As one of our most successful years to date, 2024 was certainly a year of growth, achievement and celebration for Grace Overseas. Read on for our highlights from a busy and exciting year!
Award wins
First and foremost, it’s been a record year of awards for Grace Overseas and we couldn’t be prouder of our team.
In May, we not only won Best Global Freight Forwarding Solutions Company 2024 at the SME News Business Elite Awards, but we also took the title of Haulage, Logistics & Transport winner at the North West Family Business Awards.
This was in addition to being shortlisted for a further three awards that evening; the Community Impact Award, the Leadership Excellence Award for our Managing Director Sarah Taylor, and Employee of the Year Award for Office and Regulations Manager, Mandy Bury.
More recently, we brought home an incredible three awards at the Chemical Business Awards, otherwise known as The Chemmies. Our Commercial Manager, Brian Taylor won the Made a Difference Award for his outstanding contributions as coach at Ramsbottom Cricket Club. Managing Director, Sarah Taylor was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award; testament to her three decades of visionary leadership for our business and the icing on the cake was the prestigious Logistics Services Member of the Year trophy, awarded to the entire Grace Overseas team.
These amazing achievements underscore our commitment to delivering a first-class service, innovation in the logistics industry, and community support.
Industry engagement and milestones
March brought fantastic news as our Crawley site passed its ISO 9001:2015 audit with flying colours, achieving zero non-conformances. This milestone complements our existing ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certifications at our Manchester head office and warehouse.
We also made a strong impression at our first CHEMUK exhibition, the UK’s largest annual chemical supply chain expo held at the NEC in Birmingham. With a prime spot in the Supply Chain Zone, the team connected with attendees to discuss storage, logistics and freight forwarding solutions – plus, our stand was buzzing with a Lego prize giveaway. We can’t wait to do it all again in 2025!
As sponsors of the Chemical Business Association’s Annual Floggers Lunch, this year also saw Sarah elected on to the Chemical Business Association Council. A coveted position perfectly timed to coincide with Sarah’s 30-year milestone at Grace Overseas. She marked this special anniversary with a special trip to Ascot where she even spotted King Charles.
Supporting our community
Our longstanding support for Ramsbottom Cricket Club has been a source of pride as we shared in their successes throughout the year.
Highlights included a TV appearance as the first all-women team to enter the Lancashire Cricket League, seeing the U15 Girls triumph as North of England champions and make it to the National T20 Knockout final at Lords, plus a celebration of the Academy’s achievements, with a Grace Overseas-sponsored changing rooms and a brilliant presentation evening.
Charity Initiatives
Finally, the good spirit of our team continued throughout the year, with activities and initiatives in aid of Children in Need, sponsorship of Autism Support Crawley’s charity golf event, and fundraising for the Greenaway Foundation, including support for this year’s Christmas campaign.
Looking Ahead
As we close 2024, we’d like to thank our customers, partners and contacts from across our industry and community, as well as our hardworking and dedicated Team Grace. Here’s to an even more successful 2025, and our 40th year in business!
