Report Q2 2018
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A word from Craig The Headford Group is the leading management consultancy for the freight industry and has a range of services to assist freight companies with their growth strategy. Our aim is simple:-
4. Present any suitable acquisition targets to ensure a higher level of guaranteed growth. 5. Offer a tax efficient, effective exit strategy for owners aiming to sell their freight business.
1. Partner with our clients and agree a clear growth strategy. 2. Provide the marketing platform to produce the right type of enquiries at the right pace. 3. Source Market Leading Talent to ensure maximum conversion on all enquiries generated.
Mission statement To be the globe’s leading strategic growth consultancy for the freight forwarding industry. Forming valuable partnerships with our clients and offering them an effective growth strategy at any stage of their journey.
Headford... Your Strategic Growth Partner
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Q2 Director’s summary Q2 was as predicted a very productive quarter with key members of the team exhibiting at Multimodal 2018 at the NEC in Birmingham and also attending Breakbulk Europe in Bremen.
Our alliances span across event organisers, cargo networks and key industry leaders to ensure we all move in the right direction. Multimodal 2018 was very fruitful for us and it was great to see our Editor conducting video interviews on our stand with some of the industry’s leading names, such as Karl Hodgkinson of Howard Tenens, Nolan Gray of Port of Tyne and John Keefe of Eurotunnel.
The Breakbulk trip has resulted in FORWARDER magazine becoming media partners with Breakbulk and the team will be attending all four events annually. Breakbulk 2018-19 will be held in Houston, Dubai, Shanghai and Bremen.
The Group really is making waves in the shipping industry!
As the group expands its services across the globe, these alliances with well respected names in the industry are proving mutually beneficial.
Key achievements
Craig Headford – Managing Director, Headford Group
Attended Multimodal for 3rd year Formed valuable alliance with Breakbulk Ready to launch Freightabase Grown the FORWARDER Directory
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I must firstly say how impressed I was with the Breakbulk exhibition in Bremen this year.
So moving forward, my senior management team will be attending all four Breakbulk exhibitions on an annual basis.
It is a very well-organised and supported event, not just by the exhibitors but by the high-calibre attendees.
We are currently putting a marketing strategy together for these events and will keep you updated in our quarterly newsletters and online.
This was my first Breakbulk and I will certainly be supporting the events moving forward. I was massively impressed by the sheer scale of it.
Q3...
Craig Headford – Managing Director, Headford Group
One word. FREIGHTABASE. The Ultimate Freight Buying Tool. This is the one you’ve all been waiting for... The platform that can source a specialist carrier to or from any part of the world in a matter of seconds. Supporters can enjoy not only a healthy return on investment, but tangible results.
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Airlines. Shipping Lines. Freight Forwarders. Hauliers. In Q3 I will be unveiling phase one of a product that in time will revolutionise the freight industry: www.freightabase.com Craig Headford Managing Director, Headford Group
www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
We attended Multimodal 2018 with FORWARDER magazine for the third year in a row, and what an event it was... Not only was the event a huge success, but we created a new high-quality stand, proudly showcasing FORWARDER magazine, FORWARDER Directory and even a teaser of the upcoming Freightabase launch. We increased our floor space this year and invited Trevor Paul of Twente Express (April’s ‘Move it Like...’) and his team to join us. We also had our Editor interview owners and representatives from various companies in the industry. Multimodal is always a great event for Headford Group, and we can’t wait to visit next year. Richard Booth Sales Manager – UK & Europe, Freight Media
Interested in Multimodal? If you are interested in attending Multimodal, find the details of 2019’s event in our ‘In other news’ section at the back.
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Freight Media Ltd
Freight Mergers
This was our 3rd consecutive year at Multimodal.
Multimodal was a chance to enhance our reputation in the freight sector.
With the quality of the stand and the presence of one of our clients, we were able to strengthen relationships with existing partners and introduce new ones to the quality of FORWARDER magazine and the FORWARDER Directory.
