Family-owned transportation brokerage company John Greene Logistics Company (JGLC) has provided specialized freight services throughout the United States and Canada since 1962.
The company was founded under the name John J. Greene Truck Brokers. In the early 1960s, the United States space program was in full swing, and John Greene had taken advantage of an opportunity in Florida to build rocket launch pads at Cape Canaveral, then known as Cape Kennedy.
John, an ironworker by trade, worked hard and soon found himself heading up the local chapter of the Ironworkers Union. His brother, who was working as a truck driver, described to him how difficult it had become to find commodities to transport. This gave John the idea to create a brokerage and logistics company.
Jeffrey Greene, the current President of JGLC and son of its founder, elaborates: “My father actually went around talking to the local packing houses, made some deals with them, and started the logistics operation in Mims, Florida. That’s how we got started, and then, once things took off, he quit his job and jumped in full time.” The company owes its existence to John J. Greene’s penchant for hard work and his entrepreneurial spirit.
The company incorporated in 1983 and operated for more than a decade under its original name. As it grew alongside the continually evolving needs of the trucking industry, the leadership made a strategic decision to rebrand the business. By 1998, the name was changed to John Greene Logistics Company, and a few years later the headquarters was relocated. “It started in Mims, Florida but in 2002, we moved to Titusville, Florida, which is where we are currently located. And throughout the years we’ve always remained a family-owned-and-operated company,” says Chase Greene, Vice President of JGLC. The company is in fact a third generation company, with Chase Greene being the grandson of John and son of Jeffrey.
Nearly sixty years since its inception, the company has grown to be a premier transportation company in its operating region, with more than $50 million in annual revenue and the ability to transport commodities from coast to coast.
Although the day-to-day business operations have changed over the years, many of the company’s challenges have remained the same. JGLC serves both Canadian and United States markets, sending trucks to just about any location throughout North America. Since it serves such a large geographic area, an issue for the company is that it must be able to meet the needs of its diverse customers.
“Every customer has unique requests and specific needs for their commodities, particularly in how they are shipped and how they are handled. So it can be a challenge just tending to all of their specific requests and needs in terms of their products,” explains Chase. Fortunately, JGLC has been able to turn this challenge into an opportunity to build its expertise and develop a service perfectly suited to customers throughout its service territory.
Transportation brokers connect companies that have commodities that need to be shipped to the trucking companies that can best move them, and JGLC has developed an efficient system for accomplishing this, but the true value in working with JGLC is in how it makes the process seamless, flexible, and easy for customers.
The first step is to find a shipping partner suited to the client’s unique needs. The company has carefully curated a network of over ten thousand carriers and matches each job with the one that best suits its criteria. Once this connection has been made, JGLC experts monitor the situation closely, ensuring that each step of the shipping process is smooth and taking care of all the logistical requirements.
JGLC also owns a trucking company, Greene Transport Company, that provides refrigerated, dry, and specialized freight services. JGLC uses Greene Transport Company trucks first whenever possible, and then brokers out loads when it doesn’t have its own fleet available in a specific area.
The company’s main facility in Titusville, Florida, has a semi-relaxed atmosphere and large open-concept office layout to encourage employee communication. The leadership team also aims to be flexible with its people and their schedules.
“We want the employees to have the ability to work from home and the road so that their job can be handled while keeping their family and personal lives a priority. I think that’s something we do differently here, compared to a lot of other companies. That probably just comes naturally being a family-owned-and-operated company for sixty-plus years now,” says Chase.
Through prioritizing family values and creating a positive workplace culture focused on fairness and mutual respect, JGLC has built a close-knit team of logistics experts who take pride in the work they do. JGLC also has Logistics Agents all over the United States and Canada who work directly with customers and make themselves available at any time via phone, text, or email. They want to make sure the job is done correctly and that there is always someone available to handle any obstacle that may arise. JGLC agents and staff members are deeply invested in the success of the company, its shipping partners, and, most importantly, its customers.
The company also works to build strong relationships with drivers. “We pay our truckers faster than most other companies. We have been around since 1962, and we have the highest ratings in every single category. That’s one advantage of working with us is that we’re really good all the way around. All our scores are super high,” says Jeffrey. As the company keeps its people and its shipping partners happy, those workers, in turn, keep customers happy.
JGLC has developed a reputation for reliability, and this has generated repeat customers and has led to several industry honors and awards. The quality of its service has been recognized by organizations including Red Book and Blue Book Credit Services, the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, the Transportation Intermediaries Association, Truckstop.com, and more.
In 2013, JGLC became a member of the voluntary SmartWay Transportation Partnership program. At the time, the company was preparing to bring a new client on board, but that client wanted to make sure that everyone involved would be following best practices in terms of energy efficiency. The EPA’s SmartWay program has the highest standard in the transportation industry, and JGLC was happy to acquire the certification.
“More and more companies are making sure that you are SmartWay-approved. SmartWay is really just a reinforcement of what we try to do here already. We try to be as efficient as possible, whether that’s financially or taking the initiative with the environment,” says Chase.
As the number of companies working towards improving sustainability grows, JGLC is supporting those businesses by partnering with other SmartWay-approved companies whenever possible. The SmartWay program is a credible way to demonstrate if transportation and logistics companies are dedicated to sustainability in the industry.
JGLC plans to continue along its current path. “The short-term goals are pretty simple. It’s basically just to keep doing what we’re doing, adding customers, adding agents, growing organically, and capitally, all while maintaining that level of customer service. Long-term goals: we want to grow into the leading transportation intermediary. That’s always been the goal, and that will remain the goal,” says Chase.
JGLC customers benefit not only from the company’s capacity to connect them with the best possible carrier in terms of costs and shipping times but also from its commitment to managing that shipment from start to finish.
“The unlimited potential is what has us most excited. There is so much freight to be shipped. We feel we are just scratching the surface of our potential. This company has always been family-owned, but just within the last few years, have we really started to expand and grow. We feel that we are just beginning to take off.”
