Specialist drivers’ recruitment company breaks new ground through diversification

Release Date: 1st June 2010 Specialist drivers’ recruitment company breaks new ground through diversification A SPECIALIST recruitment company has broken new ground in the industry by diversifying to drive the business forward. For the first time Drivers Direct has taken over the running of one of its customers’ fleet of vehicles, rather than simply providing a transport manager from its bank of expert temps. Gethin Roberts, Drivers Direct managing director, said it is an “industry first” and the perfect illustration of how his company has diversified during the recession to continue to flourish. “When the recession first started a lot of people were saying diversification would help small businesses and we’ve done exactly that with remote transport management services, training and franchising,” he said. Drivers Direct was set up in 2002 and specialises in the recruitment and placement of temporary and permanent drivers of all classes. It was asked to provide a transport manager for a company that does car recovery and car body repair and Drivers Direct suggested the option of using a remote transport manager. The offer was accepted and Drivers Direct now runs the fleet of 15 vehicles from 10 depots. Mr Roberts added: “This is the first time it has happened because recruitment agencies just don’t do it. It proves we’re not just a recruitment agency but we understand the complexities of the transport law which is essential for our clients. “We have two qualified transport managers with the company which is quite unusual but essential in making the remote transport manager system work successfully. It’s exciting because there will probably be more opportunities like this for two main reasons. You have to take exams to be a transport manager and then need the experience to be any good at it which is what we’ve got in abundance. Also, there are fewer and fewer people coming into the industry which presents more natural business opportunities for us. Drivers Direct is a Fast 50 company in the recruitment industry and has also looked to provide more franchising opportunities throughout the UK with the latest one opening in Kent. Mr Roberts said: “One of the things that attracted us to them was that they ran their own transport so already had that knowledge of the industry. We’ve just got to teach them how to run the recruitment agency side of the business and I’m confident it will be a great success. “Recruitment remains our core business but these other areas like training and franchising keep us in touch with the training needs of customers and drivers. We are a small company with large ability and believe we can make event greater strides forward through our diversification.” -ENDS- Editor’s Note: Drivers Direct was set up in 2002 by four partners. Today, it is owned by three partners and run by Gethin Roberts, managing director and his management team, all of whom have backgrounds in both Recruitment and Distribution. The company specialises in the recruitment and placement of temporary and permanent drivers of all classes. Drivers Direct prides itself on the ability to work closely with clients and applicants to ensure that a quality service is provided overall. Drivers Direct employs 28 staff and has branches in Runcorn, Nuneaton, Northampton, Feltham, Sutton, Preston and Eastleigh. The company’s core business is driver recruitment and it has always tried to employee people who know about transport rather than just recruitment. Almost all of its consultants come from a transport, rather than recruitment background. For further information, please contact: Gary Lillistone, Bridge PR on tel: 024 76 520025, email: garyl@bridgepr.co.uk or Gethin Roberts, Drivers Direct on XXXXXXXXX.

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