About Us
Headquartered in Nashville, TN
Quickway can deliver all the advantages of your own transportation fleet without the hassles of maintenance, the problems of driver recruitment and management, the burden of capital investment, and the risk of liability exposure. For each of our customers, we custom fit a service program that matches their needs, ranging from everyday deliveries to peak seasonal demand.
With more than 60 years in the business, we’ve developed a philosophy that provides stability and dependability to our customers. Many of the nation’s largest retailers and food manufacturers rely on us to keep their shelves stocked and their inventories at optimum levels.
As an employee-owned company, we stay focused on the long run, building a custom transportation program that works for you today and can adjust to your future and changing demands. We are "Built to Last".
Quickway's history goes back to 1960, when H. Steven George founded the Tennessee Cartage Company (TCC).
This company grew slowly at first in the dry freight business and later had sustained growth in the perishable business, particularly meat and candy.
In 1985, Ryder Truck Rental purchased TCC as part of their expansion strategy into other segments of the trucking industry beyond truck leasing and maintenance. After several acquisitions in the mid-’80s, Ryder reversed strategies in the early 1990s and decided to exit these businesses to focus on truck leasing and logistics.
In 1991, an independent management group led by Roger Blume purchased the company, then called Ryder Temperature Controlled Cartage. At that time, the company had three business units: refrigerated truckload, refrigerated less than truckload and dedicated direct store delivery (DSD). In 1993, the refrigerated LTL and truckload divisions were sold. Mr. George re-entered the business as co-owner with Mr. Blume and the remaining dedicated DSD business was re-named Quickway.
Starting small, the company grew at an average annual rate of 27% for the first nine years with one dedicated customer by focusing on service excellence and operational efficiency. This resulted in solid, stable profitability and a conservative balance sheet.
In August 2002, Quickway began to initiate a strategy of expanding its service to a broader group of food retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.
In 2003, Mr. George and Mr. Blume decided to expand the senior executive team to ensure continuity in management and ownership, and in February 2004, Bill Prevost joined Quickway as Chief Operating Officer.
Throughout Quickway’s history, the primary concern of the ownership has been for its customers and its employees. Quickway’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan was formed in December 2004 and on June 30, 2005, the Quickway Employee Stock Ownership Trust purchased all the outstanding shares of the company from Mr. Blume and Mr. George.
As Quickway moves into the future, our company is now “Built to Last” for the benefit our customers and employee owners.
Core Values
-
We will be safe, professional, and accountable in everything we do.
-
We will be the best value provider, run lean and efficient while maintaining the highest standards of safety, service, and compliance.
-
We value honesty, integrity, and open communication for problem-solving and continuous improvement.
-
We will be results-oriented, recognizing and rewarding shareholders based on their performance.
-
We are built to last, for the benefit of our customers and shareholder-employees.