Europa Worldwide - Inspirational Director Carlo Turner

Carlo Turner Non-Network and Continent Director of the superbly successful Europa Worldwide Group is no stranger to trying to get ahead. When not developing one of the most successful logistics companies in Northern Europe with his colleagues he is racing cars. Indeed, Carlo and some friends run an Endurance Car race team, so we were determined to ask him more about that. But it was the movement of goods that got Carlo excited when we spoke to him about the business of Europa Worldwide.

Carlo Turner is a serious businessperson who knows his subject of Logistics. He reports directly to CEO Andrew Baxter and has a brief to take forward the growing interests of their business in Belgium and The Netherlands

Europa has three divisions, Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea and Europa Warehouse. Carlo has the responsibility of developing the Benelux operation, which is part of Europa Road in the Benelux, and heads up branches in Belgium and the Netherlands and a team of 47 colleagues who are getting the job done.

With a passion for Logistics and a commitment to quality and customer service, Carlo speaks enthusiastically about how important the employees who make things happen at Europa Worldwide Group are and how he and they work together.

I started by asking Carlo to give me examples of why they are a success.

“I don’t have an office; I want to be on the floor with the people who are looking after our products and customer's goods.”

“I want to know the details of every job; however, I also want staff to know every detail of their job. Employees who know their job and how it interrelates with other departments are empowered.

“Colleagues and I need to know how work presents itself, people need to know the details of every process and I emphasise the devil is in the detail.

“I hope I am very approachable; I try to be.” “We have a responsibility to plan our customer's goods and ensure we deliver on our promises. We know what we want to do, and what we must do, idealism and realism combined mean best practice.”

I asked Carlo what he enjoyed about the work they do at Europa Worldwide Group:

“Logistics is a buzz; people do not acknowledge the intricacy. All the transport that is in the background.” “Every day is a different challenge. There is a lot of lateral thinking that is required. We are constantly trying to improve.”

“There needs to be pathways to get into Logistics from school and further education Logistics needs to get the appreciation it deserves.

There is not enough interest in a Transport degree, and it needs to be recognised as a profession. 

“Europa pioneered the first overnight express goods service between London and Paris which eventually connected every major European City.”

“Ten years ago, Andrew Baxter our CEO had a clear view, of creating a company that could affordably deliver and provide a high standard of service.” Andrew kickstarted an overhaul of the IT infrastructure and extended our regional reach. We have gone from 7-8 branches to 16 branches. Our Dartford hub handles 44,000 items a month.”

Carlo went on to talk about the development of Europa Road in the Benelux. 

“Before 2018 we used nominated partners, however with the acquisition of a well-established trailer operator we have developed our Benelux operation offering our clients the optimal solution for moving groupage, part-loads and full-loads to/from the UK . After four years the trailer operation was fully rebranded and integrated into Europa Worldwide Group with an expansion from 200 to 400 trailers and an increased product offering to our European clients.“

Carlo went on to explain how Europa enhanced their sales and operations teams in Ostend, modernised all their fleet and just like at the Dartford hub invested significantly into updated IT systems.

I put to Carlo that this was perhaps a very risky investment for a company with a major UK logistics operation post-Brexit. Carlo was frank in his assessment of how this was going to work out:

“Don’t be scared of Brexit or the EU” – “We (Europa) take the transport pressure away. "

Carlo explained that Europa had developed a service especially for the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) who wanted to trade to and from the UK catering for smaller groupage size shipments up to full trailer loads. 

"This means an SME does not have to hire a whole trailer for what might be a smaller shipment, but rather scale up and down as needed. Meanwhile, the administration and documentation can be handled by the team within Europa Worldwide Group. They have the internal expertise to assist SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) who are either starting on their trading journey between Europe and the UK who were being put off continuing due to Brexit."

Carlo explained how Europa offers a door-to-door solution with track and trace which will scale up as demand grows for an SME’s products. They apply their expertise and investment in logistics infrastructure thus allowing the customer to focus on their core activity. 

It was at this point during our conversation that I appreciated how much Carlo cares about the industry he is in and the company he works for. To say his boundless energy was contagious is not an exaggeration. I was wondering if it would be appropriate to even ask him about his other achievements in Endurance Motor Racing. Carlo said that outside of work this was his passion and there were several crossovers between getting it right at work and on the track.

Carlo’s team's main car is a BMW 130 Cup Car. The team has four volunteers and

four five young students. Carlo described what it was like at the start of the race:

“Imagine 25 cars in front and behind, the sport focuses the mind.”

“Pull the visor down, switch into race mode.”

Carlo said “Emotions, nerves and energy have to be under control” “If you let your emotions distract you, you are not focused, and the game face has to be on.” 

Carlo contrasted the start of a race with being at work. “When the lights go out you have to be on point.” 

It was interesting listening to Carlo explain how in endurance racing you cannot afford mistakes in machine or driver. The risks of making mistakes can be catastrophic and of course, his desire for his team to succeed in the sport was catching. 

His explanation of the focus on the sport of endurance motor racing brought us back to the conversation about logistics. There was a handover between the previously described “attention to detail”

"and everyone needs to know how their role fits with others in a team." 

We returned to Brexit.

“Brexit was a game changer” Carlo admitted. “However, unlike competitors who were waiting to see what a deal looked like, Europa Worldwide Group took the view it did not matter what a deal looked like, one thing was for sure, Customs was going to be involved. . We set up Customs companies in Europe to safeguard business. We encouraged trade using inco-terms DDP (Duty Delivery Paid) ) where gains complete control and the consignee does not need to engage in the process. Europa Road manages shipments with DDP ensuring our clients get pre-Brexit transit times. Customers can sell into Europe with confidence.”

It is worth noting that Carlo called this the Europa Flow concept as a brand name for the service and it is very prominent on their website. At the heart of what they offer is the statement:

Europa Flow takes care of customs declarations and duty requirements, in advance of shipments arriving at their destination; and removes the need for import VAT payments in Europe.

Unlike DAP, with DDP incoterms your shipments don’t need to stop while VAT and duty is paid- so you can breathe easy while your shipments flow smoothly.

Europa Road has invested £5.2 million into the creation of Customs companies in France, Belgium and The Netherlands. Under the branding of Europa Flow, an SME in the UK can use the services of Europa and in effect have no more steps than they would have had pre-Brexit due to the expertise and logistics behind the operation. 

Thank you to Carlo Turner of Europa Worldwide Group for your time.

Europa Worldwide Group Contact details:

International Logistics Solutions | Europa Worldwide (europa-worldwide.com)

https://www.europa-worldwide.com/