Interview: Phil Denton, MD of Lancashire firm Ital Logistics

Lancashire-based Ital Logistics turned 15 this week, and now the company is on track to hit a record turnover.

I spoke to the Heywood-headquartered company’s managing director, Phil Denton, about the growing enterprise he has built, the jobs he has created and the direction he wants to take the firm going forward.

How has Ital Logistics changed since it was founded 15 years ago?

Asked in 2000 if I had thought the company would be 30-strong and have a turnover of £10m, I would have had to say no. I never had any expectations. Of course, I wanted to develop business that would inherently increase the size of the company but, with a business plan simply to ‘do better next year’, I really had no idea where the road would lead.

I started with just myself and an office junior/trainee freight clerk in the back of a warehouse in Rochdale with aspirations simply to work for myself. The company is pretty much still the same except we are doing more markets, have more people, but people who have grown with the company and in many cases regard it as their own. We are pretty much like one big family.

So, in answer to your question, the only thing that has changed is its size and location. The ethos and objectives are still the same.

Ital Logistics moved to new premises in December last year and I’m curious about the effect that had on the company. How did you come to the decision to shift bases?

We decided to move to new premises simply because we had outgrown the shared facility in Sharston. The old site was limited in yard space with a single entry/exit route.

The new facility, apart from 16,000 sq ft of warehouse, has 22,000 sq ft of yard space, plus separate ingress and egress. Comprising six loading doors, two of which are newly installed dock-levellers, we can now have upwards of 10 trailers on site at any one time being loaded/unloaded in perfect harmony with each other.

Pictured: The new Ital Logistics base

You’ve talked about how the company started with only yourself and a junior freight clerk. How many more staff have you taken on since December 2014?

Previously we shared the warehouse facilities of Sharston and were not directly involved with the employment of warehouse personnel.

As soon as we moved we employed five warehousemen, and at the start of Q2 2015 we also employed two new salespeople, followed shortly afterwards by two new operators. So, all in all, since we moved we have created nine new jobs.

Will a turnover of £10m be a new record for the company?

Yes, this would indeed be a record. The last three years have seen our growth rate gather momentum. Since 2012 we have declared turnover of £6.3m, £7.5m and for last year just shy of £9.4m. Halfway through this year, we are on target to touch the £10m mark.

All of our growth has been organic, without the acquisition of companies or specific personnel. It has simply been development of the team, many of whom have been here for more than 10 years, as well as determination and enthusiasm.

What are the plans for Ital Logistics over the next 12 months? Do you plan to expand, or hire more staff?

As we have increased our turnover, and with the additions to our sales team, we are already looking to recruit an additional accounts and administration person as soon as possible. Furthermore, whilst building the offices within the new facility, I created space that could accommodate for the future because we will be needing new operational personnel around the turn of the year, particularly within our Iberian department.

We have links being nurtured with Southern France and Southern Germany, and are soon about to release our own new freight software which, if all goes well, may be brought to market.