CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

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West Side Transport 10 Today Cedar Rapids, tomorrow the world. That might be an oversimplification of West Side Transport’s long-term business plan, but it certainly captures its essence, according to COO Ron Joseph. The 45-year-old trucking company has been growing rapidly as of late, spurred by the recent success of its West Side Logistics arm. “I think the biggest change is we’ve done a lot of expansion – we’ve kind of spread our wings out,” Mr. Joseph said. Founded by Dale Vogt to salvage and resell spilled grain found in railroad yards, West Side Transport’s traditional customer base has long been located around Cedar Rapids. In the last three years, however, the company has added full-service facilities in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio to terminals in Glenwood, Illinois, St. Paul, Minnesota and Indianapolis, boosting RON JOSEPH COO employment by more than 220 employees in the process. Another new facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is set to come online later this year, adding 100 employees. There has been some local expansion as well. The company, now led by owner and CEO Don Vogt, has built a new drop yard south of Cedar Rapids and will move its corporate office to the site in 2019. It has also opened a new office by The Eastern Iowa Airport for its logistics company, which has grown in the last three years from zero to $12 million in revenue, Mr. Joseph said. That company forecasts revenues of $16 million next year. “That [logistics business] started with a couple of employees and now has over 15,” he noted, describing it as a truck brokerage that functions “basically as an intermediary between trucking and shippers.” The trucking business is changing, Mr. THE TEAM EXECUTIVE TEAM Don Vogt, Chairman & CEO John Dalrymple, SVP & CFO Ron Joseph, COO Joseph said, adding that “finding a driver to live in a truck for a week is a challenge.” The creation of new trucking hubs around the country has helped West Side create more home-daily jobs, and thus recruit and retain more drivers. “That means they drive a truck and start at 8 a.m. and come home at 5 at night, like anyone else, compared to over-the-road jobs, where they leave on Sunday and come back Friday or Saturday,” he said. “It’s a tough life. I think expansion and logistics have been our big initiatives the last couple of years.” The goal is to keep the logistics arm growing by 20 percent annually, Mr. Joseph said, and its core trucking business by 5-10 percent a year. “We expect our non-assets – managing freight and customers – to be as big as our assets – our drivers and trucks,” he said. With all of the headwinds facing the trucking industry, West Side’s strong and varied clientele has helped sustain its growth. “We have account managers, salespeople inside and outside that are focused on winning new business every year,” Mr. Joseph said. “Last year, we started doing business with Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Target. We have International Paper, Chrysler, Lowes, Walmart and Toyota, so we have a really blue-chip base of customers and there’s so much opportunity to grow with those customers.” - Jim Offner “Last year, we started doing business with Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Target. We have International Paper, Chrysler, Lowes, Walmart and Toyota, so we have a really blue-chip base of customers and there’s so much opportunity to grow with those customers.” - RON JOSEPH 24 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>
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CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018

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