How to Grow and Succeed in Expedited Trucking

Apex client, Rick of R&J Logistical Division, has been in the trucking industry for 30 years, starting as a truck driver. Listen to his advice for owning and growing an expedited trucking company.

Video Transcript:

Mario: Hello Everybody from Fort Worth, TX I’m Mario Tarradell with Apex Capital and I am sitting here with Rick Metzing of R&J Logistical Division and Brenda Machos also of Apex Capital. Welcome.

Rick: How are you doing?

M: Good, how are you?

R: I’m doing great, I’m doing super great.

M: So Rick let’s talk a little bit about your company R&J Logistical Division. When did you start your trucking company?

R: Well, R&J started a long time before R&J basically. Throughout the 80s I drove a tractor-trailer I then moved out of the freight industry and I moved into the automatic transmission industry and stayed there for quite a while. Got bored and then sold it. In 2009 I went back into the freight industry to only find out that the whole trucking world had changed and the opportunities were new and there is all kinds of cool stuff out there. I looked into the expediting side which utilized cargo vans and sprinters and they were moving what they call expedited loads which is basically LTL shipments moved into cargo vans and sprinters turned over to emergency freight – yesterday’s emergency freight basically. So, I started to go in that direction.

M: Ok, so I know that R&J is definitely an expedite company so can you tell us exactly what an expedited company does and what does it haul? What does it do?

R: Well expedite simply means, “hurry, gotta go”, “we need it yesterday, something just broke”, “man I need that part, like right now” so that’s we’re called upon. We’re actually the emergency service or emergency handling service of the freight industry.

M: So, what do you usually haul?

R: Oil field equipment, auto and truck parts, believe it or not, cups to Sturgis.

M: Oh, really?

R: You know, those guys up there when they need cups, they need cups right now! So we’ll haul them up there. That’s what we do, that’s expedite. Show lights to Las Vegas when they go out, things of that nature.

M: So, are some of the hauls shorter and some of them are a little bit longer? Or are most of them short hauls?

R: Most of them are long hauls.

M: Oh ok, great.

M: Let’s switch the conversation over to your association with Apex. You’ve been a factoring client of Apex Capital for eight years. Tell us a little bit about your experience working with Apex.

R: Well I’ve been with Apex for eight years, let you just said. Eight years and counting hopefully! The first thing I noticed about Apex was its upbeat persona. I mean, I really, really liked it. Number two, it was right down the road from us. So, it was here local and I’m kind of a personal, one-on-one guy so I could come up here and talk to Brenda, face off and get things done. As far as invoicing, PODS, BOLs, things of that nature.

M: And I know that you do a lot of work with the Apex Online Invoicing system, so tell me a little bit about how that helps you and your company from a day-to-day basis.

R: Well, as R & J grew, so did it’s need to implement some sort of an AR/AP department so we kicked the idea around that we were going to hire some more employees, set up a whole other department to be able to do all the invoicing correctly, things of that nature. And we decided well, let’s just choose factoring. Let’s go that route, which we did. The online portal that Apex offers works great with R & J – it’s an awesome fit. So, we decided to go in that direction and we’re still here!

M: Awesome, that’s wonderful.

R: Great work Mr. Developer!

M: I will make sure and tell them that, so let’s switch over. Brenda works on a regular basis with Rick and so I wanted to find out a little bit about how you feel about working with Brenda?

R: I like Brenda, Brenda is very very personable.

Brenda: Well, good!

R: She is easy to get along with and her persona much matches Apex’s persona. So, I will say that the Blue Team would be lost without Brenda without her at the helm. Trust is something that you earn, and she has definitely earned that trust with R & J for sure.

B: Well, thank you!

M: Brenda tell us a little bit about your experience working with Rick.

B: It’s been tough! No, it’s been a good match since day one. He came in, he had questions, he came in here first – actually came into the office. We sat down and had some conversations, I’ve seen him grow, I mean they don’t have problems anymore. They’ve just got it down. They’re doing a great job.

R: Thank you.

M: That is wonderful. Well, we’re going to go ahead and wrap this up with some words of wisdom from Rick. So, Rick give us some advice that you would have for somebody who is looking to start their own transportation company.

R: Run! No, seriously the first thing I would say is that you need to get your finances in order. That would be a must, whatever direction you need to move in get your license. Get all the licenses and things all purchased and bought, all that good stuff done. Look for the open doors, go through the open doors, go through all the green lights, and take it one step at a time. Success is something that you create. Like our Vice President said, “we walk into the future together” so their success is your success. Be very careful and don’t overstep your abilities is what I would basically say. That’s about it.

M: Thank you, Rick, and thank you Brenda and we will see you all later!