A Long Haul to Success

Owner:

Company:
Raven Transport Co., Jacksonville.

Getting Started:
Lee spent much of his career as a successful operations manager with Anheuser- Busch. In 1985, at age 39, he launched Jacksonville-based Raven Transport as a regional carrier for Procter & Gamble. "For the fi rst 18 months, business was slow," he says. Lee's big break came shortly after that fi rst year and a half when Procter & Gamble made his company a "core carrier," transporting goods across the eastern half of the U.S. The business began growing 10% to 15% a year, says Lee, and now operates 400 trucks and 1,000 trailers, employs 465 and projects 2006 revenue of $70 million.

Crossroads:
Lee, now 60, says that the defi ning point in his life was his move away from New York City in his early teens. Raised by his mother and greatgrandmother, Lee moved to Jacksonville to live with his godfather, a high school coach. "It was the best thing that could have happened," he says, explaining that crime was skyrocketing in New York at the time. Education became a priority, and Lee went on to get an undergraduate degree in microbiology at the University of North Carolina and a master's in health administration and business administration from the University of North Florida.

Success:
Today, Raven Transport handles full-load trucking for P&G, Anheuser-Busch, Kraft/General Foods, Miller and both Coca-Cola Enterprises and Coca-Cola USA. About 400 of his employees are drivers, who earn $45,000 to $60,000 a year. He says driver turnover is only about 20% compared to the industry average of about 130% because he pays wages in the top 15% of the industry and also because Lee's company makes an effort to get drivers home as many nights as possible. In addition to driver compensation, fuel and insurance are weighing heavy. Says Lee, "The biggest challenge now is the operating cost."

Tags: Florida Small Business, Northeast, Entrepreneur