We hope our attendence left people remembering who we are, our values and how we can benefit their business during the acquisition or sale process.
The buzz and atmosphere around FORWARDER magazine was fantastic and we look forward to our next exhibition.
It’s not often you can spend three days with clients from various verticals and specialisms under one roof, and we certainly embrace our interaction with new and existing clients during the week.
Richard Booth Sales Manager – UK & Europe, Freight Media
David Roberts M&A Consultant, Freight Mergers
FORWARDER magazine Multimodal has always been a big deal for us and we’ve always had a presence there. That presence has evolved and grown over the years, from a few faces to represent the group and network, to a fully fledged exhibitor stand with serious traffic. I’ve been involved over the last few years, helping to design the FORWARDER stand and then occupying a working position designing spreads in real time for clients we met at the event. Basically, doing my job in a satellite office. Clients such as Cakeboxx were brought on in this way and the feedback was good. I’ve loved creating and developing the FORWARDER brand and products, and Multimodal has been a great opportunity to share them with the industry. Tim Headford – Graphic Designer, FORWARDER
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F R E I G H T
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Recruitment Headford Growth UK Headford Growth USA Headford Growth UAE Headford Growth East Asia
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
UK
Q2 department summary Q2 was another great success for the recruitment team across each of the UK, USA and Middle Eastern markets.
On another note, I’d like to talk about the benefits of making time for us to come and visit you at your offices. It’s absolutely proven that recruiters are much more likely to place candidates into organisations if they’ve met with the hiring managers and seen the premises. Not only do we have a better feel for what you’re looking for, we can also tell the candidates a lot more about your businesses and what makes them stand out and they can also hear the passion in our voices. Contact us today to make this happen. I guarantee it will increase your chances of finding a better candidate for any vacancy you have!
Having had the ‘new’ CRM system in place for over six months, we’ve seen ongoing improvements across the recruitment business including client interaction, candidate attraction and, as a result, the number of placements made with our clients. What does this mean for our clients? Increased numbers of targeted candidates, fewer CVs sent but more interviews requested, and a slicker recruitment process. What does Q3 look like? The early part of Q3 will be much the same in terms of recruitment trends in the same old candidatedriven market. The latter part of Q3 will see forwarders thinking ahead to the Christmas period (have I managed to mention Christmas sooner than you’ve seen crackers and cards on the supermarket shelves?) and looking to ensure they have all the staff they need to keep things running smoothly. I know this sounds early, but these forwarders are thinking ahead so that they can beat the competition to the quality candidates. With this in mind, if you’re looking to put a plan into place but you’re not really sure how to go about it, call us to find out how we’ve helped other clients in the build up to the busy festive period!
See you in a few months! Lewis Bunn – Head of Recruitment, Headford Growth
Growth East Asia
UAE
UK
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
UK
Global service for a global industry Samuel Wilding
Sales & Senior Management Midwest USA +1 (312) 496 6624 samuel@headfordgroup.com
Danny Barnes
Sales, Operations & Senior Management Northeast USA +1 (646) 915 1495 danny@headfordgroup.com
Sean Borhani
Sales, Operations & Senior Management Middle East & Africa +971 (0) 4501 5675 sean@headford.ae
Simon Neale
Middle East Director Sales & Senior Management GCC Region +971 (0)4501 5987 simon@headford.ae
United Kingdom America Middle East / Africa Far East
Ben Redmond
Sales & Operations West Coast USA +1 (470) 481 1844 ben@headfordgroup.com
Lewis Bunn
Head of Recruitment Sales & Senior Management Southeast USA & Europe +1 (470) 481 5364 lewis@headfordgroup.com
Stephen Conway Ryan Pruett
Sales, Operations & Senior Management UK +44 (0)1454 628 787 ryan@headfordgroup.com
Sales & Senior Management Singapore & Hong Kong +971 (0) 0524 063822 stephen@headford.ae
Jamie Watts
Sales, Operations & Senior Management UK +44 (0)1454 275 951 jamiew@headfordgroup.com
Looking for employment? Are you looking for work in the freight industry? Do you have vacancies to fill? If so, please contact the appropriate consultant above.
