The Woodland Group has entered into a strategic partnership with a logistics provider from Belfast as it seeks to expand its operations on both sides of the Irish border.

Woodland Global Network, part of the UK-based Woodland Group, has teamed up with TCB, which will be responsible for marketing the Woodland Group's full portfolio of logistics solutions - with a particular focus on sea and airfreight services to and from the Far East, the Pacific Basin and the US - from its base in Northern Ireland.

Kevin Brady, managing director of Woodland Global Network in the Republic of Ireland, said: 'As a result of this partnership, TCB will have full access to the Woodland Global Network, including the group's integrated supply chain systems and overseas offices.

'By working with Woodland, TCB will be able to deliver greater efficiencies and a broader range of solutions to its existing customers, partly as a result of the buying power that comes with increased volumes. In turn, TCB will provide its local expertise and enable us to develop our presence in Northern Ireland, which we have identified as a key growth area.

'We are delighted to have TCB on board and'feel that their approach and culture of delivering world-class service is closely aligned to our own way of doing business. I've no doubt that our Global Network partnership with TCB will create excellent opportunities for the development of our core services in Northern Ireland.'

Darren Green, managing director of TCB, said: 'We are tremendously excited about becoming a part of the Woodland Global Network. There are some fantastic opportunities ahead, such as developing direct groupage consolidations into and out of Northern Ireland, by sea and air. TCB, incidentally, was the first company to bring direct consoles from Hong Kong into Belfast.

'TCB will continue to expand its range of in-house services and has recently introduced its own air freight import and export customs clearing service at Belfast International Airport, complementing an existing customs clearing facility at the Port of Belfast. We will be targeting a wide range of industries and, as traditional export markets decline, we see particular potential in domestically healthy export sectors like electronics and pharmaceuticals.

'Becoming a strategic partner of the Woodland Global network gives us an opportunity to develop these core services further, strengthen our global network and introduce a more diverse range of airfreight services to our customers.'