Pall-Ex has celebrated 25 years in business with an anniversary and awards event recognising the achievements of its staff, shareholder members across the UK and its international partners. Around 700 guests from over 170 independent UK hauliers, international partners and Pall-Ex Group staff members attended the event, held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in mid-November which was hosted by the star of Cold Feet, The Hobbit and Line of Duty, James Nesbitt! As well as the celebrity host, guests were entertained before the awards began with a performance from a string octet during a glittering drinks reception, as well as VR simulators, mirror men and LED light dancers. On its road to success, Pall-Ex has gone from moving 117 pallets on its first night to transporting over 45,000 pallets per night nationally and internationally. Pall-Ex was founded by Hilary Devey in 1996 and helped to establish the palletised model of haulage distribution in the UK; the company is now owned by its senior management team and the network of shareholder members, who completed the purchase of the business from Devey in late 2019. During the awards ceremony, Severn Transport Services (STS) was presented with the coveted Pall-Ex Member of the Year award, sponsored by The Barcode Warehouse, which was voted for by fellow members of the network. The Welshpool-based haulier was launched by directors Steve Goodwin and Mark Howard in September 2019, just six months before the pandemic and lockdown. Despite these challenges, STS has consistently been one of the highest performing Pall-Ex members, increasing pallet volumes steadily month on month and delivering exceptional service. Pall-Ex regional winners were also celebrated, sponsored by Ryder, with Moody Logistics & Storage winning for Scotland and the North East and Austin Wilkinson & Sons winning for the North. Matthews Haulage Limited claimed the award for the Central Region, M Pinches & Sons for Wales and the South West and in the South East region, John Bywater Transport Limited claimed the prize. Tipton based Advanced Delivery Services, Hull based Neill & Brown Global Logistics Group Limited and Denbighshire haulier Mars-Jones Ltd were all highlighted as the Highest KPI Performers in their respective categories, with the awards sponsored by Allports Group. Additional winners included John Dinham Transport which picked up the Business Development Award, sponsored by Atom Logistics, Devereux Developments Ltd who took home the New Member of the Year Award, sponsored by Honeywell and Pall-Ex Italia retained the European Network of the Year accolade which was sponsored by Blue Chip. Winners were selected for compliance, quality distribution, service excellence and communication throughout the last 12 months. Pall-Ex Group Stars, sponsored by FloGas, were also awarded to internal staff members and were also nominated by fellow colleagues and network members. In addition, four recipients were chosen for the Group’s DMC Outstanding Contribution Award, in recognition of their longstanding commitment and brilliant service. Two businesses were recognised, with Bullet Express and Devereux Developments taking the honours. Furthermore, two individuals from across the Group were highlighted. Enric Estruch, who has been instrumental to the establishment of Pall-Ex Iberia was recognised at the gala dinner, as well as Stephen Long, who this year retired after making a significant contribution to both his family business, Longs of Leeds and Pall-Ex as a whole, having joined the business at 17. Kevin Buchanan, Group CEO at Pall-Ex Group, comments: “Our network members deserve recognition for the significant role they have played in building Pall-Ex into the successful logistics operation it is today. “The industry as a whole has faced a tough couple of years, with the pandemic and Brexit creating unique challenges, and our members deserve to be celebrated as haulage heroes. “Collectively, they have gone above and beyond to ensure continuation of service despite the difficulties and their hard work and support has underlined Pall-Ex’s leading position within the sector, as well as our commitment to the industry. “It is a real joy to celebrate our 25^th anniversary in person and to be able to mark this milestone and our collective achievements with a proper celebration.”

Licensing Law Consultancy remains successful in obtaining late licences in several cities nationwide for franchise brand, Chaiiwala. This is an important part of Chaiiwala’s strategy for business growth as well as better serving the communities in which they operate. Chaiiwala is accelerating its plans for exponential growth in the UK. Currently they operate around 50 stores with plans in motion to open a further 200 stores in the next few years. They are also making similar progress in other countries such as Canada, USA and Dubai. Chaiiwala’s franchise director, Nil Naik said: “We have been very pleased in working with Walaiti Rathore and Licensing Law Consultancy. “The quality of their service and results in obtaining late licences nationwide has been outstanding, including in some very challenging circumstances. “We look forward to continuing to work with them for all our licensing requirements.”

Unemployment in the East Midlands has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic, new figures show. The region’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1% for the period between July and September 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. This marked a 0.2% reduction compared to the previous reported period between June and August, while it was also 0.2% below the UK average. It is the lowest unemployment rate for the East Midlands since the three months to May 2020, when it was 4% – having peaked at 5.9% earlier this year. East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive, Scott Knowles, said: “It’s promising to see the jobs market growing again after the struggles of the past year and suggests the economy is moving in the right direction. “The latest figures reflect how industries that are heavily represented in our region’s economy – including hospitality, retail, and leisure and tourism – are recovering well after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. “At the same time, we’ve also seen initiatives like the Kickstart Scheme – in which the Chamber has played a key role as a gateway organisation to facilitate almost 1,500 job placements – contribute to helping young people, who had been disproportionately affected by Covid, find work. “We expect the region’s jobs market to continue improving, with the latest data from the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for Q3 2021 showing a net 25% of East Midlands businesses saying they have increased headcount over the previous three months and a net 38% expecting a rise in employment over the coming three months.”

Skills gaps and inflation cause concerns for economic recovery

National figures show that job vacancies hit another record high in October at 1.17 million – almost 400,000 higher than pre-Covid – as employers continued to struggle with skills shortages. This is despite the end of the furlough scheme, which was still supporting an estimated 1.1 million people just before it ended on 30 September. Scott added: “The record number of vacancies highlights the acute hiring crisis faced by many businesses right now. While two-thirds (67%) of companies attempted recruitment in the previous quarter, according to our QES, 71% of this cohort said they faced problems with hiring the right people. “While some predicted the end of furlough would release more of the workforce back into the labour market to plug these issues, the continued rise in job openings suggests the problems go much deeper. “We have skills gaps across the board that urgently need to be addressed – something that was highlighted most pertinently by the HGV driver shortage during the recent fuel supply crisis. “Many of these are longstanding but as Brexit and Covid have driven a more deep-seated decline in labour supply, they have come to the fore more prominently. “The concern here is that an inability to address the skills gap and bolster productivity will dampen the economic recovery. “This could become particularly problematic if inflation, which surged by 4.2% in the year to October, continues to rise as it hits the bottom line of businesses – and therefore put a squeeze on the gains we’ve made in employment.”