Originally incorporated in 1978 and trading as a Customs Clearance Broker in the Port of Dover.

The Company expanded to become the largest independent and privately owned Customs Clearance Agent. Employing over 80 people in nine offices operating 24 hours a day – 7 days a week located in all the major Ro-Ro ports from Felixstowe around the coast to Poole, Dorset, processing more than 10,000 customs import entries a month.

In 1985, the original Company became a Holding Company and a new Company was formed to continue providing 24-hour customs clearance services.

Then something special happened. A client in the Oil Exploration business who used the Company for sea freight and customs documentation had a serious problem with one of their own vehicles on a Saturday night, unable to contact their usual forwarders or carriers they called their clearance agent for help, they wanted to know if we had a vehicle about to ship that could take a small shipment to meet a seismic survey ship in Rotterdam before it sailed at 0800 Sunday morning.

At the time the Port was unusually empty, but after several calls to a Director at home, The "Special carrier” was born, using the office "run around" van one of the shift clerks on duty drove to Bromley to collect the goods, whilst another member of staff was recruited to drive to Rotterdam during the night. From this point on the Company began operating an “ad hoc” service providing dedicated express vans to a number of clients of the Customs Clearance business.

In the early days, The Special Carrier just hired in the odd vans as and when they were needed and used existing members of operations staff. The operation developed slowly over the next ten years, owing to a focus on the "specials" market but mainly due to the concentration of effort on the core business  to maintain service levels and retain staff in the run up to the Single European Market.

The introduction of the Single European Market on the 1st January 1993 and the removal of frontier import controls, resulted in the loss 80 percent of the Company`s and the closure of all but two offices and the loss of over seventy jobs.

After the dust had settled and the Company had reorganised, the Directors concentrated on several different business ideas and ventures but it was soon realised that The Special Carrier had the most potential and should be given priority. It was at this time that the Operations Directors, Steve Williams and Steve Herman, of the old customs clearance business, concentrated their efforts on The Special Carrier.

In May 1994, the Company directly involved three members of staff including Directors, 1 van of their own and two hired vans. By the end of the year the Company employed six people and operated 12 vehicles with a turnover in the region of nearly a £1,000,000.

In July 2002 the Company was subject to the final stage of a management buy out when the remaining shares were acquired by the current Directors.

The Company is owned by Steve Williams, Steve Herman and Phillip Henley all of whom are actively involved in the day-to-day running of the Company.

In 2003 the Company acquired a 1.5-acre site in Dover and began development of a new European Operations Centre.

The Special Carrier relocated to the new purpose built premises in March 2004 and now employs over seventy people and operates a fleet of 40 vehicles ranging from Sprinter Vans to 17 tonne trucks.

The Company still concentrates exclusively on the "specials" market and has continued with a policy not to enter the general freight market to avoid any conflict with existing customers.

Whilst, the Company has spawned many of its major competitors in the South East both directly and in-directly – there’s no doubt that when you need something special – you need THE SPECIAL CARRIER – it’s not like there’s really any alternative . . .