FDBusiness.com

Leading independent freight forwarder The Woodland Group has been listed in The Sunday Times International Track 200 league table, placed at 162 above household names including Specsavers, Virgin Active and GHD

Essex, UK-based Woodland achieved its place on the prestigious list, which celebrates Britain’s most successful mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales, after seeing a rise in exports of English language books to China, India and Brazil.

Based in Chelmsford, Woodland provides freight forwarding and logistics services on an international basis. It operates a number of specialist divisions including Global, Media, Entertainment, Logistics and Excel. Its international sales grew more than 27pc a year from £43.1m in 2009 to £70m in 2011.

“This fantastic achievement – in the context of an extremely challenging and competitive marketplace – would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment shown by the entire Woodland team,” said John Stubbings, group director and company secretary.

“Recognition like this gives us the confidence to launch new services and target new markets around the world. There is clearly an opportunity for medium-sized logistics companies to thrive by offering value-added services and by going the extra mile for customers.”

Woodland was founded by Kevin Stevens in 1988. The company has grown from a single office in Essex to a truly international operation, with offices and appointed agents all around the world. More than 500 people are employed by the group.

Earlier this year, Woodland won the airfreight prize at the British International Freight Association’s Freight Services Awards after impressing judges with a dedicated management plan to grow the group’s air freight business.