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VENEZIA TRANSPORT IS ON A ROLL-Special to the Philadelphia Business Journal LIMERICK-- Venezia Transport Service, Hauling Inc. is accelerating in the fast lane, and the breakneck pace suits company President Frank Venezia just fine. Venezia, a family-owned trucking and logistics company, recently broke ground on a new 45,000 square-foot corporate facility and terminal in Limerick and continues to set its sights on expansion. The company's growth, which has averaged 15 percent annually for at least the last 10 years, is expected to grow 30 percent to 40 percent in the next three to five years, Venezia predicted, as it expands while exploring prospective acquisitions. "We have a passion for business and a passion for creating business," said Venezia, 53, a resident of Trooper, who has been involved in the business since its inception in 1967. "We're proud we are filling a niche in our industry. The trucking industry is full of niches and we're doing our best to fill them." Venezia takes satisfaction in how far the company has come since its humble beginnings with a single dump truck he used to haul asphalt and stone to construction sites. His father, who would eventually join his sons -- Frank and his brothers, John and Andrew -- in the business, had earned his living hauling produce. "I didn't want to go to college," recalled Venezia, a graduate of Bishop Kennedy High School who grew up in the Norristown area. "I wanted to buy a truck. I grew up around trucks." Together, the Venezia brothers built a business that serves 23 states in the Northeast, South and Midwest. The company specializes in transporting liquids, LP (liquid propane) gas, dry bulk materials, bulk food, plastic resin and petroleum. The company also includes flat bed, local dry van, over-the-road dry van and specialized chemical divisions. One of the commodities shipped by Venezia is cement for the construction industry. The company handles 1,000 loads of cement weekly for an industry whose tight, often unbending deadlines mean that "you have to be on time, every time," Venezia said. Venezia Transport operates out of terminals in Limerick, Nazareth and Evansville in Pennsylvania; also Port Norris, N.J.; New Middletown, Ohio; and Louisville, Ky. The company employs more than 400 people and has a fleet of 1,250 vehicles, comprised of tractors, tankers and dry trailers. Venezia Transport is not just big wheels on big rigs, it's high-tech too, with a fully integrated computer system that gives it near-instantaneous tracking and documentation capabilities. Despite its regional growth, or maybe because of it, the company has no plans to expand farther west because of the growing amount of business in the territory it already serves. "There's no reason to go to California," he said. "There's so much opportunity where we are." Indeed, the company is moving quickly forward on several fronts. Venezia's new $3 million complex, which is being constructed on a 25-acre tract of land adjacent to the Limerick airport, will house corporate offices, operations and customer services as well as fleet housing and maintenance facilities. The facility, which is scheduled to be completed by next July, will replace a 20,000-square-foot building on West Ridge Pike in Limerick that contains executive offices and maintenance operations. The company has been there since 1977. The new facility, which is located near the Limerick Airport Business Center, will house administrative employees. In addition to 85 administrative and support staff, Venezia also counts 260 drivers who are employees and 90 owner-operators among its 435-member work force. Meanwhile, the company is pursuing acquisitions of smaller trucking companies in the $5 million to $10 million range. In March, Venezia Transport expanded into the LP hauling market by acquiring the propane transport assets of Walter J. Styer Inc. of Uwchland. With the purchase, Venezia assumed ownership and operation of Styer's entire fleet and customer delivery commitments to LP gas manufacturers, marketers and retailers throughout the mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwestern states. The new LP Gas division, Venezia Hauling Inc., will run out of the former Styer terminal in Eagle, PA. The purchase will allow the company to expand Venezia Transport's presence in the LP gas market by using its existing fleet, its professional sales and logistics staff, and its state-of-the-art communications and logistics technology. "There's so much business in the area we serve," Venezia said. "We expect that to continue." |
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