Transport
Look Northwards
EVERY day on the road, we pass countless lorries keeping the economy running by supplying goods such as fresh salmon around the country. But how does this vital industry work? This month we profile Northwards, an expanding Scottish logistics company with aquaculture ‘at its heart’, which brings essential retail goods to the Northern Isles and transports salmon south.
Its business has doubled over the last seven years, leading it to invest £2 million in a new 20,000 sq ft depot in Aberdeen in 2019, beside its others in Lerwick, Kirkwall, Scrabster, Inverness and Glasgow. How is its expansion going, and what does the future hold?
To find out, we spoke to Northwards’ commercial director, Neil Leslie, who has helped drive this distribution company forward since its beginning in 2002.
How did you get into logistics?
For me it was straight from school in 1982 into a summer job with P&O Ferries, which on day one became permanent when another full time member of staff decided to leave the company. It was probably not really what I intended to do but seemed like a good idea at the time! I then spent almost 20 years with P&O in Shetland in various departments and roles, from dealing with passengers to freight, haulage and maintenance.
How did Northwards begin?
Northwards was formed in 2002 by way of a management buy-out of the freight, groupage and haulage operations undertaken by P&O Scottish Ferries in Aberdeen, Scrabster, Orkney and Shetland. When P&O lost the government contract to provide the lifeline ferry services to Orkney and Shetland, the groupage and haulage services were not included as part of the new contract. The preferred option for P&O was to support a management buy-out, led by myself. Our network then was very much based around Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland.
How did Northwards get an edge?
In 2011, Sea-Cargo, through their UK subsidiary Sea Cargo (Aberdeen), became majority shareholders in Northwards, bringing with it not only financial security for the company but providing a structured and controlled avenue for growth and development.
Over the past 17 years, we have added to our network by opening depots in Inverness and Glasgow, both of which have been very successful in growing our customer base.
We try and develop innovative solutions rather than just imitating what’s already there. Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t always mean that’s the most efficient or cost effective way. It also doesn’t mean it’s the wrong way either and sometimes there is nothing that can be done any better!
What size is Northwards’ network now?
We now have around 95 full time staff operating out of the six depots – Inverness was added in 2003 and Glasgow five years ago. Including vans and HGVs, we currently operate 55 vehicles and 120 trailers. In addition to our own depots, we also link in to the Sea-Cargo network of services and routes into and throughout Scandinavia. In 2008, we joined UPN – a pallet network which gives us coverage throughout the UK and Europe for palletised freight.
We cover deliveries to all the PH, DD, AB, IV, HS, KW and ZE postcodes, which is quite a land mass to service. Basically, draw a line across Scotland at Gleneagles and we do everywhere above that line. Our customers are mostly Scottish based, mainland located by turnover, and by number mostly in Shetland and Orkney.
What things do you transport?
We transport such a wide range of goods it’s almost impossible to list them all. Everything you need to supply two buoyant island economies on a day-to-day basis, and to deal with what both islands produce. It can be full loads, part loads, small parcels, bulk liquids, waste, livestock and so on.
A large part of what we do is for the aquaculture sector, which includes taking fish feed up to the farms in Orkney and Shetland, and also moving the harvested fish down to the mainland distribution centres.
We also move equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry, we do a lot of waste and by-products both in bulk and liquid form. We move pharmaceuticals, building materials, fabricating materials, heating oil, general cargo, mail parcels, foodstuff, animal feed. The list could go on.
“We try and develop innovative solutions rather than just imitating what’s already there”
What are the most unusual things you have transported?
I think some live snakes are possibly one of the most unusual things we have moved. There have been things of all shapes and sizes over the years and especially when we go back to our days with P&O. I remember the yard in Lerwick being full of trailers loaded with helicopters, which at that time were surplus to requirement and being shipped off to America.
What work do you do for the aquaculture industry?
For the aquaculture industry we transport approximately 70,000 tonnes of salmon feed per annum up to Orkney and Shetland, and are involved in taking harvested salmon from both Orkney and Shetland down to the mainland for onward distribution. We also move all the liquid waste produced during the harvesting and packing process.
What are the challenges of transporting salmon?
The biggest challenge for us is making sure we have the equipment available where and when it’s needed to take the fish to market. To allow for weather delays and capacity constraints, additional trailers need to be on hand and available as back-up.
Ferry links are crucial to the whole supply chain, and at times the schedule is not able to cope with the volume of cargo being presented, so the whole process needs to be planned well in advance. We keep hoping that Transport Scotland will provide the solution the seafood sector, in particular Shetland, has been crying out for, for some time now.
How do you transport the salmon?
Dead, gutted and packed in ice in either boxes on pallets or in bulk bins. These are then loaded into insuliner or standard fridge trailers.
We use the latest technology in our fleet of refrigerated vehicles to ensure that all cargoes arrive at their destination in good condition and at the required temperature. All our trailers are fitted with tracking, which not only allows us to see where they are at but also lets us see that the temperature is being kept within the desired parameters. We also receive text messages alerting us to any faults or incidents along the journey and can access the fridge unit remotely to adjust settings if necessary. The longest journey we normally take, with fresh fish, is from Shetland down to central Scotland.
The use of insuliner trailers rather than standard fridge trailers has helped us maximise efficiency in return loads. Rather than be constrained into taking freight that can only fit through the rear doors of a standard fridge trailer, we can open up the fully insulated curtains and load through the side enabling a vast range of different cargo to be carried on the return trip.
What are the hard and easy parts of running a logistics business?
One of the hardest parts is having the right resource in the right place when it’s required, especially when you have ferry journeys and inclement weather to contend with. Like any business, keeping control of the costs is crucial to whether you make or lose money. It’s just the ‘raw materials’ in our industry and in our geographical area that possibly differ. Ferry costs alone are a major spend for us, and the service they provide is key to what we do. Fuel is also a big spend and again a bit more expensive in some of the areas we operate from.
What have been Northwards’ biggest challenges?
Same as others in our area and sector. We need good links to all the areas we operate in and out of. It needs to be sustainable and affordable. Staffing and getting young people interested in our industry is a challenge as well. There needs to be more support towards training and development.
“Draw a line across Scotland at Gleneagles and we do everywhere it!” above
What was your most recent expansion?
We moved into our new depot in Aberdeen in February 2018. This gave us the office, warehouse and yard space we had been needing, having grown too big for our old premises down at the harbour. The move has allowed us to add warehousing and external storage to the list of services we provide. We have also racked out part of the warehouse which has given us an additional 400 pallet spaces of storage. We now wonder how we managed to survive before! Five previously contracted staff became Northwards employees on completion of the move, and there are additional drivers and office staff.
What are your future expansion plans?
We continue year on year to spend approximately £1 million on fleet replacements and additions. This year has seen us upgrade our fleet of temperature controlled insuliner trailers at a cost of £420,000, with more planned for 2020.
What are your Brexit plans?
Hopefully, we won’t see any issues in the part of the chain we provide. It’s just how the overall market place is affected that could make volumes and forecasting a bit difficult initially, until everything settles down.’
Whatever uncertainty lies ahead, Northwards had reason to celebrate last month, when it won the Scottish and Irish Depot of the Year.