Keep on Truckin'

Martha Brannigan | 11/1/2006

For 25 years, James Hammel has been trying to get a bigger bite of the Florida truck-leasing market. As president and CEO of family- owned Gator Leasing, Hammel goes head to head with Penske and Ryder, both Fortune 500 firms, in search of companies seeking to outsource their transportation needs. Gator Leasing has a fleet of 2,800 trucks and 10 Florida locations with 225 employees serving Carnival Cruise Lines, Chiquita Brands, Dunkin' Donuts and Universal Studios, among others. With tighter federal emissions regulations for diesel engines scheduled to go into effect in 2007, Hammel expects to pick up more business. "The black sooty exhaust will be gone, and that's a good thing. But these new catalytic converters increase the capital cost of the equipment and are more expensive to maintain. As a full-service provider, we expect the new rules will drive additional business to us." Hammel's father, George, founded Gator Leasing in 1975 with three trucks. Hammel took over in 1982 after his father's death. After opening a second location in Fort Lauderdale in the early 1990s, Hammel took a big leap and opened statewide service centers in 1999-2000. Since then, Gator's revenue has been growing 15% to 20% annually, reaching the $50-million mark in 2005. James F. Hammel, 52 President and CEO: Gator Leasing, Miami Born: Miami. College: Bachelor's degree in management, University of Florida. Personal: Married, two children. Hobbies: Boating, fishing, diving. Recent books read: "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. Community activities: South Florida Council Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity. Awards: Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 Award for South Florida in the distribution category. Quote: "We break the rules for the customer."

Tags: Miami-Dade