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Headford in Dubai...
This reinforces why we have established ourselves as the number-one regional freight recruitment specialist. Q2 Singapore. As mentioned in Q1, developing a cold desk from scratch takes a certain mind set: having to build data, establish a new brand in a market and reach out continuously in building credibility and rapport with clients and candidates alike. Stephen has been working tirelessly in building the business from Dubai. The reception and feedback that we are getting from both clients and candidates is that it is refreshing to have a freight industryspecific recruitment agency. The Singapore market is predominantly one of generalist recruiters who do not understand the intricacies of the freight industry.
It’s Q2 and Dubai has settled down, with companies having set up their internal VAT payment processes, which came into effect on the 1st of January this year. Companies continue to be measured by their increasing head count; however, Q2 placements were up 70% on Q1. Again, most of these appointments were in sales, with the indication that companies’ strategies in the GCC region are to be aggressive in gaining further market share. A ‘do or die’ attitude...
The progress Stephen has made (signing up MNCs, arranging a number of interviews, headhunting and securing exclusive sales candidates) has resulted in several offers. We are certain that, once the first placement is made, further placements will follow. Each regional market is different, both from a client and candidate perspective, and represents both opportunities and challenges alike. As the candidate market is driven very much by supply, employers are extremely reluctant to let go of a performing sales person and will either promote them, raise their salary or, as is increasingly likely, apply emotional pressure to ensure that the employee does not leave.
As mentioned in Q1, people and companies are still holding their breath as to whether Expo 2020 is going to realise a further boost to the economy. However, there has been an increase in government projects and some of the larger MNC’s are now also starting to make significant investment in their infrastructure (warehousing, increasing fleets, eCommerce development). This is starting to trickle through, with new business-critical (commercial) roles in project and contract logistics. We are seeing some MNCs building their own contract logistic warehouses, with growth being identified in the Saudi market, which is continuing to open. With over 20 million consumers less than 200 miles away from the mega-port that is Jebal Ali in Dubai, this appears to be a sound strategic move.
The new products that the Headford Group is releasing over the next quarter will further increase services that our regional offices can offer and further enhance our global reputation as the principle strategic growth partner for the freight industry.
In addition to the repeat business we are getting from existing clients, we are also now receiving enquiries from client referrals. This is a great place for a niche consultancy such as ourselves to be in.
Simon Neale Middle East Director, Headford LLC
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M&A Freight Mergers Recruitment Mergers
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F R E I G H T www.freightmergers.com +44 (0)1454 275 950 enquiries@freightmergers.com
Q2 department summary Q2 saw Freight Mergers sign a new sell-side client in the London Heathrow area. The privately owned multimodal freight forwarder has attracted a lot of attention in the market, and we hope to secure a deal that enables the shareholders to realise a return on their investment and ensure the continuity of the business moving forwards. David Roberts – M&A Consultant, Freight Mergers
New company brochure We were pleased to release our new company brochure, which details our full M&A service. It is our second-edition brochure, which has been enhanced to give examples of recent transactions in the industry and an overview of the buy and sell-side process. It gives a comprehensive overview to prospective clients about what they can expect from Freight Mergers as an industry-specific corporate finance team and we are confident that it leaves our industry contacts more informed about how we can help when the time is right.
Who’s who?
David Roberts M&A Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 941 david@freightmergers.com
Craig Headford
Peter Farmer
Managing Director +44 (0)1454 275 939 craig@freightmergers.com
Management Consultant peter@freightmergers.com
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www.recruitmentmergers.com +44 (0)20 3872 5838 enquiries@recruitmentmergers.com
Q2 department summary 2018 has continued to be a great year at Recruitment Mergers, having completed on two sell-side transactions. This is a huge milestone for the team and shows that the brand is moving in the right direction.
