As part of our 50-year celebrations, we took the time to reflect on the growth of Laser over the last 50 years.

Laser Transport International Ltd was established in 1973 in Dover and was initially engaged in the importation of new cars, customs clearance and associated activities. The company quickly expanded into transport, rapidly outgrew its Dover premises and in 1979 moved to Lympne Distribution Park, just 6.5 miles from what would become the UK Channel Tunnel Terminal.

Work on the Channel Tunnel began in 1987 and during the later stages of construction and commissioning, Laser worked closely with LeShuttle Freight (previously known as Eurotunnel) on commercial matters, service studies and provided trucks for live testing and the evaluation of its facilities.

On 19^th May 1994 Laser was privileged to have the first commercial vehicle to travel from the UK to France and has been a customer of LeShuttle Freight ever since.

This year, Laser have collaborated with LeShuttle Freight to recreate the image from 1994 and we are so pleased with the results. These images reflect the history and grounding of Laser International and highlights the developments in our branding, livery and vehicle investment and represents our new growth as part of the Currie Solutions Group.

The images also emphasise that despite the developments, the heart of our business still is, and always will be, the same great service, knowledge and experience.

Thank you to LeShuttle Freight for being a fantastic partner to work with on this project and we are excited to celebrate your 30-year anniversary next year.

And thank you to three of our fantastic drivers for also being excellent models, Roy in 1994 and Dan and Karl in 2023.

The countdown to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations have started early at Laser! We are primed and ready to tackle all of your shipping needs.

Get in touch for a quick and competitive quotation today!

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. IWD is being celebrated on 8th March this year and the theme is #BreakTheBias

During the First World War, 100,000 women entered the transport industry when women had to take on the roles previously held by men, who were enlisted into the military. This kick-started women being recognised and given opportunities in roles that were previously only reserved for men.

The transport and logistics industry is one of the biggest in the UK, with over 1 million employees. In 2022, women make up 20% of the industry’s workforce and 1% of all UK truck drivers are women.

Despite only making up 20% of the industry’s workforce, numerous studies have highlighted the positive impact of women on the performance of the industry. Here are 5 of the most powerful women identified in the logistics and transport industry. 

https://www.toolbox.com/supplychain/supply-chain-management/articles/international-womens-day-5-most-powerful-women-in-logistics/

There are a number of associations that have been set up to guide, connect and support women in the transport industry. Two of the key associations are Women in Transport and the CILT Women in Transport and Logistics, both of which are linked below.

https://www.womenintransport.com/

https://www.cilt.ie/Join-CILT/Women-in-Logistics-Transport

Happy International Women’s Day from everyone at Laser Transport!

All of us at Laser Transport would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We would like to thank all of our agents, partners and clients who have shown their continuous support this year. Throughout what has been a trying time for the transport and logistics industries, due to Brexit, COVID-19 and the international driver shortage, Laser have continued to grow, adapt and diversify to rise to the challenges offered. As a company we have grown in staff numbers, introduced a new in-house customs department and continued to utilise the resources being a member of the Currie Solutions Group has to offer. Across the team, we are excited for what the New Year will bring and are looking forward to welcoming our clients, both new and old, back in the New Year.

On Friday 17th December, the Currie Solutions Group took part in a Christmas Jumper Day in memory of a valued colleague that sadly passed away this year. Below are some pictures of the Laser branches and their festive efforts.

Thank you again and Merry Christmas from all of us at Laser Transport!

Please click link below to view the Palletline Peak Planning – Volume Management Process document.

Laser Transport put their best bake forward for the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning 2021 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

On Friday 24th September 2021, Laser’s Hythe HQ took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer Support and raised a grand total of £155.00!

This contributed towards an amazing £624,053 already raised so far by the Coffee Morning this year, which is enough to fund 11 Macmillan nurses for a year. Macmillan’s Coffee Morning is their biggest fundraising event and has raised over £290 million since the first ever Coffee Morning was hosted in 1990.

Our star bakers rallied around to produce some delicious cakes (and savouries).

Macmillan understand how cancer affects people’s lives and are dedicated to treating people as individuals, not patients. The money raised by Laser HQ could help run the Online Community forum for over 6 hours, providing on average nearly 396 people affected by cancer with emotional and practical support.

A big thank you to our Senior Import Operations Co-Ordinator, Jess, for arranging the event, to our bakers for their delicious bakes and all of the staff for their donations.

If you would like to donate to Macmillan, or find out more about their Coffee Morning events, please click the link.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual celebration of motorsport and car culture where fans gather to enjoy unrestricted access to the machines and drivers. The first festival was in 1993 where Goodwood welcomed 25,000 fans. Since then, the success of the event has grown year on year to the impressive event it is today.

The 2021 Festival of Speed finally celebrated 2020’s planned theme of ‘The Maestros – Motorsport’s Great All-Rounders’ after the event was postponed due to Covid-19. This event aimed to celebrate drivers, teams and manufacturers who have shown greatness by succeeding across a variety of motorsport disciplines.

