Our History
Beginnings
Beacon roadways, an innovation in Transport that puts Customer Service, Quality of Performance and Employee engagement at the fore of its operation. Based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, literally at the heart of the country, it is ideally situated to serve you.
Beacon was founded in May 1977, when like a lot of things, transport was very different. In those days products were delivered on open back lorries and sheeted. Starting from its small yard in Oak Street Quarry Bank, Beacon was purely a general haulage business carrying everything from workbenches, stainless steel, timber and so on. This is long before Pallet Networks existed. Beacon drivers would load on a Friday and many would be out for several nights tramping the country.
The Middle Years
Beacon continued as a successful business but was limited by its ability to offer that overnight nationwide service, which increasingly its customer asked for. So Beacon tried to specialize in in offering what we called “Ugly Freight” stuff that the networks wouldn’t take. So we developed customers that were manufacturing Access Steps, Partitioning anything large and bulky and difficult to move and deliver. This was successful to a point.
The Take Over
In 2014 Beacon was sold to a new management team with a different outlook. The days of “Ugly Freight” were numbered. The health and safety issue in loading these products was very apparent to the new management team, and it was decided that Beacon needed to move in a more modern direction.
Transformation
In 2017 Beacon joined TPN – The Pallet Network, marking a major step forward in our growth. The transition wasn’t easy, but with the hard work of our team it became a turning point, driving rapid and profitable expansion. While we continue to offer general haulage, our focus on palletised distribution has fuelled our success and built a strong reputation in the industry.
Along the way, TPN’s partnerships with the Eddie Stobart Logistics Group and later the Culina Logistics family brought investment and expertise. These resources strengthened our capabilities and reinforced our commitment to delivering first class pallet distribution services.
Building Success
In 2018, we began the process of building our new warehouse facility, a major investment in the future of Beacon Roadways. This development not only allowed us to expand our delivery capacity but also enabled us to introduce pallet storage services for our customers. By combining storage and distribution under one roof, we created a more efficient and flexible operation. To give our customers greater choice and reliability in how their goods are handled and delivered.
A Time of Change
In February 2020 Beacon Roadways introduced a fresh new image. A move away from our well known “Ugly Freight Guy”, replacing him with the friendlier and more approachable “Pallet Man”. A new character we encourage our customers to look out for on our trucks.
Just a month later, the COVID-19 outbreak struck. Beacon Roadways was classified as a team of key workers. We ensured vital supplies were delivered safely and reliably across the country at a critical time. Our role expanded significantly during this period. We began transporting a wider variety of goods, ranging from essential supplies to items such as turf, adapting quickly to meet the nation’s changing needs.
In July 2020, a new chapter began for the business when Emma Pain was appointed Managing Director, bringing fresh leadership and vision to guide Beacon Roadways through both the challenges of the pandemic and the opportunities that followed.
Expanding Our Network
In 2024, Beacon Roadways expanded further by joining the Pall-Ex network, strengthening our service offering and giving customers even greater choice. This partnership allows us to provide flexible solutions across a wider range of pallet sizes. From small consignments to oversized loads, we ensure that every delivery fits our customers’ specific requirements. By working within two leading pallet networks, we can offer the perfect balance of reach, efficiency, and adaptability. Therefore, making sure our customers receive the best possible service every time.
Also, TPN unveiled its new purpose-built hub. The largest single-shed pallet network facility in the UK. This cutting edge site marks a major milestone in our journey. Enabling us to deliver unmatched capacity, efficiency, and sustainability benefits for our partners and customers.
Future Developments
Looking ahead, the evolution of Beacon Roadways is set to continue with our recent move to our new site The Old Forge we can offer a complete logistics solution. Our new 5-acre site based in Lye Stourbridge with its 38,000 sq ft warehouse to 7 mts high allows us to offer our customers short-term or long-term storage. Our recent investment in Pallet Racking gives us the ability to move to the next stage of our development. The purchase of Flexi Fork Trucks means we can utilize our space to the maximum, whilst also offering block storage. We haven’t lost sight of our humble beginnings over the coming months we are developing our general Haulage fleet to offer full and part loads either Artic, 18 tonne, 7.5 Tonne or 3.5 tonne we have the solution. To further enhance our offering, we now have Beacon XPort who can offer you international solutions.
Modernisation
In February 2025, we at Beacon Roadways began using Mandata, the leading UK transport management system. This powerful software is designed to modernise and digitise haulage operations by enabling us to plan, monitor, generate PODs, and manage invoicing seamlessly. By adopting Mandata, we are improving our internal logistics. This in turn enhances efficiency and helps us deliver a better overall experience to our customers.
Conclusion
The history of Beacon Roadways reflects the people who work in the company both past and present. Our core values have not and will not change, Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Belief and Accountability to our customers, suppliers and each other. This culminates to our purpose To Make Profit to Provide an Income for ALL. What does that mean who are the ALL. We want to help our customers to make Profit, our Suppliers to make Profit our employees to make profit and of course ourselves to make Profit, we are the ALL. When we all make Profit we pay each other, our employees and our taxes!