customers. With many exciting developments in the pipeline for the year ahead, we’re looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring.”
Keep an eye on the HFS blog for all the latest news, or get in touch with our team today to find out how we can support your freight forwarding and logistics needs.
