BRIDGE LOGISTICS INC.
What: Freight brokerage firm negotiates contracts between truck carriers and companies that need goods shipped and delivered
Where: 5 Circle Freeway Dr., West Chester Twp.
Phone: 513-874-7444
Co-founders: Paul Lanham, Jim Campbell and Jeff Campbell
Website: www.bridgelogisticsinc.com
Employees: Over 30
When the Great Recession was raging, local freight brokerage firm Bridge Logistics lost its single biggest customer.
But instead of calling it quits, or failing, Bridge Logistics learned big lessons such as diversification and when to say no to customers instead of always saying yes, said Paul Lanham, vice president and one of the co-founders.
Now, more than six years into the economic recovery, Bridge Logistics is making plans to grow and nearly double its staff by adding at least 30 new employees over the next three years, said President Jim Campbell. Currently, there are about 36 employees including college students in a co-op, Campbell said.
Paul Lanham, Jim Campbell and Jeff Campbell founded Bridge Logistics in 2003. Business has grown since then to a nationwide customer base.
“If you’ve got to ship it, we can pretty much provide a solution for it,” Lanham said.
Earlier this year, Bridge Logistics moved into new office space on Circle Freeway in the township that company leaders helped design with an open floor plan, fitness room and gathering spaces meant to recruit college graduates and other job seekers who join its sales force to pursue new business.
“What sets us apart is our desire to create successful people,” said Jeff Campbell, vice president.
The new space is also meant to build health and wellness of existing employees, Jim Campbell added.
In addition to a new office environment, Bridge Logistics has hired a full-time sales coach to help emphasize employee development. They believe happy employees and low turnover create better customer relationships.
“The end result is growth, but we believe that the growth comes from the core values we established at the business in the beginning. We’re a company whose core focus is to build and develop employees. We just happen to be in the logistics business doing it,” Jim Campbell said.
Bridge joins a growing list of expanding West Chester firms that negotiate contracts between truck carriers and companies that need goods shipped and delivered. For example, Kingsgate Transportation Services also moved to new office space in West Chester this year and is adding jobs. And, Clermont County-based Total Quality Logistics opened a West Chester office within the last five years.
“The Cincinnati area has always been a hot bed for trucking and logistics companies because of its location,” Jim Campbell said, referring to the region’s close proximity within a day’s drive to many U.S. destinations.
Bridge Logistics was approved for a state government tax credit in exchange for the expansion plans.
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