The boss of a South Wales logistics firm has highlighted the “invaluable” benefits of also being a director of the nationwide Pallet-Track network as he marks a decade in the role. 

Mark Waite founded Inter-Haul Pallet Services, which is based in Pontypridd, in 2001 and became a founding member and shareholder of Pallet-Track three years later. 

Both have gone from strength-to-strength with Inter-Haul enjoying a tenfold increase in growth while the Pallet-Track network now boasts more than 90 shareholder members collecting and delivering palletised freight across the UK. 

Network Member Director

This year, Mark celebrates 10 years as Network Member Director at Pallet-Track and believes the mutually beneficial partnership will continue to pay dividends. 

He said: “It really is invaluable for a Pallet-Track network member like me to have a voice at board meetings. 

“As a founder member and shareholder, I have a wealth of knowledge of Pallet-Track from its beginnings and, with my own business growing tenfold, it seemed a natural progression, both personally and for the network, to join the board and represent the other shareholders at board meetings. 

“My total operational understanding of the network from depot to hub level has assisted many times in operational decisions.  

“I have always had that ability to look at all aspects of the industry and have built up a very close working relationship with the network as a whole representing their views, questions and ideas.” 

Industry challenges

Mark acknowledges there have been challenges along the way, particularly the Covid pandemic, but he is convinced the close bonds and team ethic across the Pallet-Track network provides strength and resilience. 

He added: “We actually came out the other side stronger and more resilient than ever, proving that the working relationship between all our shareholder depots goes above and beyond.  

“Advances with our IT System, track and trace, live ETA, and photo at point of delivery on all deliveries are market leading and how we prove ourselves in delivering top quality levels of service.  

“Offering regional hubs and reducing trunk and mileage has also allowed us to show significant savings to the environment with our true CO2 emissions which again has led to significant growth and retention of business. 

“As with all industries, operational costs are paramount and keeping these in check is becoming harder and harder.  

“Manufacturers are always looking at driving down distribution costs so, as a network, we have always prided ourselves on selling service over price, but this is currently proving more challenging than ever.  

“However, as a network we have never been stronger and, whilst it has been concerning to see the high number of haulage companies failing over the past 18 months, the working ethos and relationship of our network has served us well and continues to gather unprecedented volumes.” 

Growth and success

Stuart Godman, CEO at Pallet-Track, said: “Mark’s insight and role as the voice of our shareholder members has been pivotal to the growth and success of our network. 

“By representing the needs of our members, Mark has enabled us to build a network that supports our collective growth while meeting the ever-changing needs of our customers.” 

Mark says the appointment of Stuart Godman as CEO in 2023 has been key to persuading him to stay so closely involved with the network going forward.  

He explained: “Stuart has been a revelation and is driving and leading from the front. The speed with which he attacks problems is fundamental to our continued strength and growth.  

“Before Stuart and I met, it was my intention to stand down after ten years on the board, but his drive and passion then has made it a very easy decision to commit to a further 24 months in the role instead.”