New home for logistics

A SOUTHPORT-based freight-forwarding company is scouting sites for a new logistics centre on the central Gold Coast after last month marking 10 years in business.

One Global Logistics was founded in 2010 by James Sparke and Christine Sidney and, in the past decade, has grown to an $18 million business after emerging as an alternative to Brisbane companies for small-to-medium size enterprises in the Coomera-Yatala corridor. Mr Sparke said that while the company has experienced growth in the past few months due to increased pressure on supply chains for businesses grappling with COVID-19 disruptions, the new centre had been on the company’s radar for several years.

“Our main clients in southeast Queensland are small-tomedium size enterprises, ranging from importersexporters through to manufacturers and distributors.

“We now have a 10-year track record on the Gold Coast and our growth is increasingly coming from referrals.”

One Global Logistics plans to locate its new third-party logistics centre at Ashmore on the Gold Coast.

“That will be our focus over the next one to two years,” Mr Sparke said.

“We are looking at a central Gold Coast location to cater for both importers and exporters who want to release or outsource their warehousing and distribution function.

“More businesses are looking for this type of service for a number of reasons, from downsizing to looking to become more efficient and cost competitive.

“This is happening in the main cities but not yet on the Gold Coast and demand from this niche business sector is quite strong.”

Mr Sparke has three decades’ experience in the logistics industry. He relocated to the Gold Coast from Sydney in 2006 after selling his first business to a multinational freight and logistics provider. He commuted between the cities until his contract with the business expired in 2009.

“At that time, the Gold Coast market lacked an integrated customs and cargo provider and it was being underserviced by Brisbane-based companies,” Mr Sparke said.

One Global Logistics began with a staff of two operating from a small serviced office at Varsity Lakes in 2010.

It relocated its headquarters to Southport two years later and expanded with the purchase of two office suites at Southport Central, where it has a full-time staff of eight customs and cargo professionals.

One Global Logistics now supports 21 staff nationally and the business is on track for revenue of more than $18 million this financial year.

It has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and manages the logistics chain from manufacturing to delivery, including warehousing, for its clients to send products and material to locations all over the world.

Its Melbourne-based subsidiary, Construction Logistics Groups, has a number of heavyweight clients including Grocon and Watpac.