Announcing its latest win, Pall-Ex said that ever since landing the RoSPA Silver Award it has had its eyes firmly set on gaining the Gold Award this year.

To do this the team examined accident data and implemented a range of measures to create change across the business, affecting both operational and support staff.

Troy Bailey (pictured right), quality and compliance director, worked closely with Christina Johnson, head of group QHSE, to highlight specific areas that required improvement within the Pall-Ex operation to achieve safety excellence.

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Pall-Ex said that key to winning the Gold award was the network's focus on delivering enhanced education, comprehensive process changes and continuous improvement initiatives, which ensured everyone onsite, including hundreds of visiting drivers, is trained in the updated regulations.

Pall-Ex Group UK managing director, Barry Byers, said: “Keeping our people, our partners and the public safe is at the heart of everything we do. We want every day to run without accidents happening, but we work in a high-risk industry, so ensuring health and safety excellence is at the top of our agenda is paramount.”

Bailey added: “We’re pleased to have achieved the Gold Award with RoSPA, it’s fantastic to have our efforts endorsed in these internationally recognised awards.

Julia Small (pictured left), RoSPA’s achievements director, praised Pall-Ex's achievement. She said: “Accidents at work don’t just have huge financial implications or cause major disruption – they significantly impact an individual’s life.

"That’s why good safety performance deserves to be rewarded. We are thrilled that the Pall-Ex has won a RoSPA Award and would like to congratulate them on their unwavering commitment.”

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The scheme aims to raise standards within the fleet and logistics sector, promote best practices and improve safety, efficiency, and the environmental impact of its members.

To achieve Gold FORS accreditation companies have to meet a rigorous set of criteria demonstrating good practice and dedication to driver and vehicle safety, and need to show improved operating practices, environmental protection, and effective monitoring of fuel and tyre usage.

Kent-based Salvatori specialises in transport and logistics services. Its Sittingbourne operation is a bespoke mini hub dedicated to Palletways customers and its Aylesham site recently expanded its Palletways business with three new warehouses.

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Remi Martysz, Salvatori transport director, said: "Earning Gold accreditation in the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme is a significant milestone for Salvatori. It reflects our ongoing commitment to safety, sustainability, and operational excellence in everything we do.

"Our dedicated team has worked tirelessly to meet and exceed the rigorous standards set by FORS, and this recognition validates our efforts."

Warwick Trimble, network director for Palletways UK, adds: “This is a well-deserved recognition of Salvatori’s commitment to excellence, safety, and environmental consciousness.

"I have no doubt the team will continue to deliver exceptional pallet distribution services and I’m sure we can expect even greater achievements and advancements in their pursuit of logistics excellence in the months and years ahead.”

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DPD UK were again the big winners on the night, picking up another three trophies – Home Delivery Operator of the Year, Urban Operator of the Year and the inaugural New Talent Development Award, taking their overall tally to 42 wins.

Another new award for 2023, Sustainable Transport, went to EV Cargo while Goldstar took the coveted Haulier of the Year title for the first time.

The Fleet Truck of the Year went to the Volvo FM – although this is the third win for the Swedish manufacturer it was the first for the versatile FM. Clean Fleet Van of the Year went to the Ford Pro E-Transit for the second year running.

XPO Logistics and Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland took the Partnership Award while Think Logistics founder Steve Granite received the Service to Industry Award for his efforts to raise the profile of the logistics industry among school and college students.

The evening also saw the announcement of the three latest inductees to the Motor Transport Hall of Fame, Robert Wilcox, Bob Swain and Alan Jones OBE.

The evening raised £22,000 for Transaid through auctions of some amazing prizes including a trip for two to the Italian MotoGP and the casino.

The Awards were presented by the hilarious Jack Dee and coverage of what is still the biggest event in road transport can be found on the MT Awards website.

The 2024 Motor Transport Awards will be held on September 4 at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel – see you there.

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There are 61 companies up for awards in the 19 categories with new faces joining some more familiar names.

Multiple award winner DPD UK has made the cut in six categories including our two new awards for this year, Sustainable Transport and New Talent Development.

DFDS Logistics is shortlisted in four categories including Customer Care where it is up against… DPD UK along with Browns Distribution Services, Speedy Freight and Walkers Transport.

