John Pipe started the business as John Pipe Ltd in 1961 in Newport in South Wales.  The company gradually grew and in 1977 expansion into the South of England was achieved when the Sturminster Marshall branch was opened under the guidance of Derek Taylor, one of the original employees who started things off in Newport.

1983 saw the move to the existing head office and main works occupying a one and a half acre freehold site in Poole, Dorset, where it has a 25,000 square feet premises with all the necessary facilities, such as heavy goods handling including a humidity controlled packing area.

Additionally, In 1995 the Company opened modern premises at Chandlers Ford, housing all the same facilities required to provide a complete service covering Hampshire, with full overhead craneage to 8 tonnes.

In 2002, the Company’s biggest news was the acquisition of freight forwarding company Active International Movements Ltd. With this expansion the John Pipe Group could now provide a true “one-stop-shop”.

2007 was the year in which the company decided to merge Active with John Pipe Ltd and John Pipe International was born.  All aspects of the processes of importing and exporting are now available from the one company.

Fully accredited to ISO9001 from 1991 it places quality high on its list of priorities.  Its success has grown out of the ability to provide a timely, economical and, above all, personal service for its customers large and small.

These days the basic message is still the same, says the Founder’s elder son, David Pipe, “Although now we offer a greater range of packing methods, most notably in resistance to corrosion through the use of laminated foils as a moisture barrier, the one-stop shop philosophy of providing all the services to pack and ship under one roof remains.  We now cover the whole of the South Coast of England as it’s largest export packer and can claim customers all over the UK.”

F. John Pipe passed away in 1998, but not before another John Pipe, his younger son, had joined the business to run the production at the Poole branch.  David Pipe, Managing Director, comments, ”I was very pleased that John [Junior] came to work for the Company as it enabled expansion plans at the time.  Having two members in the Company keeps us as a family business."

In 2001 the Company celebrated its 40th anniversary in style at the Indoor Karting Centre in Bournemouth. Jenny Pipe, the Managing Director’s wife, presented a trophy to the Production Manager at the Hampshire Branch, Philip Williams, one of only three Employees who remember working at the South Wales Branch which was sold in 1985.