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HISTORY & GROWTH
Four decades
of excellence
FOUR DECADES OF EXCELLENCE
‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow’
JAG UFS Intl was originally formed in 1981 by James Gourlay and Colin Wilcox – working out of the front room of their homes.

James Gourlay was an out and out sales person with entrepreneurial desires. He was Scottish born, but spent a lot of time in the USA, assisting American Corporations wanting a foothold in the UK market place. Being the head of UK offices for American companies, James has always had a knack of opening doors and sealing the deals on new business.

Colin Wilcox came from a directorial role of another forwarder. He worked his way up from an operations trainee to a directorship at a privately-owned UK-based company. Colin’s attention to detail on the operational side of the business ensured that high levels of service and satisfaction were the order of the day and customers had no need to look elsewhere.

1981
1981 – The first office opens at Heathrow

When Colin and James’ paths crossed, there was an instant synergy between them both and it was easy to see that with both skill sets complemented each other, a successful partnership was born followed by the formation of the Heathrow Head Quarters. Their major sectors at this time were retail, fashion and aircraft spares.

1983
1983 – Felixstowe office opens

Success was quick and customers of James and Colin were very quick to jump onboard to JAG UFS. 1983 saw the first addition to the Heathrow office, when the Felixstowe office was opened.

Initially, it was opened to serve a new multi-national, a toy superstore, a new concept at the time, entering the UK Market, Toys R Us. JAG UFS were responsible for importing all the new store fixtures and stock from the USA and the Far East. We are proud to say, that from the very first store opening to the day that Toys R Us sadly shut their doors on the UK market in 2018, JAG UFS had remained their forwarder for the entire 35 years.

Our Felixstowe office continues to thrive. James and Colin have never rested – since the very first day, they saw that the way to succeed and retain clients was to offer the very highest level of personal service, building relationships with their clients and remaining competitive. This philosophy has remained the ethos of JAG UFS ever since and continues to be the company philosophy to this day.

1991
1991 – Southend Airport

The next stage in the JAG UFS expansion in 1991 saw the first group acquisition – Worldspan Freight Services in Southend Airport. Southend was then hub of the aircraft spares industry and as JAG UFS were, and still are, heavily involved in the AOG (Aircraft on Ground) urgent, just- in-time shipments – as were Worldspan Freight Services – it was a natural addition to the JAG UFS Group of Companies. Even though the aircraft industry has a much broader geographical spread now, Southend still serves the aircraft industry and has diversified into the Beneficial Insect sector, still remaining within the model of just-in-time and time-sensitive cargo.

2004
2004 – The acquisition of Southampton

A very similar situation brings us to the next acquisition in 2004 of Euro Asia Maritime Services in Southampton, an already successful company. With JAG UFS having an office in the largest UK port of Felixstowe, it made perfect strategic sense to open in the next busiest port in the UK, Southampton. Euro Asia were also heavily working in the retail sector, with their largest customer at the time, being Morrisons Supermarkets. The additional business from JAG UFS group, made Euroasia one of the busiest offices in the JAG UFS group.

2005
2005 – The JAG UFS Far East base is established

Very shortly after the acquisition of Euro Asia Maritime, with the expanding UK client base, the JAG UFS Group had built very good volumes from the Far East for the UK market. In 2005 the next chapter of JAG UFS saw JAG UFS Far East open. Hong Kong being the headquarters and branch offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing and Xiamen.

This was another natural addition, ensuring that JAG UFS could offer a seamless solution for clients who imported from China. It also ensured that UK customers would receive a service that was second to none. One phone call, one email was all that was needed.

Due to the complexities of being a foreign-owned company and the investment that had been made, it was important to take time to develop this new base, with the collective focus of the board of directors to make the China operations perfect before JAG UFS expanded any further.

2016
2016 & 2019 – JAG UFS expands in the USA

In November 2016 JAG UFS moved forward with the long-awaited addition of our USA office. Atlanta was opened with the same cautionary approach, coupled with the dedication and professionalism of the team. More recently in November 2019 we expanded in Atlanta and opened our office in Los Angeles on the West Coast of America.

2016
‘‘Customer is always king’’

Both James’ and Colin’s sons joined the business and now three generations of family continue to drive the original core values at JAG UFS. We are extremely proud of the growth of JAG UFS, which can be attributed to the many dedicated people who have joined the team throughout the JAG UFS journey. We realise that our customers have a choice – they choose us to be their logistics partner. All our people believe in our philosophy that “customer is always king” and are committed to providing the very highest level of service. We have a great blend of youth and experience, which only bodes well for our future.

DELIVERING FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Knowledge in your sector
Whilst we work with almost every type of business, there are a number of industries that require highly specialist logistics. JAG UFS is proud to have extensive knowledge and experience in a wide range of these sectors.
Aerospace
& aviation
Our expertise and response times keep aircraft in the air. We are on-call for urgent shipment 24/7, 365 days a year, serving the industry with just-in-time shipments.
Learn more
Automotive
services
We provide the perfect logistics solutions for all matters relating to the automotive industry, full just-in-time services operating 365 days a year, 24/7.
Learn more
Pet
products
The complex world of VET Certificates, Health Certificates for the importation of animal products can be extremely daunting. We have the expertise to guide you through.
Learn more
USA Head Office
Atlanta, USA
510 Plaza Drive
Suite 1240, Atlanta,
GA 30349, USA
T +1 (678) 807-6900
F +1 (678) 807-6901
E pam.parsons@jagufs.com
UK Head Office
London Heathrow
Unit 2, Felthambrook Industrial
Centre, Feltham, Middlesex.
TW13 7DU. England
T +44 (0) 208 844 2388
F +44 (0) 208 844 1939
E gary.wilcox@jagufs.com
Far East Head Office
Shenzhen, China
Room 02, 11/F, Block East, Coffee Loft
Office, No 12069 Shennan Road,
NanShan District, Shenzhen, P.R. China
T + 86 755 8665 5418
F + 86 755 8665 4919
E jojo.tan@jagufs.com.cn
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