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Chippenham-based Wincanton has moved to extend its activities in the construction sector with the acquisition of Swales Haulage for £5.3m. The supply chain specialist says the deal builds on last year's acquisition of RDL. Chief executive Graeme McFaull explains: "We bought RDL this time last year to take us into the construction  and building products sector for the first time because we saw the opportunity for us to sell our services [in that market] through a successful acquisition."

He adds the acquisition of Swales, which is a similar operation to RDL, is designed to build on Wincanton's success in the construction sector and add scale to the operation. No one from Swales was available for comment as CM went to press. Wincanton's financial figures for the year to 30 September show a 10.6% increase in turnover to £1bn with pre-tax profits up 46.3% to £22.1m. McFaull admits the market has been tough, but points out that the company has achieved strong organic growth: "We work hard to get close to customers and change our service offerings to meet their needs."

He adds that this approach is helped by infill acquisitions: "The UK is still by far the largest part of the group and we have attracted a lot of new business. Europe is much less mature than the UK and we are still  working to make sure we have the right foundations in place for growth. In the past 18 months we've been investing in quality management teams and promoting the Wincanton brand which then gives us the opportunity to tender for business.

"We're beginning to see the green shoots." Looking to 2008, McFaull says Wincanton will continue its policy of organic growth - but he adds that it has already identified a number of acquisition targets.

Wincanton has won a five-year contract to manage a specialist packing unit for pet food company Nestle Purina PetCare. Wincanton has managed the company's national distribution centre for the past seven years.