Scottish logistics firm Dalkeith Transport has expanded its business to cover the whole of Dumfries and Galloway

The firm already provides express distribution services to a vast area of the country including Dundee, Fife, Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Mid Lothian and the Borders, and hopes expanding its operating area will help grow the business.

To deal with the extra business, the company has opened a new 36,000 sq ft depot in Dumfries, to add to its existing depots in Broxburn, Auchterarder, Cumbernauld and Newtongrange near Edinburgh.

Dalkeith Transport operates its distribution service through Palletways, the palletised freight network in the UK.

The company is one of more than 100 regional depots that make up the nationwide network, which provides a range of express distribution services for small consignments of palletised freight, including next day, Economy and timed delivery options.

Dalkeith Transport, which was founded in 1948 and has a 47-strong vehicle fleet, is supporting the expansion of its business with six new vehicles and ten new trailers, including two articulated lorries, two 18 tonne supercabs and two daycabs, all with digital tachographs.

Says Peter Wright, Principal of Dalkeith Transport: “Expanding to cover Dumfries and Galloway will enable us to offer an extended service to our customers and further exploit the palletised freight marketplace in Scotland and the rest of Europe. Being part of Palletways, the largest network of its kind, means we can offer our customers cost-effective overnight and express freight services to anywhere in the UK, as well as being able to offer services to mainland Europe.”

Palletways was set up in 1994 and is the UK’s market leader in overnight palletised freight distribution, capable of handling over 20,000 pallets a day. At the heart of the operation is the Palletways hub in Lichfield. Any goods being transported into mainland Europe, including the Benelux countries, Denmark, France and Germany, are sent via the Palletways Central European Network hubs in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, Gent in Belgium and Troyes in France for onward delivery by local Palletways members.

As with all companies in the Palletways network, Dalkeith Transport benefits from high-speed connections to the internet, and track and trace consignment monitoring.

By accessing the Palletways website and entering their unique login name, Dalkeith Transport’s customers are able to go online and find the status and location of their consignment.