A heritage of excellence
E.W.Taylor is part of Dunbar Wharf Holdings Limited, a privately owned family business which traces its origins back to 1796 when Duncan Dunbar established a merchanting company at Dunbar Wharf, Limehouse. The company was developed by his son into one of the leading shipping companies of the early/mid-19th century, serving, primarily, the Indian and Australian routes.
E.W.Taylor was established in 1857 as a lighterage company, using Dunbar Wharf for the discharge and storage of oversize cargo. One of the key sectors served by the company was the distilling trade, and the firm became experts in the warehousing and fumigation of the botanicals used in making gin. E.W.Taylor’s freight forwarding division was founded in 1922, with the group acquiring Dunbar Wharf in the 1940s, which continued to function as a working wharf until the rise of containerisation in the 1970’s.
E.W.Taylor has been at the forefront of customs import and export clearance procedures and has served the trade with over 200 years of proven reliability. For years E.W.Taylor had established offices in most ports in the UK, however, with the advance in technology and centralisation of HMRC, this is no longer required. Today, E.W.Taylor has direct EDI links to all major ports in the UK.
Although E.W.Taylor has a rich and enviable heritage, the company has flourished by staying ahead of the game, building on its existing expertise and continually investing in modern equipment and systems to offer ever greater efficiencies to customers. Today we offer global freight forwarding, full customs clearance services and warehouse and distribution services from offices including Rainham, Dover & Sittingbourne.
Our original specialist knowledge of the gin trade has remained a constant and we are now one of the few companies to offer fumigation services. It has also developed over the years into established food logistics expertise, including frozen, chilled and ambient products. We have also maintained our expertise within customs clearance, offering seamless in-house services, as well as acting as an agent for other freight forwarders who do not have the knowledge to undertake this themselves.