9th December 2025 · Milestones
North East freight specialist celebrates milestone in 30-year commitment to excellence
More than three decades after achieving its first quality certification, Universal Forwarding has once again been recognised for excellence, marking a full-circle moment for one of the North East’s longest established and most trusted freight forwarding businesses.
The company, based at Newcastle International Airport’s Freight Village, was officially awarded ISO 9001 certification in October, reaffirming its longstanding commitment to the highest standards of quality management, service, and communication.
Founded in 1989 by Phil Naylor and Trevor Harbottle, Universal Forwarding has grown from a two-person team into the largest independent freight forwarder operating from Newcastle Airport, now employing 20 staff under the continued leadership of its original founders and fellow Director Andy Hanson, who joined the business in 2006.
Universal Forwarding became the first freight agent at Newcastle Airport to be awarded BS 5750 (the predecessor to ISO 9001) in 1992, an achievement covered in local press at the time. More than 30 years on, the latest certification reflects continuity and progress: the same directors, the same unwavering focus on service, and a much expanded range of capabilities.
From its early days “achieving the impossible” with aircraft charters and on-board couriers, the business also handles imports, exports and domestic shipments by air, road, courier, and ocean across most industry sectors. Due to demand the company has recently launched a temperature-controlled delivery service and expanded into larger, secure warehouse facilities.
Universal Forwarding remains proudly local, with deep roots in the regional business community with both small enterprises and major blue-chip clients. The company continues to prioritise the human touch, with no automated phone systems and an emphasis on direct, clear communication.
To mark this milestone, Co-Founder Trevor Harbottle reflects on Universal Forwarding’s journey, the standout moments from the past three decades, and why personal service remains central to the business today.
It’s been over 30 years since Universal Forwarding achieved its first quality certification. How does it feel to come full circle with this latest ISO award?
“I guess it’s a ‘rubber stamp’ confirming that after all these years, we’re still doing something right! This achievement is down to the hard work, commitment, and work ethics of our great team.”
You must have handled some extraordinary consignments over the years, are there any that particularly stick out in your memory?
“Picking out one or two seems unjust but I’ll give you an insight of the range of commodities we’ve handled. We recently airfreighted two Morgan cars to Vietnam. We’ve even flown live lobsters all over Europe.
“We’ve also imported a gold-plated Nissan Patrol and exported an F1 McLaren supercar, imported packaging for specialty teas that you can find on the shelves of some Knightsbridge stores, and exported brain tissue for bioscience institutes to various destinations for research.
“We regularly had freight on BA001-Concorde and now have freight on Emirates Airlines at Newcastle Airport most days. However, all consignments are equally important to us and everything we handle is treated with the same care and commitment.”
Universal Forwarding is known for its hands-on approach and commitment to personal service. Why is that “human touch” still so important in 2025?
“In the current climate of automated services and robotic communication, something we’ll never introduce, the overwhelming feedback from everyone we work with is that they choose Universal Forwarding because we are available 24/7 and will always go the extra mile to satisfy theirs and their customers’ requirements.
“It’s quite humbling that most customers regard us as an extension to their operations teams and utilise Universal Forwarding as their own offsite logistics department.”
Finally, what’s next? How do you see the business evolving while keeping its North East roots and values at the heart of what you do?
“We’ve been delivering the World for North East industries since 1989, moving millions of pieces of freight around the globe.
“We’ve had opportunities in the past to become part of larger international forwarders but have always resisted. We don’t want our customers or staff to become a statistic on some spreadsheet, looked at by a CEO in some other country who’s more interested in profit and productivity than giving good reliable service and helping businesses here in the North East thrive and develop.
“We hope that this recertification will give potential customers confidence in the quality of service we can offer their company. If we can keep to our principles and maintain our levels of commitment and service we will continue to naturally evolve and retain our position as one of the largest forwarders in the North East.”
As Universal Forwarding celebrates its renewed ISO 9001 certification, the milestone serves not only as recognition of quality but also as a testament to endurance, adaptability, and the value of relationships built over time.
For Trevor, Phil, Andy and the team, the future is about maintaining that balance, combining modern systems and services with the same personal touch that’s been at the heart of Universal Forwarding since day one.
For more information about Universal Forwarding, please visit their website at www.universal-forwarding.co.uk.