Walkers is also in with a chance of picking up the coveted Haulier of the Year award but faces stiff competition from Boughey Distribution, Goldstar, Stephen Sanderson Transport and Willmotts Transport.

Our 67 independent expert judges spent a difficult two days at the Hilton Leicester concluding their verdicts in person after a first online round of rigorous assessment of another excellent crop of entries.

The winners will be announced on September 6 at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. Book your places now to hear first who the winners are.

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There are 19 categories in this year's Awards including two news ones, New Talent Development and Sustainable Transport, alongside long-standing categories such as Haulier of the Year, Low Carbon and Team. The Awards are free to enter and on the website there is a short video from a top awards specialist explaining how to give your entry the best chance of winning.

Judging will take place over a two-day period in May and the finalists will be announced on June 8. The winners will be revealed at the Grosvenor House Hotel on September 6 in front of a sell-out audience of 1,300 people.

To apply for a deadline extension go to the Awards website and complete the form.

Good luck.

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For 2023 there are two new Awards - Sustainable Transport and New Talent Development.

The Sustainable Transport Award, partnered with Vertellus, will be presesnted to the third party or own account operator that can show it has an effective environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy in place and is: working towards carbon-neutrality in its entire operation; protects the health and well-being of its employees and the public and is able to recruit and retain the people it needs; and can achieve these laudable aims while making enough money to reinvest in the future.

The New Talent Development Award is for the third party or own account operator that is working hard to recruit, train and retain the people who will be its staff, managers and directors of the future.

While there are now several apprenticeships that provide nationally recognised qualifications for people in the logistics sector, many companies have devised their own tailor-made talent development programmes, especially for HGV drivers, that fit better with their requirements.

But this Award isn’t just about recruiting young people – there are many pools of talent that the industry can tap into such as ex-offenders, service leavers and adults looking to learn new skills to boost their earning potential.

Go to the MT Awards website for full details in how to enter these and our other 17 Awards categories and to see a webinar giving top tips on how to prepare a successful entry. Entry is free and the deadline is March 31.

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To keep the awards relevant to today’s road freight transport industry we have changed two categories. Apprenticeship of the Year becomes the New Talent Development Award which will be presented to the fleet operator who has worked especially hard to develop a pipeline of new recruits into the business which will meet its needs for the drivers, warehouse staff and managers of the future. While there are several excellent apprenticeships available these are not always ideally suited to many business’s talent recruitment and development needs, which is why we have broadened this award to include all industry and company initiatives designed to fill the skills gap.

The Clean Fleet Van Operator of the Year has also been replaced with the Sustainable Transport Award which is open to operators of all commercial vehicles not just vans. This award will go to the operator that can show it has a detailed environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy in place to ensure the business is: working towards carbon-neutrality in its entire operation; protects the health and well-being of its employees and the public and is able to recruit and retain the people it needs; and can achieve these laudable aims while making enough money to reinvest in the future.

The Awards are open to own account and third party operators of 11 or more commercial vehicles and small to medium size companies have been just as successful as the larger players over the years. Firms like Abbey Logistics and Expect Distribution have been multiple winners of Haulier of the Year while heavy haulage specialist Collett & Sons and events logistics firm Stagefreight have both picked up Team of the Year.

Motor Transport is holding a webinar on February 2 to give companies of all sizes some guidance on how to prepare an entry to the awards. It will be presented by Chris Robinson, MD of Boost Awards which has a successful track record of putting together over 1,700 winning entries in a wide range of industry awards. Register now for your free place.

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McCulla (Ireland) has launched a waste-to-energy circular economy programme, investing in an anaerobic digester plant at its headquarters that allows it to produce all of its own energy without requiring any grid electricity.

The plant converts food waste into renewable electricity to power McCulla’s cold stores and biomethane gas to power its trucks.

The plan to upgrade its plant to produce HGV fuel became a reality last year, when McCulla took delivery of 10 new Iveco Stralis NP trucks (with a further 19 on order).

These first vehicles are just the beginning, and McCulla aims to phase out diesel in favour of gas to further reduce its emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. The company intends to be running its entire fleet of 100-plus trucks on gas using the sustainable transport model within five years.

By having a successful proof of concept, McCulla also hopes to inspire other transport operators to make similar investments in this type of renewable energy.

