Introducing Express Van

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

Of all the interesting and unusual things I’ve transported, my favourite would have to be the full-size replica of the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. It was not designed with ease-of-shipping in mind. Another anecdote that people find interesting involves three vans full of gold bars from Paris to Toulouse. I arranged a convoy of five vans, with two empty to accompany the others.

What has been your favourite moment when helping a client?

A job well-done is always satisfying. None more so than arranging a transport of 15,000kgs of goods from the UK to Hungary. I arranged for fifteen vans to load and depart in a 4 hour window, so they then could make the delivery on time.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I love sport, poker and go-karting, and my passion is travelling to explore new places.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

There are some deliveries that are so interesting, or so challenging that they stick in the mind. One challenging example was transporting a coffin to Pakistan within 24 hours of the person sadly passing. A highly stressful delay was caused when Heathrow found that lead-lining was blocking their x-ray. After some urgent negotiations Heathrow agreed to use dogs to certify the cargo as safe.

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

As for my most interesting and memorable job it has to be the wedding carriage of the then, Prince Charles, and Lady Diana. It caused a lot of nostalgic excitement in the team, and we all just had to touch the carriage, which is now our claim-to-fame.

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

I sent a refrigerated van full of fresh crabs from Whitby to Monaco. Time was of the essence, but not only to preserve the freshness of the crabs. It was time sensitive because it had to be delivered in time for a private party aboard a superyacht. The yacht was owned by a very famous person, but naturally I won’t tell who.

If urgent crabs aren’t interesting enough I can tell you about the 40 foot Christmas Tree and its 350km trek through the snow of a Polish winter. The snow was so bad it took our driver two days to reach Warsaw Old Town. Even so, our driver beat Santa by several hours!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

At weekends you’ll often find me riding my motorcycle through the Yorkshire Dales.

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

As part of a team of transport and courier experts we get to work with clients from a vast range of industries. We can do it all, but it’s always extra exciting when your client comes from a personal passion. I’m a dedicated follower of fashion so I can’t tell you how happy I was to arrange transport for the Spanish fashion house, Balenciaga.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

It’s not always fun, in fact most of the time our job is to avoid excitement. This is especially true with ADR goods. As most of you will know, that’s the “European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road”. It can be a challenge, but is always satisfying.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I’m a really active person and love to keep fit.

What has been your favourite moment when helping a client?

Getting the things people need to the places they need them. That’s a simple, but accurate description of what we do at Express Van. That’s never been more true, and important than when we were asked to help transport humanitarian aid to Ukraine. A challenging, but uplifting goal. The customer wrote to us to say how much good had been accomplished. That was a special moment.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

I once had an extremely time critical job when a boat ran into difficulties and became stuck, blocking the Port of Gibraltar. We had to obtain special passes from the Gibraltan port authorities so we could ship the parts for the repairs.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I like to walk and to travel. If I’m not doing that, I’m likely watching sport.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

In September 2022 a fuel tanker ran aground after a collision off the coast of Gibraltar. Expert divers would be needed to avoid a major ecological disaster, as the tanker was transporting nearly 500 tonnes of fuel.

The salvage team is UK based with only 48 hours to get their scuba equipment on site. I personally arranged a weekend reopening of the customs office in Gibraltar so they could meet our driver and expedite the delivery. I am very proud to have been involved.

What has been your favourite moment when helping a client?

We were asked to return the personal effects of a deceased lady to her family in Poland. There are a surprising amount of customs formalities involved. We cleared all the hurdles en route. I was glad to help in such a sad time.

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

Sometimes I’ll be involved in shipping something unusual and awkward to handle, like the Iron Throne to a Game of Thrones set. Sometimes it’s something surprising, like … erm, marital aids. Well, we’re always discrete.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

Working within such a highly experienced team means there’s really nothing we can’t handle. Often it’s not the item itself exactly, but the circumstances surrounding a transport that brings the challenge. We arranged a shipment of several pallets containing mobile phones from the UK mainland to Ireland. Phones are high value items, and a potential security risk, so the consignment needed a Police escort to the UK port and on from Dublin.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Outside of work I am training in martial arts to unwind, and like to read to relax.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

I always get a kick out of solving complex logistical puzzles. We had a contract to pick up multiple loads and deliver to locations all across the UK. The pickup and delivery times were all fixed, leaving little margin for error. Our solution required 51 vans over a 48 hour period. It was challenging, but very rewarding.

Another that I like involves a shipment from Bradford on a Friday, for clearance and delivery in Italy on the Monday. That sounds routine, and it would be, except the load was a very valuable machine – worth over £1,000,000. That’s a precious cargo. The customs clearance itself takes a bit of time to arrange.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I’m a very active person and love to walk, run and mountain climb.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

In this industry you have to be ready to rise to a challenge. I remember a transport from the UK to Serbia across the Hungarian border. Our driver found customs unwilling to help. After three days of back and forth our driver was ready to give up. After many many phone calls I got through to the manager and persuaded him to help. It all required a lot of patience and energy.

What has been your favourite moment when helping a client?

I fondly remember a transport of personal interest to me. A shipment of Louis Vuitton handbags across France. This required a lot of special care and attention as they expect perfection every step of the way.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I like a nice walk in nature to recharge my batteries, and I love to paint landscapes.

What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you’ve ever transported?

It would have to be a 1,000kgs solid basalt statue of Buddha, moved from Italy back to UK. Proof that even express transport can bring tranquility!

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

We’ve always been a specialist mover of goods to Europe so rather than any single movement, I would have to say the most challenging time was adjusting to Brexit. The complete shift from frictionless movement of goods to having customs on everything was most definitely challenging.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Spending time with friends, discovering the World and enjoying a pint of ice cold beer in excellent company.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve ever transported / most challenging circumstance?

My most challenging shipment concerned plant equipment in Italy bound for Poland. We had to instruct carriers from several different companies. The transport required five vehicles, with collection requiring a complete removal of the awning and associated racks. The unloading also needed a crane, operated in a very narrow space. It was a big job!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I like to explore new countries and so spend as much of my holiday as I can travelling.