Throwback Thursday – Suttons International Early Days

In 1958 a recently privatised Suttons Group set its sights at business outside the UK and formed a new division named Anglo European Transport Services Ltd, which was set up to handle transportation of goods and bulk chemicals between the UK and mainland Europe.

Anglo European Transport Services Ltd would go on to establish another company named British European Transport Ltd, and as the saying goes: from humble beginnings come great things, as this was the precursor to our Suttons International division.

In 1965 an office was established in Bethnal Green, London to manage the burgeoning international business, which utilised the recently invented intermodal tank container to move products internationally. Some of our earliest international contracts were moving latex to Ireland and the very hazardous Toluene Di-iscocyanate (TDI) to Poland, before the business expanded further into Europe, and later Asia and the US.  

Pictured is a vintage ERF truck attached to a flatbed carrying a Suttons International tank container and Suttons branded shipping container, dating all the way back to 1966!

Suttons have always been on the cutting edge of industry technology, as seen from our adoption of the tank container as it was developed in the mid 60’s, to recent innovations such as heated and cooled tanks, and tracking systems that keep our customers up to date with the location of their product at all times.