TLA32_AllPages_R

President: Roy Cox
CFO: Gary Surber
Chief Strategy Officer: Will Reich
Chief Information Officer:
Randy Little
VP of Sales: David Reich III
VP of HR/Administration:
Richard Hepler
Power Units: 300
Trailers: 1,200
Drivers: 315
Member of TCA Since: 1998
In doing so, “We’ve really tried to focus on doing what
we say we are going to do,” Cox said. “We hire good people
and take care of them, and we take care of our customers.
Right now, I would say we’re in a growth mode.”
When opportunities present themselves, the
company “really gets excited.”
Cox said the company operates as one company with
six business units because they do different things and
because it provides company associates with a focus.
In the first of three acquisitions, Best bought Bradco
Transportation, located just 45 minutes away from
Kernersville, and folded it into its brokerage operation.
“Then we purchased C&S Carpet Distribution in Dalton,
Georgia, after we were contacted by that company
because they thought we might have an interest in purchasing
them,” Cox said. “It’s a stand-alone operation
in Dalton, Georgia, and it was something we thought we
could add to our portfolio because it was something we
didn’t currently do.”
Dalton is considered the carpet capital of the world
and the distribution center picks up carpet from the
various mills and consolidates the carpet into full truckloads
to ship to distributors.
“The distributors get their products faster than if the
mills were shipping individually,” Cox said.
Best’s most recent acquisition was East Coast Truck
Lines of Cheraw, South Carolina, which was folded into
Best Cartage.
“We’re constantly looking for acquisitions externally
as well as growing internally,” Cox said, adding that Best
is already enjoying a 20 percent revenue growth over
last year.
Constant growth requires a solid driver recruitment
and retention strategy, something that has enabled
Best to keep its driver turnover at 48 percent, about
half the national average.
“Truck drivers are akin to a scarce commodity,” Cox
said. “You have to treat them with respect, treat them
like the way you would want to be treated and pay them
well. We focus a lot on home time because a lot of our
business is shorter haul. We want our drivers to have a
good quality of life as well as earn a good living.”
Cox is appreciative of the company’s membership in
TCA where he is an at-large member of the board of
directors.
“It’s very valuable for us,” he said. “We’re heavily
involved in benchmarking as part of a 20-carrier group.
We also find the workshops very helpful and we like being
engaged with having a voice in Washington, which
is important because we want to be part of making a
difference in the industry.”
Cox is bullish on the trucking industry and its future.
“Obviously, I’m pretty biased but everything you see
around you is moved by truck and we are so vital to the
economy,” he said.
“Without trucking to move the goods that get to market,
our economy would basically shut down. The two
most important things in our business are our carrier
partners and our drivers. We beat the drum every day
about recruiting the best drivers and retaining them and
recruiting the best carrier partners and retaining them.
“I am all about the future of the industry. I don’t
see it slowing down and there’s nothing to derail it. The
folks that have the drivers and treat their customers
right are going to reap the rewards. It’s the best freight
market I’ve seen in 25 years.”
Best for the industry and best for Best Logistics
Group.
PROFILE
Roy Cox took over as
president of Best Logistics
Group in 2016.
The Best Logistics Group’s
office is a hub of activity.
Tca 2018 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 39