A Lancashire haulier’s head office was hit with more than a meter of flooding after Storm Desmond burst the banks of the nearby river, while The Pallet Network (TPN)has used its network to provide supplies to those made homeless by the flooding.
Staff at Palletforce member SJ Bargh had to work through the night to save its garage equipment (pictured after the worst of the water had been cleared), while an area-wide power outage meant there was no electricity or mobile phone signal for communication.
The logistics provider, which collects more than 4,000,000 litres of milk a day, moved all of its vehicles to another site when the storm hit last weekend, and said it did not miss a single collection despite the severe weather conditions.
MD Anthony Finlayson-Green said: “Our primary commitment was to look after our staff and our customers. I am extremely proud of my team and their commitment to SJ Bargh demonstrating in the most extreme of situations your business is in 'safe hands'!”
Palletforce said its operation had been unaffected by the storm, despite record peak-time volumes.
Sales director at member haulier WM Armstrong, Geof Armstrong, said: "The area we cover includes Carlisle, Keswick, Cockermouth and many other areas badly affected by the flooding. The disruption to the road network has been enormous, and even getting to work has been terribly challenging and difficult."
“It’s a tribute to our workforce that despite the conditions, and the increased volumes at this time of year, we have managed to maintain our level of service to customers across the UK.”
TPN, along with member hauliers including SCS Logistics, responded to the flooding in Cumbria by using its network of 115 depots to move emergency supplies to those whose homes had been flooded by the storm.
The pallet network is encouraging people to take donations of packaged, non-perishable foods and other items to their local TPN depot, from where the donations will be delivered to those in need “free of charge”.
MD Mark Duggan said: “We are only too happy to help the people who have lost so much in Cumbria by doing what we do well – fast, efficient shipping of the UK’s freight.”
SCS also opened its HQ in Morecombe as a relief centre for the estimated 5,000 people who’s homes are uninhabitable.
MD Sandra Cottam-Shea said: “As I speak I’ve heard that there are 5,000 homeless families and that Penrith has run out of food. We all need to do whatever we can to keep these people warm, safe and fed.”
