Profile: All geared up and in for the long haul

Brad Brennan, 50, has been involved with freight-forwarding (organising the transport of goods by land, sea and air) all of his working life. But when the company he worked for was bought, Brennan and three colleagues decided to go it alone. Confident of their own abilities, the team launched their freight-forwarding business, Evolution Time Critical (ETC), in 2001, using family savings and an agreement to draw no salaries for five months. And like many new ventures, the founders were full of hope at the outset. But they faced a major challenge in month one of trading: their first customer went bankrupt. "You either quit or roll your sleeves up when that happens," says Brennan. "We took the latter option."

Travelling up and down the country to find work meant that the business recovered from its initial setback. But the real turning point came from an unexpected direction. "I remember the call now," says Brennan, "a rather despondent voice from an automotive company in the UK asking if we could deliver three pallets of components from Prague by 5am the next morning. I said yes, and we did." Within two weeks the same customer called again – once more Brennan and his team delivered. Then came a call from the supplier, anxious to avoid their customer receiving parts late. Within weeks, ETC was receiving calls from both automotive manufacturers and component suppliers with all parties keen to avoid holding up car production lines. ETC had found their market niche.

Large automotive manufacturers have shifted away from holding huge amounts of stock and may only carry enough to supply production lines for a few hours. This "lean production" philosophy can be cost-effective but only works when supply lines are guaranteed. And problems sometimes do arise, which is where Brennan and his transport troubleshooters come in. "What we found out," explains Brennan, "is that holding up a car production line can cost the manufacturer €1m per hour. And so offering a rapid-response, critical logistics service can be of significant value."

The company now offers a range of services, from a human courier through to several chartered aircraft carrying tonnes of components. "What matters is that you deliver what you promise," says Brennan, "no matter what it takes." A sound philosophy – and one that saw ETC's turnover grow to over £12m last year.

Evolution Time Critical (01332 814914; www.evolution-timecritical.com)

Interesting? Click here to explore further