‘Outstanding’ KTP partner receives Queen’s Award for Enterprise

A ship loaded with containers in a port

Congratulations to Priority Freight, the leading time-critical logistics specialist who have recently collected the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2020.

Priority Freight embarked on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with academics from the University of Kent in 2017 to develop a tool to identify ways to combine loads and shipments – helping them to reduce their carbon emissions by an average of 2.2 tonnes of CO2 a week. This allowed the company to lessen the environmental impact of their services, whilst still providing clients with the service levels for which they’re renowned.

The KTP, set up by the Centre of Logistics & Heuristic Optimisation (CLHO) in Kent Business School, was awarded the highest grade of “Outstanding” by the KTP Grading Panel at Innovate UK- something which only 10% of KTP projects achieve!

At the time, Managing Director Neal Williams said of the project, “Working together has enabled knowledge transfer that is helping not only to drive our business forward but also to develop the knowledge, expertise and careers of our team.”

The outcomes from the project supported their certification to the latest environmental standard, and contributed to their consistent growth in international trade. More recently, they have played a key role in aiding governments and companies to bring in PPE from around the world during the pandemic. It’s this, in addition to their industry-leading activity, which has led to the company being awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, one of the most prestigious business awards in the UK.

The KTP partnership received financial support from the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme (KTP). KTP aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base. This successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership project, funded by UK Research and Innovation through Innovate UK, is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy.

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If you are interested in improving your business’ competitiveness and productivity through a funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership with our academics and researchers, find out more on our website or get in touch with us today.

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