Another real positive that has come from this quarter is the value Alex has added to the brand. In four months he has built up a superb network and as a result booked multiple meetings. I am confident that, come October, he will have signed one – maybe two – bits of business and will be getting really stuck in to the process.
The first one was Derby-based Farsight selling to Baileys Construction. Tom, the owner, achieved well above his asking price as well as a significantly lower-than-expected earn out.
Finally, the team’s move to London seems to have made real progress with an office sourced and secured. The move date is the 1 st of October and we will be working in Fitzrovia.
One week after that, MC Personnel completed, with both previous shareholders and the new vendor delighted to get it over the line.
Charlie Watson Principal M&A Consultant, Recruitment Mergers
Who’s who?
Charlie Watson Principal M&A Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 941 charlie.watson@recruitmentmergers.com
Craig Headford
Alexander Jones
Managing Director +44 (0)1454 275 939 craig@headfordgroup.com
M&A New Business Consultant +44 (0)1454 275 933 alexander.jones@recruitmentmergers.com
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Deal of the quarter The aforementioned Harvey Nash Group PLC in Q1 has confirmed a deal by its largest shareholder, according to its announcement. According to SIA, the deal values the total shares in Harvey Nash at ÂŁ98.7 million, which has been ranked as the 33rd-largest staffing firm in the world. For more information on this deal, visit staffingindustry.com
Deals by sector Other
Education
Software/online
Engineering
Non-recruitment
Executive search Financial services
Manufacturing
I.T.
Generalists
Healthcare
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Marketing Freight Media FORWARDER magazine FORWARDER Directory Freightabase
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www.freight-media.com +44 (0)1454 628 777 team@freight-media.com
Q2 department summary Q2 has been brilliant for Freight Media, and there has been plenty going on.
London Freight Club (which we attend every 6-8 weeks). Furthermore, we have increased the number of our faceto-face meetings to develop a strategic growth partnership. All in all, it has been a fantastic quarter and we can’t wait to see what the next one brings.
The sales team has grown, with the hiring of Kelleigh Parsons. We have built on existing clients and developed new relationships by offering tailored solutions. We have also increased our brand awareness through events we have attended, such as Multimodal, Breakbulk and
Richard Booth Sales Manager – UK & Europe, Freight Media
Welcome to the team Hi, I’m Kelleigh and I am a marketing consultant for the Freight Media team.
My favourite part of my job has to be networking at the events we attend. So far I have attended Multimodal and London Freight Club; both were great for understanding the industry and of course making a lot of new contacts.
With two years’ experience in the media industry, it is great to be part of such a vibrant company where Craig Headford, our director, listens and encourages everyone to bring their own ideas to the business.
It has been such a fun experience working for the Freight Media team and I am really excited about plans for the business over the next quarter. I am currently working on a new project within Freight Media so watch this space!
Within the three months I have been here I have learned so much about the industry, sales and myself. Everyone has been so supportive. If I need help at any time, people from any department are more than willing. It is such a great environment where everyone gets on so well.
Kelleigh Parsons Marketing Campaign Consultant, Freight Media
Key achievements
Added a salesperson Growth in key account campaigns Sponsored London Freight Club Introduced a high-profile client pack
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www.freight-media.com +44 (0)1454 628 777 team@freight-media.com
FTA Case Study The FTA is one of the biggest business groups in the UK, supporting, shaping and standing up for efficient logistics. FTA are the only organisation in the UK that represents all of logistics, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services, such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.
The challenge The solution
The FTA needed assistance with securing bookings for an upcoming event. With time running short and still with plenty of spaces available the association needed an urgent e-marketing campaign strategy in order to increase event awareness, drive website traffic and maximise attendee numbers and audience.
