Future Forwarding Celebrating 45 Years

14 Oct Future Forwarding Celebrating 45 Years

Future Forwarding rang in a landmark birthday by doing what we’ve always done, what we’re known for, delivering excellent service to our customers.

Future Forwarding was born in Leeds, England on a cold day in 1977. Our founders purchased a secondhand typewriter from a thrift store to create airbills for our very first client and their shipment from Switzerland. Unsurprisingly, that very first client is still with us today.

Longevity is something a lot of companies talk about but there’s proof of that in our client base, and in our employee roster. We opened our first office in the US twenty one years ago, and there are employees who were there day one and are still there. In our UK offices, there are employees who’ve been with the company thirty years or more. 

That’s a testament to the kind of company culture you’ll find at Future Forwarding. Logistics is ultimately about people and relationships, and that’s the focus within the organization. President Colin Smith says, “Our core values are focused on a customer and employee-first model. We want to make the customer and employee experiences enjoyable. We’re building relationships.” 

In the early years of our US presence, there was a strong connection between the north of England and the southern US based on textiles, from machinery, to yarn, and other raw materials. We started with an office with four people and 1800 square feet and in the last nineteen years, have expanded to over 800,000 square feet. 

Future Forwarding has done a lot. From flying soccer balls to England’s team playing in Spain, to rackets to John McEnroe in New York, we’ve always been about service going hand in hand with innovation. 

Now, as we look to the future and the next forty-five years, we’re spreading our wings even farther with organic growth into new, strategic markets, all while continuing to polish our current foundations of service and strong interpersonal relationships. 

Happy Forty-Five, to all those who make us Future Forwarding!