A Sheffield transport company formed just after the Second World War that grew with the city’s mighty steel industry is now celebrating its 80th year in business.
Shepherd Distribution Services first opened its doors in 1946 thanks to the vision of founder Jack Shepherd.
He ran the firm until son Raymond picked up the baton, before the family haulage company was sold in the 1990s and then later acquired by Laurence Abel and Ian Davis in 2010.
Shepherd Distribution Services provided a lifeline for local families in the Sheffield area and even today it continues to enjoy stable growth and success on the back of steel manufacturing.
When Abel joined the business 16 years ago company turnover stood at £5.5m, with a workforce of around 70.
Today turnover is £11m and the workforce stands at just under 100. Its site has grown from three acres to six and its fleet has increased to 45.
Abel said one of the proudest accomplishments for the business in recent years was becoming an Employee Ownership Trust – ensuring the long-term independence and continuity of the business and offering stability to the workforce if and when he and business partner Davis decide to move on.
Abel said: “The business really grew in the 1970s and 1980s on the back of Sheffield’s metals and although the sector has completely changed since those days – the manufacturing side of it is so much more advanced – it is still a large part of what we do today.”
Abel said the Palletline member had been such a key player in the industry for so long that the name was now synonymous among locals.
Over the decades the company has provided a lifeline for hundreds of local workers, including some of today’s workforce who have been with the company at least 30 or 40 years.
Others have followed in their fathers’ and grandfathers’ footsteps working for the company.
He said: “There is a lot of loyalty in our business. Our longest serving staff member was 15 when he joined and is now 68 and we have one lady who started at 16 and is now 57.”
He added: “Even though the industry has changed there is still a lot of steel manufacturing locally with big-name companies like Rolls Royce and McLaren.
“Sheffield continues to do very well on the back of manufacturing and our company continues to grow in line with this.”
