From one truck to over 50 HGVs, family-run Jordan TM has built a national operation. Haulage Exchange has helped the business keep vehicles earning, develop regular customer relationships and invest in its next stage of growth.
Jordan TM’s trucks now travel the length of Great Britain, carrying goods between suppliers, warehouses and regional distribution centres. Behind that national operation is a family business with a clear approach: look after customers, keep drivers supported and make every journey commercially worthwhile.
Founder Yordan Velkov began by supplying his services as a driver to other haulage companies. Today, the business operates over 50 HGVs, with its head office in Bathgate near Edinburgh, a base in Stoke-on-Trent and plans for a new depot in Skelmersdale.
His son Daniel Velkov, Accounts and Finance Director, has watched that growth first-hand. Alongside General Operations Manager Colin Wilson and Business Development Manager Gordon Foster, he explains how Haulage Exchange (HX) has supported the journey
Before buying his first truck, Yordan worked as a driver to raise the money he needed. Once the vehicle was on the road, finding the next job became another responsibility alongside driving.
Daniel remembers his father driving during the day and trying to arrange backloads at night. Calls, messages and a limited contact list could leave the truck waiting, or travelling empty to reach the next collection.
“It was time consuming and not cost effective”.
Following a recommendation from another haulier, Jordan TM joined HX shortly after putting its first truck on the road. It gave the business access to haulage contracts beyond its existing customer base, and a simpler way to plan ahead.
That became increasingly important as demand grew and Jordan TM added vehicles, drivers and office staff.
Today, HX is a key part of the planning team’s daily routine. With trucks working across the country, they use the platform to find haulage loads that fit where each vehicle is and where it needs to go next.
Those journeys might take a truck home to Scotland, towards a depot or to another customer’s collection point. The team searches by location, vehicle type and timing, choosing work that fits the route and the driver’s available hours.
Gordon gives the example of a truck in London that needs to reach Glasgow. If there’s no suitable direct load, a job to Leicester followed by another towards Glasgow could help keep the vehicle earning along the way.
For Jordan TM, that flexibility supports the regular customer work around which its operation is built. A truck can carry a paying load towards its next collection instead of travelling there empty.
As Daniel explains, the profitability of a delivery depends on the wider journey. Revenue from the loaded leg has to cover the costs of getting the truck into position, too.
HX has been an invaluable partner in creating the opportunity to service our customers more by eliminating that dead mileage.
Gordon Foster
Business Development Manager, Jordan TM
Gordon says the business works to fully costed rates. Reducing empty mileage helps it protect those margins and generate money for further investment.
We make a profit, we reinvest that back into the business, we expand.
Business Development Manager, Jordan T
Some of the work found on HX has developed into lasting customer relationships.
One regular customer first connected with Jordan TM by advertising loads on the Exchange. The routes suited Jordan TM’s operation, so the team began accepting the work, keeping the customer updated and uploading proof of delivery.
Over time, individual bookings became a regular arrangement. Gordon says Jordan TM now handles five or six loads a day for that customer.
The customer contacts the team directly about the work it needs covered, with jobs still booked through HX. Loads out of Scotland help position Jordan TM’s trucks for its other customers in England, creating a relationship that fits both businesses.
For Jordan TM, it has become a source of repeat work. For the customer, the relationship provides a familiar transport partner for regular capacity requirements.
It is a practical example of how doing the first job well can open the door to a much larger relationship.
Jordan TM’s fleet carries general haulage, including palletised goods and cages on mega curtainsiders. Much of its work connects suppliers and warehouses with supermarket regional distribution centres in Scotland and England.
The bigger fleet is supported by planners, transport managers and an accounts team. But Daniel believes personal communication remains one of the company’s strengths.
We like to pick up the phone and speak to the customer and provide a personal service.
Daniel Velkov
Accounts and Finance Director, Jordan TM
That approach includes talking to customers about service performance and maintaining relationships as their requirements develop. Looking after drivers matters just as much.
If you treat your drivers well, then they’ll treat your customers well as well.
Accounts and Finance Director, Jordan T
Jordan TM also uses HX to offer work to other members when it needs subcontracted support. Colin describes specifying collection and delivery times, vehicle requirements and relevant job details so the carrier has clear instructions.
He says Trustd’s checks on credentials, including insurance and operator licences, help give the team confidence in the companies it chooses to work with.
Together, clear communication and access to verified businesses help Jordan TM manage work beyond its own fleet.
Profitable work has helped Jordan TM continue investing in its vehicles and national presence. Colin points to the addition of 20 new vehicles as a significant step in the company’s development.
The next major project is a planned depot in Skelmersdale, where the business intends to base 20 trucks.
Daniel says reviewing customer demand and available loads on HX helped give the team confidence in that decision. Seeing work moving into and out of the area provided useful context for an investment that will require new drivers and customer relationships.
The Stoke-on-Trent base already supports the wider operation, including driver changeovers that help move customers’ goods more efficiently.
Gordon sees HX as a tool for connecting these locations with customer work. Access to suitable loads helps the team position vehicles where customers need them, supporting its ability to take on business further from home.
Jordan TM’s plans also include developing its warehouse business at Bathgate. Both Gordon and Daniel describe how transport relationships can lead to conversations about storage.
A customer first encountered through HX may need somewhere to store goods as well as a carrier to move them. By discussing the wider service, Jordan TM has found opportunities to build on those initial introductions.
For the family business, continued growth depends on combining that relationship-building with disciplined planning and reinvestment.
HX has become part of that approach: helping the team find connecting loads, reduce empty running and build the customer relationships that support a larger operation.
Jordan TM’s story shows what that can mean in practice. A business that began with one driver now serves customers across the country, with over 50 HGVs and further expansion ahead.
If you’re considering HX, I would highly recommend it because it will help you build connections in the transport industry. And it will help reduce empty mileage.
Get access to 15,000 haulage loads a day on Haulage Exchange
HX helps Jordan TM find loads between customer jobs, reduce empty mileage and develop repeat business. Keeping trucks earning supports the profits the family-run company reinvests into its fleet and national expansion.
The planning team searches for loads that fit each truck’s location, route and available driving hours. This can mean finding a direct return load or combining several jobs to keep the vehicle earning as it travels towards its next collection.
Yes. One relationship began with individual loads advertised on HX and developed into five or six loads a day. That customer now contacts Jordan TM directly, with jobs still booked through the platform.
Yes. Alongside finding work for its own fleet, Jordan TM posts jobs on HX when it needs subcontracted support. The team provides clear job requirements and uses Trustd’s credential checks to help assess potential transport partners.
