In just a few months, an entrepreneur has seen his freight forwarding company grow from one truck and two clients to 15 trucks and 500 clients served by three distinct brands.
Jonathan Vella comes with a rich pedigree. His grandfather was the pioneer of the stevedores’ association and he was roped in to help his father at Express Trailers when he was still a child.
He also gained invaluable experience on a government committee on infrastructure and was the vice-chairman of Transport Malta.
But he got itchy feet when he got to his mid-30s and spent three years mulling his options.
He believed that there was a niche that was not been targeted by the family company: pharmaceuticals and perishables.
The company he set up, Express Logigroup, has seen rapid growth, already covering the UK, mainland Europe and the Middle East.
In the past, these products were carried by normal trailers but the day will come when this is not allowed any more
Cold Moves, as its name implies, has refrigerated trucks handling pharmaceutical products. This unit uses two smaller trucks inside which the relatively lightweight products can be double-stacked on pallets to maximise use of space. This is a highly regulated sector, with standards for cleanliness getting more and more onerous every year.
“In the past, these products were carried by normal trailers but the day will come when this is not allowed any more,” he said.
Demand is healthy and he will increase the fleet to five trucks by the end of the year.
“Although seafreight is an option for these products, there are many instances when time is of the essence, especially when a new generic drug is launched on the market when the patent on a branded drug expires,” he explained.
Daily Fresh is the unit that deals with fresh produce, most of which is trucked down from the south of Italy to Malta, although there is increasing cross-border trade to other countries. The service is backed up by storage facilities in Sicily and Italy.
“It is important to consolidate shipments at central depots. The challenge with bringing produce to Malta is that the trucks would go back empty so we are looking for ways to pick up shipments from here,” he said.
Just In Time is for quick turnarounds, where the company is competing with airfreight and courier services.
“It would take three to four days instead of two – but it would cost a tenth of the price,” he said. Being able to deal with such last-minute business requires a comprehensive and dynamic network of drivers and other logistical equipment.
These ad hoc orders could be for anything from urgently-required spare parts to yacht equipment for the Rolex Middle Sea Race, for which they brought down several containers.
“That was an exciting contract. We handled everything from the booking through customs and unloading,” he recalled.
“In fact, this is what we offer that our numerous competitors do not. We offer end-to-end solutions. And we do not say this glibly. For example, when we book a consignment we call both the shipper and the consignee to advice them of all the shipment details. With destinations like the UK, where we have frequent services, we do not just tell them the day the truck will arrive but actually the time!
“We believe it is very important to be proactive and to call the client rather than having them call us. The earlier people know about the shipment, the more time it gives them to plan.”
At the moment, the company is growing rapidly and economies of scale will soon start to help the bottom line considerably. Mr Vella is already planning to invest in more people (he currently employs 10) and more equipment, eventually reducing his reliance on subcontractors. He has already got partners in the UK and Italy, and soon in Germany.
“As we approach our first anniversary, the time has already come to look ahead and find another foreign partner so that we can expand even more,” he said.