Big contract pending

When times get tough there’s nothing like family pulling together, and this is what Robertson Freight believes is its secret weapon. That combined with an innate belief in the winning power of ‘personal service’. “Robertson Freight is very much a family-orientated business,” Brian Robertson told FTW. “We started our business in 1999, and 95% of our staff (currently a total of 15) are family.” Brian and his brother Neil are co-directors of this clearing and forwarding agency and between them can claim a total of 65 years’ experience in the industry. According to Brian, the family business has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and the reason for this market growth is simple: “We are small and we provide our clients with a very personalised service. “We deal with individual problems and shipments on a one to one basis,” he told FTW. “And we are always available, 24 hours a day.” A bright light on the horizon is that the company has hopefully managed to secure a big contract related to 2010. “Whatever happens, I don’t think business will slow down,” he adds, “although I do envisage there will still be a lot of bad debt in the market place.” While Brian is most optimistic for the future from the industry point of view, he does foresee a huge problem when it comes to credit applications and a lack of communication within his industry… being used as bankers, but not treated as bankers.