One of these manufacturers, Suzuki, planned and executed a great motorcycle class focused on ‘50 Years of Suzuki in Grand Prix Racing.’ The class featured 11 motorcycles. This included all 7 of their World Championship winning bikes, including Barry Sheene’s first championship winning Suzuki bike. Laser International were excited to be a part of this event and arranged the transport of one of these bikes from Team Suzuki MotoGP in Italy to the UK, and the safe return of the bike. 

It was an honour to be a part of this exciting movement. Everyone at Laser International extend their congratulations to Suzuki for putting on a world-class display and to Goodwood for organising such a fantastic event! 

For any further information about the services we can offer, please contact us at sales@laserint.co.uk

Following the events of 2020, it is time to have a little fun and ensure we are all spreading the Christmas spirit this year. Therefore, the Currie group will be holding an internal staff Christmas Jumper day on the 21^st December. We have encouraged all staff to take part in this and take photographs (socially distanced of course) to be posted on our Websites and Social media outlets, so keep your eyes peeled.

This year, as a group, we will be supporting the Parkinson’s UK charity so please click the link below and head over to our Currie group Just Giving page.  All kind donations are appreciated as this will go to a good cause.  We will also be holding internal staff raffles for any gifts that are sent into the business which will help raise a bit more cash.

Let’s be part of the breakthrough!
Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and 2 people every hour are diagnosed. And currently there is no cure. There’s hope for new treatments by the end of 2024. With our support we can help Parkinson’s UK get closer to a cure.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/curriesolutions

Laser transports high value Airbus satellite structures, (worth £5 – £ 50 M),  between the UK and France / Germany in particular.  As such, because these are abnormal sized containers they often take a fair degree of logistical planning / organising, including abnormal permits, crane lifting, and escort vehicles during the transit, with specially trained Laser drivers.  The photo is one of Airbus’s large containers recently leaving Lympne. Laser driver Peter Knowles is currently involved in moving a large container to Germany and back;  and the following rewarding message came from the German Quality engineer tasked with accompanying the container within Germany.  We know all Laser staff in the office, driving, and in the warehouses make strong efforts to always deliver quality services to all of our customers,  and the Company thanks you all for what you do each day.   

The below is a welcome customer ‘thank you’

Hello Julian,

This is Uli, your friendly Airbus German escort car driver (and quality responsible). 

Frankly, I am known to occasionally get into arguments with drivers, particularly about securing the load.  Since I am rather outspoken when I see issues, I should be equally outspoken when there are none. 

The transport of this critical element of our satellite went very smoothly, in large part due to the diligence and initiative of your driver Peter Knowles.  Airbus Stevenage had introduced him as your best driver and in fact we could not have asked for a better one.  What I particularly like about Peter is that he understands not only the monetary value of his load but also its significance for the project schedule.  Even the empty container gets his full attention.

I hope we can continue to work together in this manner,  and I would like to thank you for your work.

Regards,  Uli.   Airbus, Immenstadt, Germany.

With effect, Currie Solutions have acquired Laser International Transport with headquarters based in Hythe, Kent and hubs also based in Coventry and Swindon. Our Business will be merged with the Currie Group and bring several benefits on both sides which include, Increased revenues, enhanced geographical footprint and wider pallet network opportunities which will implement and impact our services better for our receiving customers.

We look forward to working together and moving forward as one business.

Laser has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 BIFA Freight Service Awards in the category of Project Forwarding.

The subject of the submission was ‘Space, the final frontier’, which was a summary of some significant work carried out over the past 10 years, for the transport and delivery of satellite ground stations and observatory equipment across the globe, by air, sea and road. Main countries being Australia, Chile, Qatar, Oman and Hawaii.

Our graduate recruitment programme very quickly establishes new recruits into the ‘Laser Way’ and trains them in all aspects of the freight business.

We have recently taken on 4 new graduates and are keen for them to further their education in the freight industry.

We are pleased to confirm that our Clandestine Prevention Procedures continue to be accredited by the UK Border Force as can be verified through the button below:

In short, this means our Procedures have been audited by the UK Border Force and found to be in accordance with their recommendations. The migrant crisis in Europe and, in the Calais area especially, continues to create many challenges for transport operators and the application of accredited procedures helps us to minimise those risks.

The London Olympic and Paralympic Games, Summer 2012, were stunning occasions and proved what team GB could do on home soil and showcased our capital and Great Britain to the World. At Laser, Team spirit and the ‘family’ environment are key to our success. Our staff are our greatest assets and in November 2012, we held our annual celebratory dinner in Kent for 11 of our employees who have reached the milestone of 10 years or more service. Each received a Long Service Award certificate and gift. Over a third of our staff have now been with us over 10 years and a fifth over 20 years.

On the 5^th September revised Palletline Service Standards come into effect and a copy is attached for your information.  These changes have been reviewed and approved by the Palletline Member Management Committee and provide improvements or adjustments to reflect what can be achieved in practice in some remote areas.  The vast majority of service levels are unchanged.