Executive Forum
Achievements Pave the Way for 2017
In this month's Executive Forum, Saia's President and CEO, Rick O'Dell highlights our accomplishments for 2016. He also outlines what investments the company plans to make with facilities and equipment for 2017.
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Last year proved to be another exciting time for Saia. Some milestones of note include:
- Our celebration in April of the grand opening of our new terminal near Grayslake, IL.
- Handing out over 4500 awards in May to employees for their tremendous safety achievements
- Announcing our Northeast expansion in October
- Learning in November that Saia LTL Freight had been recognized with two first place awards by the American Trucking Associations
In 2016, we worked hard to improve in all areas of our operations and I am gratified that our customers see the value in what we are doing. Let’s all work together to make 2017 a success.
This year, we have already hit the ground running. Speaking of the Northeast expansion, we are still on target to open our four terminals during the second quarter in the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Newark markets. We have already hired key personnel and filled a number of open positions from our existing base of employees. As you can imagine, we are very excited about these transfers as these folks will help jump start the development of the Saia culture at the new terminals.
Additionally, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from existing customers who look forward to us serving them in these additional markets. Since we are targeting a similar pace of expansion in 2018 and 2019, having such terrific support is encouraging. As the openings draw closer, we’ll have more exciting information to share with everyone.
We expect to invest approximately $200 million this year in terminal improvements, technology and equipment including tractors, trailers and forklifts. Forthcoming terminal improvements build on several projects that were completed last year including, but not limited to, renovations and expansions at our Kansas City, MO; Houston, TX; and Savannah, GA terminals. Aside from the new Grayslake facility, we also built a new terminal in Tyler, TX and are working to complete a new one in St. Louis, MO. As you can see, 2017 is lining up to be another busy year across our network. By making these improvements, we are investing in the future of the company and positioning it for upcoming growth.
Before I close, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate HST Line Driver James Moore who was one of 20 captains named to ATA’s 2017-2018 America’s Road Team earlier this month. This is a wonderful achievement by James. I know every one of us at Saia is very excited for him.
In 2016, we worked hard to improve in all areas of our operations and I am gratified that our customers see the value in what we are doing. Let’s all work together to make 2017 a success.