Uniting some of the best known organisations in the global tank container industry under a single brand identity, Depot Connect International aims to honour its past while shaping the future of the tank container industry itself. 

Originating out of the USA, Depot Connect International (formerly known as Boasso Global) is a heavyweight in the global tank container industry, with operations spanning both the USA and Europe. Dating its origins back to 1985 (with the founding of Boasso America), the firm quickly made a name for itself in the American logistics space, establishing itself as a trusted partner capable of delivering the full spectrum of tank container cleaning, storage, maintenance, and transportation services. Since then, the firm has enjoyed expansive growth both within the USA and across Europe via a series of acquisitions within key market geographies.

Depot Connect International entered the UK market back in 2016 with the acquisition of ISOtank Group U.K. (at the time host to a network of 8 depots), followed by the acquisition of PM Rees & Sons in 2021. Meanwhile, the firm enjoyed similar expansion across mainland Europe and the Americas, with acquisitions across: Canada, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. And while initially operating under distinct local brands, it was in 2022 that the organisation took the leap to start transforming its diverse business into a unified, identifiable brand for the global tank container industry with the unification of all the Boasso Global businesses and Quala under the new brand of Depot Connect International. 

To learn more about the Depot Connect International and the rebranding of the organisation (referred to as ONE DCI), we spoke with John Luty, Fleet Manager – UK Operations. As fleet manager for UK operations, John is responsible for Depot Connect International’s UK fleet, featuring a total of 120 vehicles (primarily Renault) from across the former ISOtank and PM Rees fleets. As a result, the fleet maintains a mixture of ages and conditions, reflecting the historic procurement strategies of the two businesses.

According to John, the ONE DCI initiative has been a multi-faceted approach to unifying the various businesses within the group, including not only the development of an unified, outward-facing brand, but also the reflection of that unity within the internal systems, practices, and standards across global operations. As such, John has been tasked with the creation of a unified fleet strategy for UK operations and efforts are already underway to ensure synergy between the technologies and systems used in the UK with those used across operations in mainland Europe and the Americas.

As of today, Depot Connect International’s operations are already fully furnished with updated branding across the UK business, with efforts now being made to understand the best way forward for the fleet. For this, a concise fleet strategy is in development, which is expected to include a unified strategy across fleet replacement and the delivery of maintenance services due to the difference in approach historically taken by ISOtank and PM Rees. It’s a challenging job, but one which John is incredibly excited to tackle.

Finally, while the evolution of the business into Depot Connect International is not one that will have an immediate impact on service levels (given that each organisation already operated to a very high standard individually), John explained how the ONE DCI initiative is already improving collaboration between the various international arms of the business, with a culture of knowledge sharing laying the foundations for the enhancement of services going forward.

As John Luty explained: “While the company name is new, the business has a large legacy of expertise and ISOtank, for example, was founded in 1974, meaning the business has (in one form or another) actually been around for quite some time. That means we can pull on that much wider expertise when we need to; for example through sharing best practice between colleagues in Germany or the US, which gives us even more of an edge.”

The Motor Transport Awards: Livery of the Year

Of course, it’s not just the customer base that has come to recognise Depot Connect International’s new brand identity, with the firm similarly gaining industry acclaim from one of the industry’s most prestigious award ceremonies: The Motor Transport Awards 2024, within which the firm won the prestigious award for “Livery of the Year”. Quite notable, however, is that the livery itself was designed not in the USA, but led by the UK arm of the company.

According to John Luty, the development of the now award-winning livery commenced almost immediately following the announcement of Depot Connect International as a unified brand. Indeed, while a comprehensive brand manual had already been developed for almost every aspect of the business, John identified a lack of brand guidance for trucks within the fleet and the inherent importance of updating the livery in accordance with the wider rebrand. As such, John quickly got to work in designing a new livery to sit within the organisation’s brand manual, as supported by local graphic design specialists. 

Admittedly, the move had its risks, with not only a new livery being designed from the ground up (and in accordance with the colours and themes already portrayed in the brand manual), but with a single truck within the fleet receiving a draft version of the new livery prior to internal approval of the design – a bold move, but one that ultimately paid off with the organisation’s rebranding committee approving the design with only a few minor tweaks. John explained the importance of this move in showcasing the design not just as a 2D drawing on a computer screen but as a real, tangible asset for the Depot Connect International brand. 

Following the roll-out of the new livery to the entire UK fleet of trucks, the new livery design was submitted to The Motor Transport Awards, featuring a comprehensive explanation of why the livery had been designed, the unified brand identity it needed to portray, and how it ultimately promoted the core values of the business itself. Judges commented specifically on the professionalism of the firm’s submission and just how well thought-through it was.

Sharing his excitement over winning the award at such a pivotal point in the evolution of the business itself, John Luty exclaimed: “I was fortunate to go up there onto the stage with our President of European Operations [Antony Leighton] and I have to say that I hadn’t stopped grinning for the next two weeks. I found it to be a great experience and one of the real highlights of my career (and I feel I’ve had a very good career). It was a brilliant experience and I was very proud to go up there and receive the award. Many of the people in the company have felt a lift from it, that we won an award.”

Providing some feedback on what helped Depot Connect International’s livery stand out amongst hot competition, one of the judges for The Motor Transport Awards said that the new livery was, “A fantastic awards entry clearly explaining the reasons for updating the livery, the two colours chosen due to the merging brands, the honeycomb design that represented strength, productivity and focus on the environment.”

Going forward, all new trucks within the UK fleet are to feature the new livery as part of Depot Connect International’s brand manual. The livery is also to be rolled out with immediate effect across the company’s mainland Europe fleet, with a similar roll-out planned for the Americas in the very near future. 

Credit David Lee Photography

Transport & Logistics – Driving The Industry Forward