To mark the occasion, the team was joined by founder Liz Smith who established the business in September 2004 when she was working in the oil and energy industry and saw a gap in the market for a company offering customs advice. 

LS Customs started off as a one-person operation, with Liz working from home and after reaching out to people she knew in the industry including current employees, Hazel Lamb, Karen Thomson, and Jane Waldie, she built her team with staff working in-house at clients’ premises.

She retired in 2019 having worked to support the transition in 2017 when LS Customs joined Peterson Energy Logistics.

Following Covid in 2020, the decision was made to have staff working together again and a team of four worked from a small office at Seabase. Today LS Customs has grown to 13 members of staff, who have a combined total of 200 years’ industry experience, working from a new facility in Hareness Circle.

Gordon Matson, LS Customs Director said:

“This is a milestone for LS Customs, and it was great to be joined by Liz to look back at how far we’ve come and share our ambitions for our continued growth and impact. We have a fantastic, expert team and we are so grateful for everyone’s input over the past two decades.

“There have been some challenging times for some clients over the years, and we have helped most of the big players in the North Sea to ensure they comply with rules and regulations set out by HMRC. At the moment we are preparing companies for the major changes to the declaration process coming into force in February 2025, for all goods being shipped between the UK and the UK Continental Shelf.

“Since joining Peterson, we have worked on big projects helping our clients achieve status, setting up customs warehouses and successfully gaining various Customs Authorisations to simplify their supply chain. Together, we have expanded the team and our services and helped to develop Peterson’s compliance offering.”