We implemented a multi-phase, targeted e-shot campaign using our UK freight forwarder and transport database… Developing e-shot campaign with event details and booking option Gathering data for target audience (e.g. decision maker, sector...) Planning date and time for e-shot sending to maximise opens Resending e-shot campaign to ‘unopened’ contacts
The results
The impact of our e-shot campaign solution after two weeks was impressive. Results include… Increasing visitors to FTA Web site by 130% 45% e-shot open rate Driven 5,055 unique visitors to website Over 203 visitors to event page Converted 18 new company event bookings 89 new individual event bookings
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www.forwardermagazine.com +44 (0)1454 628 794 team@forwardermagazine.com
Q2 department summary FORWARDER just seems to go from strength to strength. We’ve had a fantastic quarter, especially in terms of growing the readership of the magazine, both in print and online. Our subscriber base keeps on growing, which is great news! At FORWARDER, we are always thinking of fresh, new ways to publish content to our readers, so Q2 has also seen us adding professionally made video interviews to support our front-cover features such as ‘Move it Like...’. We decided to debut this feature of FORWARDER at Multimodal 2018, which was a huge success. We have some exciting plans coming for the brand – we’re only just getting started. Richard Booth – Sales Manager, UK & Europe, Freight Media
Key achievements 22
Introduced video interviews Attended Multimodal 2018 Introduced a ‘services to industry’ section in FORWARDER Directory
What’s coming up... Q3 is going to be an exciting one. Busy, but exciting. We will be welcoming Rachel Jefferies and Sarah O’Connell to the team as two new Editors for FORWARDER magazine, where they will be writing unique content. We will also welcome Rob Pascoe, who will be joining the Freight Media sales team. Freight Media will be preparing for the launch of Freightabase, ‘the ultimate freight buying tool’ for finding specialist carriers to or from any part of the world. We won’t be stopping there. We are planning to launch FORWARDER USA for our American audience. Q3 is going to be a busy one! Richard Booth – Sales Manager, UK & Europe, Freight Media
www.FORWARDERmagazine.com/USA
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In other news Back office Internal recruitment Group contacts Upcoming events
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Back office Another fantastic quarter with lots going on in the back office. Something that’s always been a strong passion of mine is data. I originally started out as a Data Administrator back in 2000 for a leading airfreight publisher; 18-plus years on and it’s still of great importance to me. As a business, we are constantly striving to obtain the most up-to-date data so we can successfully market ourselves with the right information to the right people in the freight industry. With GDPR having been implemented on the 25th of May 2018 it was now even more important to maintain compliance for the data we have on our existing and prospective clients. With this in mind, at the end of Q2 we successfully hired two new Data Administrators (Lourence and Candace) to help keep all our databases up to date, compliant and be on hand to quickly and efficiently deal with any requests that need to be actioned. Good luck to them both!
Key achievements
A big event for the group every year is the exhibition ‘Multimodal’ which is held at the NEC in Birmingham. It’s a great opportunity for us all to meet and greet fellow professionals from the industry and to discuss their plans, whether it be recruitment, mergers & acquisitions or marketing & media. ‘Multimodal 2018’ was a great success for us and the hard work put in by the marketing team to get our stand designed, the equipment ordered and set up, brochures created and printed and everything else in between was phenomenal and a credit to the group. Special mentions to Tim, Mohit and Darren for the long hours put in to ensure that all went smoothly.
FORWARDER at Multimodal 2018 Building the data department Preparing Freightabase for launch
Nikki is doing fantastically well in her new role in accounts with continued support from Elaine and the team. We are also happy to welcome Natalie to the group, who works part time to support the accounts department. Freightabase is coming on well and is getting close to its official launch. The next time I write for the newsletter in Q3, I’ll be excited to report that it’s live across the globe and our advertisers are already seeing a return. Chris Tissier – Operations Manager, Headford Group
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www.headfordgroup.com +44 (0)1454 275 957 info@headfordgroup.com
Internal recruitment We brought in a new recruit, Kelleigh, to join Freight Media with a strong media background and a specialism in job boards. I am looking forward to seeing how she smashes the role and helps take the forwardingjobs.com job board to the next level. FORWARDER, along with the rest of the group, went to Multimodal in May and that was a huge highlight for us. It was great to meet with our clients to show them FORWARDER magazine and what we can offer them, but it was also great watching our guys get out there and meet their clients. Some amazing meetings happened over those three days, and I enjoyed watching some of our newer staff members enjoy their first Multimodal. We brought Alexander in to join the M&A team and not only has he settled in well, he will be joining the team when they move to London. He has played a vital role in setting up and securing some big meetings for the senior consultants.
