News

Fortec Pallet Distribution Network is investing more than £300,000 in a sales and marketing drive. Speaking to Motor Transport, Fortec's MD Rod Abrahams explains: "We're coming to a turning point where we need to start getting out there and promoting the brand we want our members' customers to know who Fortec is and to stop being this well-kept secret.

"The objective  is to work with our licensees to create a more robust, sales-orientated network by adopting a direct sales approach."

Although Abrahams realises other networks have been doing this for some time, he says now is the right time for Fortec to make this step-change, but adds "we will be doing it the Fortec way".

"Our licensees do go out and get sales, but they will now be doing it with more support," says Abrahams. "To put a salesman on the road costs a lot of money you won't get much change from £60,000, which a lot of our members can't afford, so we'll be recruiting two sales people in January that our members can use, say, once a week or once a month, to follow up leads."

With a target of 15%-20% growth next year, Fortec is also looking for new licensees to join the network. It currently has 65, with five new members in the pipeline, but Abrahams is keen to take on more.

"We suffered a little bit in our growth because we were constrained by the  size of our old hub. Now we're in our new hub we're looking for additional licensees to help us grow."

Aside from organic growth, Abrahams is also prepared for the first time to grow through acquisition.

"If something strategic came up that would protect the network, then I might consider a purchase. It would have to be something that would complement our members a business that would add a large volume of pallets into the network, for example."