A shift in leadership and recent rebranding mark Welch Group’s 90th year in business
When we last spoke with Chris Welch around one year ago, he was the Commercial and Operations Director of Transport at Welch’s Transport. As we sit down to catch up on the company’s latest developments on the cusp of its 90th anniversary, there have been two key changes: the business has rebranded to become Welch Group (Welch), and Chris has taken over as Managing Director.
“2024 marks Welch’s 90th year in business,” Chris opens. “Alongside celebrations, we’ve used this milestone to piece together several developments from the last few years, as well as completing an entire rebrand. Personally, I’ve changed roles, having taken over from my father as Managing Director in April. Although my day-to-day role hasn’t changed too much, it’s quite an accomplishment for me to have the title just before my 40th birthday!
“As a family operation, it’s a pleasure to sit in an office with my old man every day, who hasn’t fully retired, but instead taken on the role of Finance Director. My
younger brother is also now Group Head of Operations, completing his inauguration; any family member that joins must spend two-to-three years on the floor, spending time in each department to fully understand operations from several perspectives.”
One of Chris’ first initiatives was to rebrand the business. “We have multiple logistics-based businesses within the group, but they were fairly segregated into different divisions like warehousing, transport, truck centers, ecommerce, and installations,” he explains. “This meant many of our customers didn’t understand our complete service offering or weren’t aware of the services we offer.
“I took the approach of consolidating the group and refreshing the brand in celebration of our 90th anniversary, as opposed to a branding overhaul. We had to be respectful of our heritage but evolve the branding to suit modern audiences, so we kept similar fonts and sizing, as well as keeping a circular logo. Also, in the logistics sector, companies are recognized for their lorries, and ours have always been blue and cream, so we retained our classic colors for roadside visibility. During this process, I worked with our historian to analyze previous logos, and it has been amazing to see historical documents including my great-grandad’s logbook of Welch’s first ever journey in 1934.
“Part of the rebranding exercise was rolling out a new website to clearly communicate our service portfolio to new and existing customers. While we’ve updated our signs, stationery, and uniforms, we’re also rebranding our vehicles as they come out of service, as we recycle our fleet of every seven-to-ten years regardless. This is a practical and sustainable way of rebranding our fleet of around 100 vehicles, and it also means that by our centenary in 2034, all trucks will be on the road with our updated branding.”
Green strategies
Turning to decarbonization, Chris is keen to update us on the company’s progress. “We’re beginning to take a stance as one of the UK’s leaders in decarbonization, particularly among SMEs,” he states. “We’ve also implemented AI technology to streamline fleet allocation and route optimization, and we’re already seeing a five percent saving on mileage.
“We’re involved with several consortiums and programs in the sustainability realm, including a government program to demonstrate how the UK can move to alternative fueled vehicles. As part of this scheme, we’re hoping to have our first electric 42-ton lorry on the road in October. Alongside this, we’re the only SME to be part of a consortium headed up by Voltempo, which is not only testament to decarbonization efforts but also to SMEs more broadly.
“One of the biggest barriers to decarbonization is the UK’s EV charging infrastructure. We’re part of a charging consortium too, which aims to build and launch charging hubs in members’ depots that could also be shared with the public in the future. In the area of EVs, we’re working with the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Sustainable Freight on an initiative called Jolt, which harvests battery and telematics data from our EVs to dive into the scientific benefits and show how incremental gains have a huge impact in the long term.
“Sustainability is a key priority for us, as we recognize that we are our customers’ Scope 3 emissions,” he says. “As our customers address their emissions, they are increasingly contacting us for our emissions data and asking us to find more sustainable solutions. I’m honored to share that our commitment has been marked by me being named as number two in the top 50 decarbonization power players in the UK.”
New era
Welch’s collaborative approach extends to its working relationships too. “We’ve been working with SEC for around six years, but most recently, they installed racking to help us establish our warehousing division,” Chris reveals. “With around 100,000 square feet of warehousing space between two sites, we needed effective racking solutions, but we didn’t want to purchase the assets in one go.
“SEC go above and beyond for us, designing, staging, and installing the best solutions based on variables like height, walls, layout, and gas lines. Damian and his team completed a phased installation to coincide with our requirements, and we’ve since completed three more installations together over the last 12 months. SEC is currently designing autonomous robotic solutions, which is a very exciting concept for further down the line.”
As our conversation ends, Chris shares his vision for leading Welch Group into a new era. “I’m grateful that my father has provided my brother and I with a very strong foundation to build on, and with 12 acres here at our Cambridge site, there’s plenty of room to breathe and potential for growth,” he reflects. “I’m perhaps more entrepreneurial than the generations before me, having already started our e-commerce division and growing the warehousing operation.
“We’re always open to growth opportunities, but our overall focus is on consolidating what we call the three Ps: parcels, pallets, and planes,” Chris concludes. “We’ll strive to maintain our position at the forefront of the industry’s decarbonization journey, and we hope our name will become synonymous with decarbonization and net-zero objectives in the SME space.”