We saw the welcome return of Sam to the USA recruitment team, and it’s honestly like he’s never been gone. Straight back on the phones and smashing the deals in! I have set up a few recruitment fairs for Q4 that I am really looking forward to and which will give us the chance to promote the group and its evolving brands, looking to attract some fresh talent from the graduate market. We have spent time looking at new office space in London for our M&A and recruitment team, so they will be up and running for Q3. This is incredibly exciting and is something that the guys have been working very hard to achieve. We are still continuing to grow by one staff member per month, steadily strengthening the group. I am looking forward to our next quarter and continuing to watch the teams grow and succeed. Laura Park – Head of Internal Recruitment, Headford Group
We have the following positions available at head office...
Media Sales Consultants – Bristol Recruitment Consultants (supply chain / procurement) – Bristol and London Recruitment Consultants (USA market) – Bristol Recruitment Consultants ( UK sales and operations) – Bristol and London M&A New Business Consultants – Bristol and London
Get in touch... If you would like to talk to me about any of these roles (or would just like some more information about the group) please don’t hesitate to email me at laura@headfordgroup.com or call me on +44 (0)7415 236 435.
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Group contacts Head office
Dubai office
8 Apex Court, Woodlands, Bristol BS32 4JT +44 (0)1454 275 957
4th Floor, D Wing, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Headquarters Building Po Box 341041, Dubai, UAE +971 (0)4501 5987
Recruitment, UK
Recruitment, USA
Recruitment, UAE
Recruitment, E.Asia
www.headforduk.com +44 (0)1454 628 787
www.headfordusa.com +1 (470) 481 5364
www.headforduae.com +971 (0)4501 5987
www.headford.sg +971 (0) 0524 063822
M&A, freight
M&A, recruitment
www.freightmergers.com +44 (0)1454 275 950
www.recruitmentmergers.com +44 (0)20 3872 5838
Media & marketing
Freightabase
FORWARDER
www.freight-media.com +44 (0)1454 628 777
www.freightabase.com +44 (0)1454 628 776
www.forwardermagazine.com +44 (0)1454 628 788
Careers
Accounts
www.workforheadford.com +44 (0)7415 236 435
+44 (0)1454 628 793
Your Strategic Growth Partner Short of actually moving things around, we as a group cover quite a few bases in the freight industry. We’re no one-stop shop though, no ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. Each division is 100% specialist in what they do. We are experts in every stage of the ownership of a freight company, from initial purchase, to organic growth and team expansion, to marketing the business, to growth through mergers & acquisitions, to the final sale of your company. If you are passionate about growth and would like some assistance, please contact one of the offices or divisions above.
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Upcoming events 2018 The London Freight Club
WCA Conference
Breakbulk Americas
FTA Annual Awards
26 September London, UK londonfreightclub.com
18-21 September Shanghai, China wcachinaglobal.com
2-4 October Houston, USA breakbulk.com
13 December London, UK fta.co.uk
BIFA Awards Ceremony
Breakbulk Middle East
WCA Annual Conference
Breakbulk Asia
17 January London, UK bifa.org
11-12 February Dubai UAE, Middle East breakbulk.com
18-19 February Singapore wcachinaglobal.com
20-21 March Shanghai, Asia breakbulk.com
Breakbulk Europe
Transport Logistics
Multimodal 2019
21-23 May Bremen, Germany breakbulk.com
4-7 June Munich transportlogistic.de
18-20 June NEC Birmingham, UK multimodal.org.uk
2019
Are you attending? If you would like any further information about which events we will be attending, please get in touch with us at info@headfordgroup.com.
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See you again in Q3...
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