Mitchell Storage and Distribution’s (MSD's) Fortec membership has helped it win a contract with national food services supplier Driver’s Foods.

The family firm will distribute Driver's products, which include pickled onions, eggs and gherkins, to wholesalers supplying fish and chip shops across the UK.

The deal covers distribution of between 45 and 75 pallets a week through MSD and Fortec. The operator has been a Fortec member for seven years.

Glenn Mitchell, commercial director of MSD, said Fortec’s network and telesales services together with MSD’s IT system and high levels of service had been central to helping the company clinch the deal.

He said: “Our IT system was a key selling point in winning the contract but we won the business because of our hands-on approach with communication, our service and consistency.”

He added: “A key benefit for any customer of the Fortec network is the consistency of our on-time deliveries as per their own customers’ requests, also our handling of their products. We know goods transported through the Fortec network arrive in a better condition when compared to other networks in the UK.”

Leicestershire-based MSD recently won Fortec’s Commercial Excellence Award. The company, which was founded by Bill Mitchell in 1996, employs 38 staff and operates a 20-strong fleet from its 30,000ft² warehouse. It has a client base of more than 100 customers.

Mitchell said: “It is the service of Fortec and its members, as much as our own, that has helped us maintain our customers and grow our portfolio.”