A former serviceman with the Royal Signals who set up his own logistics firm in Teesside after leaving the forces is celebrating a successful decade in business.
Craig Wells initially struggled to find work after leaving the Army and was described as “the most qualified unemployed person I’ve seen” by his Job Centre rep.
With the support of the Job Centre, who signed him up for several courses on starting his own business, Craig set up T&B Solutions in Redcar and has never looked back.
Managing director Craig works alongside his wife, son, brother and cousins at the family-run firm, which started out with one vehicle and now has a fleet of 26.
It rubberstamped its ongoing growth by becoming a member of the Wolverhampton-based Pallet-Track network earlier this year, delivering palletised freight across the region, as well as providing general road haulage services throughout the UK and Europe.
To support its growth and celebrate a decade in business, T&B Solutions has just purchased a new Iveco S-WAY 490 truck and planted a tree to help offset its carbon emissions.
Along with transport services, T&B Solutions also provides CPC training and first aid courses.
Craig said: “When I first started it wasn’t planned this way – it was just me and one truck! I started as a one-man band and only bought my second truck to help a friend out with some work.
“Ever since I started running two vehicles, I began to diversify the business and it started to grow. I developed a reputation for reliability and it has gone from there.
“I used to be in HGV training and a forklift instructor – so the ambition longer-term is to become a one-stop shop for logistics and training, all under one roof.”
Serving with the Royal Signals across the UK and Germany gave Craig a mindset to succeed after leaving the forces.
He said: “Initially, I struggled to find work and my rep at the Job Centre said, ‘You’re the most qualified unemployed person I know!’. They were very supportive, put me on courses to start my business and I’ve never looked back.
“The mindset was already there – as the old saying goes, where there’s a will there’s a way.”
Looking ahead to the developing relationship with Pallet-Track, Craig added: “We started in January, so we’re eight months in and it’s already opened a lot of avenues for us. It has definitely benefited us as a business.”
Stuart Godman, CEO of Pallet-Track, said: “Congratulations to Craig and the whole team at T&B Solutions – 10 years in business is a fantastic achievement and we are already seeing the benefits of having a company of its calibre as a member of our network.