McCulla has also implemented a range of proactive environmental improvements over the years, such as rainwater harvesting for reuse in truck cleaning; a focus on driving styles and driver training to improve fuel efficiency; and implementation of sophisticated warehouse control systems that optimise electricity usage.

Customers are also increasingly focused on having environmentally responsible suppliers, so McCulla knew it could win tenders by implementing sustainable practices. Reducing customers’ food waste is an added value proposition, for example.

The judges said: “This is a great entry demonstrating a significant reduction in CO2 across the whole operation; an impressive focus on reverse logistics and keeping vehicles full; and a whole series of carbon-reduction activities in addition to the focus on fleet emissions.

“It is a great example of what can be done on a small scale to improve sustainability.”

“This is great recognition for what has been seven years in production. We are using biomethane to upgrade into trucks. It’s great to see”

Peter Summerton, MD, McCulla (Ireland)

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William Stobart, deputy group CEO at Culina, was born in Cumberland in 1961, the fourth child of Eddie and Nora Stobart. After starting out as a teenager working in the family business, 45 years on he is now deputy group CEO of the £2.2bn a year Culina Group.

After many years working alongside his late brother Edward at the family firm, where he was credited as the unsung hero running the business behind the scenes, in 2004 William and Andrew Tinkler (then William’s brother-in-law) bought the company before it was split into two, Stobart Group and Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL).

William Stobart was chief operating officer of ESL between 2007 and 2014 and took over as chief executive from 2014 to 2017.

In 2019 William was credited with saving the business when he backed a £75m bailout of ESL by private equity firm DBAY Advisors.

He then served as executive chairman of ESL parent GreenWhiteStar Acquisitions from 2019 to 2021 and was made deputy group CEO of Culina in July 2021 when it bought GWSA.

With over 2,700 trucks on the road in its famous green and red livery – all with their own unique names – Eddie Stobart is the only haulage company with the distinction of having a fan club and featuring in the Channel 4 documentary Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers, which ran between 2010 and 2014.

The show made William Stobart into something of a ‘poster boy’ for the haulage industry, albeit a reluctant one as he is normally camera shy.

For over 40 years William has been a pioneering force in the industry, leading the development of driver safety and compliance through the introduction of telematics and digital fleet management.

Despite his success, he is still a humble man who thinks nothing of jumping behind the wheel on a snowy Boxing Day to make sure a load of food and drink gets delivered on time.

It is a testimony to his longevity that after more than 40 years he is still playing a leading role within the transport industry and is described by those who know him as a haulage ‘legend’.

“I had no idea. Thank you. This isn’t something you put yourself forward for, so to be recognised by your peers is amazing. I am very humbled”

William Stobart, deputy group CEO, Culina

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An engaging virtual reality training solution from BOC ably demonstrates how bringing technology together can overcome a problem.

Using high-definition 360-degree video capture, eye-tracking and motion seat technology, BOC’s virtual training programme reduces travel time for drivers, whilst providing a vastly more accurate picture of the driver’s abilities to spot hazards and react to them.

The company has taken traditional training and adapted it through immersive technology. BOC wanted to devise a method that could provide a step-change to training with a platform that would supplement on-the-road training as realistically and consistently as possible. Personalised and individual training sessions needed to be tailored to the user, with clear unique actionable analysis and results.

BOC felt that streamlining and upgrading training programmes was likely to be time consuming and expensive, requiring drivers to take a full day away from work. More so, the training experience is traditionally reliant on the skills of the trainer/assessor, and it was difficult to consistently measure against key safety criteria.

BOC used several high-performance devices along with bespoke software to ensure that the user interface of the trainer’s app is easy to use and broke down complex data in a way that is digestible and actionable.

Beginning with a headset and a bespoke motion seat they created a realistic environment for the driver as well as a repeatable experience for the trainer.

Judges described the solution as a “really clever use of leading-edge VR technology” that helped BOC overcome an age-old issue of providing safe, cost-effective and beneficial training.

Described by one judge as a “great tool that is different to everything that the market currently has in place”, the panel appreciated the analytical abilities of the system to enable targeted areas of improvement, and the reduced carbon footprint of not operating vehicles for training purposes.

"We've done a lot of hard work in the last three years to get here. It's a big safety feature with big benefits."

John Evans, business improvement manager, BOC

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