Established in November 2019 by Doncaster-born CEO Kerry Whaley as a family-operated business, HD Forwarding Ltd has shown strength and resilience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic
In November 2019, Kerry made the decision to leave a salaried secure position and start the business alone with £37.00 in her personal bank account with an ambition to earn enough money through the business to pay her household bills and look after her children.
HD Forwarding Ltd remains privately owned and has its purpose-built head office in Doncaster with a regional office in Derby with plans for further regional offices to be set up in 2021.
Supporting customers in the Doncaster area and on a national scale, from plastic recycling companies in Wellingborough, high end bathroom suppliers in Warrington and food merchants in Wigan. HD Forwarding Ltd also support the logistics of motorsport industry around the globe.
In recent months the company has structured a complete rebrand to mark their one-year anniversary, moving into their purpose built office and being awarded a multi-million pound contract.
2020 has had its own unique challenges, however, HD Forwarding Ltd has seen growth month on month by an average of 26%. They supported customers during the National lockdown period, assisting with supermarket deliveries and PPE shipments into hospitals.
As we still face the uncertainty of 2020, opportunities have arisen to assist in the transportation of clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccinations.
In the early days and months, the vision for the business was somewhat different from where we find ourselves now. However, the future for HD Forwarding Ltd is bright. In April 2020 an opportunity arose to push sales, which could not be ignored. We took the risk and grew the business by one, doubling the turnover in a matter of months. This opportunity sparked the ambition to grow the business and within the next few weeks we found ourselves needing an administrator. This even further grew the ambition and changed the vision of the business. Looking back at the original business plan, targets were set with a full five-year plan in place. These targets included recruitment plans, subscribing to our local chamber, purchasing a website and turnover targets. The business has exceeded these targets, employing our fifth member of staff almost four years ahead of schedule. To mark our first birthday, we invested and underwent a total rebrand, commissioning a local Doncaster business to develop a logo and website that truly reflected the new aspirations and vision for the business. We now find ourselves with five staff members, two locations, over £1 million turnover in our first year and on track to exceed our 2020/2021 projections.
Kerry Whaley, CEO, HD Forwarding Ltd
The company plans to recruit towards the end of 2020 and even further in 2021. Their reputation and dedication for excellent customer service, together with competitive pricing have been instrumental in making the business a success.
