CS Ellis enjoys year of growth as investment in team and business pays off

A fresh, young leadership team and a commitment to promoting from within are starting to pay dividends at family haulage firm CS Ellis.

Speaking to MT to mark Palletline’s 25th anniversary last year, the pallet network’s former chairman and CS Ellis’s current chairman, Trevor Ellis, said his son and daughter had really got a handle on the business since he stepped down a few years back.

“The business has completely changed, they run it better than I did,” Ellis said, adding that while he still goes in most days he is now in the privileged position that meant he can “walk out when I want to. I’m not in the cut and thrust of it all anymore”.

Son Charles (chief executive) and daughter Hayley (human resource director) are supported by FD Duncan Clarke and operations director Peter Turner.

“They are doing well attracting and training people,” said Ellis, who added that the business had experienced some disasters when it had tried to bring people into it from outside.

CS Ellis runs a discretionary bonus scheme open to its 130-plus employees, conducts one to one appraisals and runs a staff survey and training plan.

A reliance on agency staff in previous years hurt profit at the business but Ellis said the firm had, at least for now, addressed this.

“It’s pleasing to see it grow and prosper. We’re happy with how it’s going. But it’s still tough, let’s not mess about,” Ellis said.

Newly published accounts reveal turnover grew 5.8% year on year to £13.27m. £2.2m was spent in the year on developing its Wireless Hill and Whetstone sites, as well as the creation of additional warehouse space and the purchase of trailers for the general fleet.

Pre-tax profit for the period at £211,000 was broadly in line with 2016’s £221,000.

The haulier has also diversified with a number of ventures that incorporate a transport element but do not have it at their core, such as events business Versatile Venues.