NEWS\\\


New freight team has a winning formula


T


here is a new force in freight – Formula GOSS International


– offering an unprecedented range of multimodal services to a wide range of destinations. Formula Goss International Ltd (FGI) is the parent company of three separate companies that have been brought together under a single umbrella - GOSS Express Ltd of Milton Keynes, Heathrow-based Formula Freight Ltd and Formula Freight Europe Ltd, also of Milton Keynes. The merger came about aſter Bill


Shay, who owned 90% of Formula Freight Heathrow, announced his retirement. The other shareholders of the three companies, all of whom had worked together for many years, decided to formally merge them into a single company, FGI. Goss Express and Formula


Freight Europe in Milton Keynes have had the same IT system for the past two years, and have been working from the same premises,


co-loading on each others ‘services. Formula Freight Heathrow


specialises in road freight to and from Portugal,


Gibraltar, Italy,


Greece, Benelux and Germany while Formula Freight Europe is strong in road freight to and from Spain, airline trucking to Madrid, general forwarding, express vans, rail container freight to and from Italy and chartering of freight aircraſt. Goss Express is a specialist in Italy, with long established services to all areas of that country. Now, thanks to the merger of


the three companies, FGI can now offer its clients every mode of transport under one umbrella, without the need to subcontract to other forwarders and brokers. Not only that, it offers a unique range of multimodal services, all under its own control. Joint MD Ian Logan explains: “Not


many freight forwarders can say that they operate their own services


and equipment. This gives us a good degree of control. Our European road groupage services are all our own routes, and we run the line- hauls ourselves in conjunction with European partners we have had for some years.” Road services are based on FGI’s


Heathrow depot, with a northern sub-depot in Manchester, with pick- up and delivery to all parts of the UK. Italy is the largest market with


direct departures to and from Milan, Verona and Florence. The company offer many unique services and destinations – for instance, it is one of the very few operators offering a Tuesday departure from Florence, with delivery UK that same week. Departures from Verona are daily, and from Milan two to three times per week. “We do try to go to places that others don’t” explains


Ian


Logan. That philosophy is also reflected in FGI’s Spanish services with direct


runs to places such as Irun, Zaragoza and Malaga, as well the major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. Ian Logan points out: “Having these additional direct routes normally gives us a competitive edge on price and transit time. Shipments collected in the UK on a Friday can be delivered in many areas of Spain Monday for a small additional cost.” In Portugal, Lisbon and Oporto


are served by double manned trucks for a faster transit, enabling each truck to make a round trip every week. FGI’s Friday evening departure from Heathrow arrives in Portugal on Sunday night. This also means Monday deliveries in Portugal are possible to the main areas of commerce. There is also a service to Gibraltar


departing the UK on Friday morning and arriving on The Rock the following Monday. This extends back as far as Malaga, where an on line shopping service is provided to


Issue 6 2011


the British expat community, who oſten like to shop on line in the UK and have their items delivered to their home the following week. Services to Greece depart


on Friday, arriving Athens on Wednesday. Germany and Benelux


departures are daily. The German departures are direct to Dusseldorf, and Stuttgart from where there are links to all parts of Eastern Europe including Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. As these are daily services, the transit time beats the weekly Friday departures of direct operators. FGI also has an airline trucking


service from the UK to Madrid, which connects with the frequent flights


from the Spanish capital


to South America. Several South American airlines use this


link


from Heathrow, as they have more capacity, with larger aircraſt flying from Madrid. An express van service was


started two years ago which can reach all parts of Europe within 18- 24 hours using dedicated vehicles. For even more urgent cargo, FGI is involved with a fleet of five cargo aircraft based at Oxford airport - ranging from a Cessna Crusader to a five-pallets/1200kg Beech 99 (all with


cargo doors) that can be airborne within the hour and reach places as far afield as Madrid or Milan within three hours. FGI’s express vans provide a rapid link to Oxford airport, although the aircraft can reposition to other airports if required. And finally rail, which is ideal


13


for bulk services on long hauls. Following the purchase in 2010 of specialist forwarder Britaly Fastrack – a company with a long pedigree, being started by ex-Bell line personnel - FGI can offer a combined rail/road service for 20-foot containers based on daily train departures to or from Italy to Zeebrugge from where road connections operate to all parts of the UK via the ferries to Purfleet, Killingholm and Rosyth. Transit times are on average two or three days longer than for road transport, but the containers can carry 28 tonnes - ideal for heavy cargo, like ceramic tiles. Bulk materials can also be loaded/unloaded as tipper chassis are available.. And in addition to all this, FGI


Heathrow has a dedicated team of


freight forwarding staff who


handle air and sea freight shipments throughout the world, backed up by a worldwide network of global agents.


The Multi Modal Freight Specialists


European Groupage - Services to/from - Italy Spain Gibraltar Portugal Germany Hungary Romania Moldova Bulgaria Macedonia Turkey Greece Rail division Operating 20ft Containers To/From Italy Deep Sea and Airfreight European Express Van Service Dedicated Air Charter Division with 5 Managed Aircraft


Milton Keynes +44 (0)1908 268 620 Heathrow +44 (0) 208 572 3333


www.fgi.uk.com ianl@fgi.uk.com


FGI Formula Goss International


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40