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Container Sales (UK) Ltd, a privately owned company with offices in the North East and South East of England, was established in January 2002, as a joint venture between Keith Wilson and Charles Camp, to source and supply Mobile Mini Inc. (who, at that time were known as Ravenstock MSG) with used containers. It was later, in the same year, that the arrival of the first PTLU containers from Built exclusively for re-sale, these "one way shippers", the brainchild of Stuart Jarvis from Pentalver Transport, part of the A.P.Moller-Maersk Group, were about to revolutionise Container Sales in the UK. Using our experience of used containers we immediately recognised that the key to the success of the business lay in our ability to deliver newbuild containers directly to the point of sale. By harnessing the logistical expertise of our new partners to the extensive depot network of Mobile Mini Inc., we now had the resources to enable us to supply new containers nationwide. Right to the correct location AND in the specified quantity. In 2003, Container Sales (UK) Ltd formally entered into a consignment deal whereby any containers supplied for re-sale would be "on consignment". This deal, a concept of Kevin Mellifont, Chief Operating Officer and John Eaton, Operations Director of Ravenstock MSG, allowed CSUK to retain ownership of the equipment as "consignment stock" and bill monthly only those containers sold in that month. Once agreed, this system was rolled out through all their locations. Although this was a unique arrangement at that time, CSUK has since offered this same deal to help local and fledgling businesses on those occasions where it was felt appropriate. From 2004 - 2006, CSUK continued to grow as the company concentrated on improving the size and effectiveness of an extended logistical network, resulting in the introduction of ever increasing numbers of depots and transport links, as well as wider access to specialist facilities. At this crucial time, the unique advantages of the new container were being further enhanced by the introduction of improved deliveries and logistics, aided by the expert assistance of Jane Williams and the team at Pentalver. During this period container sales remained steady, with 4000 being sold in each of the first two years. By the end of the following twelve months, however, sales had increased by 25% to 5000 units. In what was to prove a key year, the beginning of 2007 saw the company finally begin to benefit from the important foundations which had been carefully laid in the previous four years. By now, CSUK was not only benefiting from the use of four focal points, Glasgow, Newcastle, Lincoln and Ipswich, for the restitution of one way containers, but also National Account customers successfully operating in depots from Inverness to Bristol, whilst also taking advantage of access to port and dockside facilities from Grangemouth to Southampton as well as fast, efficient rail links to Aberdeen, Coatbridge, Cleveland and Cardiff. The next four years were to see the combined sales of containers reach an impressive total of 20,000 units by the end of December 2010, of which 13,000 were newbuilds. "Container Sales UK - our name says it all." |