Global Freight Connections

Global Freight Connections was established in 2002 by CEO Paul Marshall, built up from a single company into what’s now a leading independent logistics and freight operator, based at the Basildon International Freight Terminal in Essex. Growth came through a steady run of acquisitions and expansions rather than one big leap: Peacock Freight in 2005, a new office in Dover in 2006, and the acquisition of DSG in 2007. A Heathrow office followed in 2015, giving the company a base closer to the UK’s main air freight hub, and PT Services was acquired in 2018.

2019 was a significant year on the regulatory side; GFC expanded into a second unit at its Basildon site and obtained both CAA and IATA status, credentials that matter for a company handling air freight and aviation-adjacent logistics. GFC Ireland opened in 2020, followed by the acquisition of Otec GB Ltd in 2021 and ETSF (Enhanced Transit Security Facility) status in 2022.

The biggest shift came in 2023, when GFC was acquired by the Schneider Group, joining what the company calls the “Schneider family.” That gave GFC access to a genuinely large international network; the group reports 1,148 employees across 86 locations, while GFC itself kept its own name, management, and day-to-day operations under managing director Mark Taylor and head of operations Dominique Caldwell. In 2025, GFC launched a new service route into Central and Eastern Europe, extending its reach further across the continent.

The company’s services now span road, air and sea freight, warehousing and logistics, customs clearance, events and exhibitions, and project transport, serving industries from pharma and luxury goods to technology and retail. GFC frames its approach around five stated values, sustainable, personal, independent, respectful, and collaborative, and describes its role simply: finding a solution when others can’t.