Transporter Engineering
Transporter Engineering
Gosfield based Transporter Solutions benefits from Group2Grow peer network programme
Barry Poulter, Managing Director of Transporter Engineering Ltd, tells Backing Essex Business how the Peer Network Programme Group2Grow enabled him and his team to take a hard look at their sales and marketing strategies to future-proof their business.
Situated in 300 acres of disused airfield at the edge of the picturesque village of Gosfield on the north Essex border, Transporter Engineering Ltd has been building car Transporters since 1992 but can chase its beginnings all the way back to 1911.
With years of experience in the industry, Transporter Engineering Ltd can provide vehicle solutions to their clients that range from two-car up to a huge twelve-car transporters. Their vehicles, manufactured to customers’ specifications as well as tested and approved by the Vehicle Certifications Agency, plus their longstanding working relationships with major car manufacturers, has enabled them to continue innovating their products over the years, creating some of the best affordable vehicles in the industry.
One of the transporters manufactured at Transporter Engineerings’ site
Having built a reputation on delivering quality British built products and currently employing over 70 members of staff on their Gosfield site, the business has a solid UK market share for the car transporter market, serving long term clients BCA, ECM Ford, Arnold Clark, DCC and many more, and generates upwards of £18 million in turnover per year. Their Essex base allowing them to transport their products around the country with ease, the Gosfield site is also home to two other businesses who produce the parts for the car transporters, making it one of the most self-sufficient manufacturing bases in the country.
As well as their production line being self-sufficient due to their close proximity to their own suppliers, Transporter Engineering prides itself on their full green credentials.
““As a group we are extremely proud of our green credentials, and are fortunate to be able to fulfil our power requirements on Gosfield Airfield from renewable energy sources. Every aspect of our renewable chain is totally under our control within our group, from planting the seed of the plant that feeds our Anaerobic Digester, to the electricity that the welder and fitter use when building a car transporter.””
Many of the workshops on site have been purpose built to be eco-friendly, and all operations are powered by the renewable sources right on the Gosfield Airfield. It’s home to a large solar farm, spanning over 50 acres and consisting of almost 45,000 panels, which is able to power the factory during daylight hours, and an Anaerobic Digester which processes organic matter from the farms also on site, which produces 3,000 tons of organic fertilizer and is able to power the some of the factories, replacing an otherwise significant usage of fossil fuels. All the surplus energy collected from both the Solar Farm and Anaerobic Digester is then exported to the local grid, which helps to power thousands of homes and businesses in the area.
Transporter Engineering’s solar farm, which serves as clean energy for the site as well as a space for wildlife to flourish underneath.
Barry Poulter, the Managing Director of Transporter Engineering Ltd, has been with the business for 14 years; having started on the shop floor, he worked his way up before being made Managing Director shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Prior to COVID, having fully established their self-sufficiency through their green credentials, the business had tried to turn their focus to diversifying their range and creating a constant flow of production and demand for their products, which was only exacerbated by the arrival of the pandemic and the difficulties it brought for businesses across the country and Europe, with supply shortages and delayed delivery times and staff shortages.
Team members at the Gosfield site carrying out quality inspections
As the business was turning a corner due to the unpredictability of demand and the boom of the smaller car market when coming out of the other side of the pandemic, Barry felt that his senior and junior management teams could benefit from a refreshed outlook, and that something needed to change to help the teams all work toward the one goal moving forward for Transporter Engineering; longevity and creating a more colleague-based environment.
After having previously worked with Graham Broughton at The Consortium, a business support network and mentoring service, Barry registered for the Peer Network Programme Group2Grow. The Group2Grow program, delivered by expert business coaches on behalf of Backing Essex Business, was specifically created to bring together business owners from across the county to help them to solve issues their business is facing and find solutions. The cohorts of likeminded businesspeople come together once every fortnight to attend a session guided by their business coach, where they will discuss common problems faced in running a business and discuss how they can overcome it together. In addition to the group sessions, each participant benefits from 3 hours of 1:2:1 mentoring to discuss their individual problems and goals.
Through the sessions, the cohorts select specific topics to discuss, which can range from sales, marketing, leadership skills and more, and are then able to speak about any barriers or issues their business is currently facing, benefitting from the knowledge and experience of their peers to work together and find solutions.
““I think meeting with other business leaders gives you an indication of whether you’re doing things well, and learning how other the businesses are run and getting advice from your peers gives your ideas on things to implement into your own business. As a larger business in the cohort we could give out advice, and we found that win/win mentality - every business had something to offer and take away from it.””
Barry felt that the sales and marketing element of the program was extremely helpful, having been something that the team had always struggled with. Adding in the difficult landscape of an unpredictable future for the car industry, the expert-led sessions provided some clarity on how Transporter Engineering Ltd can strengthen their marketing and sales strategy while moving forward into newer markets, like the used car, recycling and salvage market, and provide them a more sustainable business model in the future, and the invaluable peer network a reassuring nod that they were moving the right direction.
““If you’re a senior or junior business leader, by joining Group2Grow you’ll meet other likeminded business people that are facing the same problems as you, and you’ll be able to come to good practical solutions. Being a leader is quite lonely, so I think the groups give you a bit of assistance and guidance to run your ideas past people. The group effort is invaluable - you can lean on your peers, ratify what you’re doing well and what you’re not doing so well.””
