European road freight specialist Europa Road is celebrating its first anniversary in Dublin having grown its presence locally to provide better support for exporters in the Republic of Ireland.
Ireland is currently the UK’s 6th largest trading partner, accounting for 5 per cent of total UK trade. As the UK looks to increase this trade following challenges associated with Brexit, Europa Road set up its eight-person strong team in Dublin to provide local sales and customer service support for local businesses.
Since then, the team, led by Branch Manager Elliot Watts, has grown its local customer base from a standing start and has invested in services, which includes a market-leading Money Back Guarantee, to achieve a frictionless movement of goods for Irish exporters.
Jamie Hedgecox, Europa Road Regional Manager said: “It’s been a challenging few years for Irish and British businesses wanting to export to the EU who have had to navigate the additional administration and border controls in place post-Brexit.
“As a result, many were choosing to move their goods direct from Ireland to ports in the EU, as opposed to using the land bridge, which was causing longer transit times and significant delays to deliveries.
“To provide a better infrastructure for exporters in the Republic, Europa set up its Dublin office. The branch complements Europa’s Belfast branch, established in 2018 to show that despite challenges, goods could still be efficiently moved between the UK, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU.
“Our 1Hub in Dartford, the largest groupage hub in the UK, provides the most cost-efficient way for companies in Ireland to send goods across to mainland Europe. Added to which, the speed and the consistency of the transit times via this route have led us to apply our Money Back Guarantee against it.”
Europa provides daily services inbound from Dublin to Holyhead, bringing around 300 trailers of goods a year across the Irish Sea. This guarantee, launched in May 2023, offers financial reassurance to local businesses during a time where soaring costs are creating uncertainty for Irish businesses.
Adrian Redmile, Branch and Sales Director at Europa Worldwide Group said: “Europa Road’s mantra has always been centred around adapting to market changes quickly to provide the best support for our customers. We are the only logistics provider in Ireland operating with Money Back Guarantee on road consignments, meaning we are ideally and uniquely placed to ensure the continued international flow of goods for our Irish customers – as well as UK and European customers importing into Ireland.
“In an area where we had no local presence previously the team has thrived, having just celebrated its most successful month for volume of consignments after just one year. We have also increased our sales team to continue the search for Irish exporters needing greater support. It’s great to know we have the knowledge and expertise of such a dynamic, dedicated and highly experienced team, led by Jamie and Elliot, and we’re delighted to be celebrating this successful first year and look forward to seeing what’s to come for 2024.”
Strategically located close to the Dartford Crossing, Europa’s 1Hub is a 26,368 sq.m transit hub, built in 2015. Since its creation, it has seen a 15 per cent increase year on year in the volume of European road freight, and a record 40,000 consignments per month pass through the terminal.
Europa Worldwide Group is an ambitious independent logistics operator with three divisions, Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea, and Europa Warehouse, and has been featured in The Sunday Times Top Track 250 for three years. Europa has invested £5 million in its innovative market-leading product, Europa Flow, providing a frictionless flow of goods between the EU and the UK post Brexit. The group employs over 1,400 people with 29 international sites in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Europe, Hong Kong, China and the UAE.
