2024 sees Welch’s Transport celebrate its 90th year providing logistics support to clients across East Anglia and the UK.
Reaching this meaningful point in time has led the family to decide it’s the right opportunity to make some changes that will help secure the success of the business now and into its centenary.
After 10 years working in the company, Chris Welch is to become Managing Director this month and his father, Jim, will move across to focus specifically on the Group. This will be the fourth generation of the Welch family taking the reins.
History is important to a business. It represents stability, strong values, and efficient processes. A longstanding family business shows it can adapt to changing market conditions over a prolonged period.
As Chris says, ‘Welch’s Transport has always made a special effort to look after our customers, our staff, and the people in the community around us. Our mission is very simple: ‘Let’s make this part of the world as good as it can be,’ and that statement drives everything we do.’
This has been true through each generation of ownership, from the ‘original’ Gordon Welch, who founded the company back in 1934 in Foxton, near Cambridge, to his son Roger (retired in 2000), to Jim, who is currently in charge, and now to Chris.
From one vehicle in 1934, Welch’s Transport now runs 85 vehicles across three depots, plus cranes and support vehicles.
Chris’s brother David, who joined the company in 2021, will become Group Operations Manager to continue his training to eventually run the company alongside his brother.
One of Chris Welch’s first priorities this year is to consolidate the various services that the Welch Group offers to make them easier for customers to access. They currently provide Transport services, Warehousing, eFulfilment, Contract Logistics, Specialist Movements, Crane Hire, and Truck Servicing and Repairs.
‘It’s time to make sure our customers know exactly what services we have available to support them with their logistics needs’, says Chris, ‘and that means communicating clearly at every opportunity. I see a huge part of my role being to join up the dots so that everyone understands what Welch’s do and how we can help, from contract logistics to Net Zero solutions.’
Over the past year, Chris’s team has been growing the Net Zero side of the Welch Group, employing AI in their route optimisation, investing in one of the UK’s first publicly accessible HGV superchargers, their fully electric rigid with two 40t units on order. Topped off by founding a state-of-the-art Net Zero Urban Consolidation Centre (UCC) at their transport depot in Duxford.
The company’s activities in the carbon reduction field has gained them a great deal of interest from leading change-makers. They are proud to be one of only a few SMEs invited to join the prestigious e-freight 2030 consortium.
Selected to join the Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstration (ZEHID) programme, which aims to kickstart the uptake of zero emissions HGVs, the e-freight 2030 project is funded through Innovate UK.
It will demonstrate how battery-electric HGVs can replace conventional HGVs at scale. Welch’s hands-on experience and insight will be invaluable to the project and they’re proud to be at the forefront of making transport a cleaner greener industry.
Moving into the next decade, and with an eye firmly on the future of logistics, Welch's are making practical moves to place themselves at the forefront of logistics in the UK. They have joined Connected Places Catapult Freight Innovation Cluster and will be partnering with forward-thinking start-ups in their upcoming accelerator programme, as well as participating in their own Innovate UK projects on data sharing and V2X technology.
‘Our optimism about the future of logistics this year also led to us taking the decision to become Silver Sponsors of Generation Logistics,’ explains Chris. ‘Originally established due to the well-publicised driver shortage, Generation Logistics campaigns to raise awareness of the benefits of pursuing careers in the field, and to attract new talent. We have always invested in apprenticeships and training for our staff, believing that our organisation grows with our people.
‘It’s exciting times,’ continues Chris, ‘both in the logistics industry and at the Welch Group specifically, so keep an eye out for more news from us. Of course, I feel the responsibility of taking our well-respected family business into a successful future, but with our positive history of great customer service and a clear strategic plan in place, I’m confident we’ll continue to thrive.’
