Recession busters

Logistics boss stays upbeat

AN entrepreneur who has invested more than £60,000 to relocate his business to Oldham is working overtime to overcome the effects of the recession.

Managing director Graham Fisher (41) has moved his Logistics Alliance business into Drury Lane premises, formerly occupied by Concept Cycles.

Despite the loss of a major contract when Woolworths went into administration at Christmas, only months after he agreed to take up the 150,000 sq ft site in Chadderton, Mr Fisher remains upbeat and confident that his investment will pay dividends.

He said: “There is no disguising the fact that times are difficult, but there are also opportunities for enterprising businesses and we are in a position where we can offer first-class facilities.

“We have a service to sell and we all have to ensure that we give our customers nothing but the best.

“Our existing customers are delighted with how we contribute to their business. We handle all the warehousing and shipping. We can also handle collection from point of source in Pakistan, China and the Far East, allowing our clients to concentrate on marketing and sales.

“It is a formula that is working for people in a range of industries.”

Mr Fisher, from Castleton, has 20 years’ experience of the logistics industry, working for two of Europe’s largest companies.

A change in personal circumstances allowed him the opportunity to go it alone and, with nothing in the briefcase other that his extensive contacts book, he took 14,000 sq ft of warehousing space near Stakehill and set about finding work for his fledgling business.

That was in 2004. Within four years he had outgrown the initial premises and was looking to move. The site in Drury Lane, with its 40,000 sq ft of warehousing and a further 110,000 sq ft of secure yard storage for containers, and only a turning circle from Junction 22 of the M60, presented an ideal opportunity.

On target for a turnover of £700,000 in the current financial year, a relentlessly optimistic Mr Fisher is determined to double that figure.

He has established a sister company, Logistics Alliance (Transport) Ltd, run by director Chris Dee, from Rochdale, to support the parent operation.

The business, which has nine employees, has a national client base and Mr Fisher is convinced that his vision of the future will see Logistics Alliance live up to his ambitions — right here in Oldham.