by Scott Frederick | Nov 30, 2015 | News
Erie’s new Foreign Trade Zone aims to boost area business
By KARA MURPHY Contributing Writer November 29, 2015 06:19 AM
ERIE, Pa. — The warehouse looks like any other. It has concrete floors and high ceilings. It’s chilly. Dust motes circle in slices of sunlight. But this space is unique. In fact, there are only about 230 other places like it in the entire nation. Part of this bare-bones warehouse — the former Penn-Brass building on Erie International Airport property at 3837 W. 20th St. — is now an activated Foreign Trade Zone, or FTZ.
Click here to read the rest of the article on GoErie.com, including interview comments by Gretchen Blough, customs brokerage manager for Logistics Plus.
by Scott Frederick | Sep 28, 2015 | News
Logistics Plus is proud to be a sponsor for MFG DAY 2015 in Erie, PA. In addition to being mentioned in the October 2015 issue of Business Magazine, we’ll also be exhibiting at the Bayfront Convention Center this coming Thursday, October 1, 2015. John Ratzenberger and Paul Teutul, Jr. will be keynote speakers, so it should be a great event. If you plan on attending the show, please be sure to stop by the Logistics Plus table to say hello. Otherwise, you can read more about the event in the online version of Business Magazine by clicking the image below.
by Scott Frederick | Sep 24, 2015 | News
Sundreysh Sarup, Managing Director for Logistics Plus India, was recently featured in the August 2015 edition of Cargo News Unloaded – an e-newsletter published by Delhi International Airport. Sundreysh shares his views on the need for efficient cargo infrastructure in India. You can read his comments below, or click the thumbnail shown to the right to download/view a PDF copy.
by Scott Frederick | Sep 16, 2015 | News
The Erie Time-News published an article entitled “Logistics Plus in Erie brings casual approach to corporate success” in today’s paper (and online at goerie.com). It’s a nice little article with some great photographs – and we appreciate the time their staff writer spent interviewing our team, and the “inside look” he shared regarding our company’s culture.
The piece is nicely written, but I fear the forest may have been lost for the trees in the translation. While the article talks about our many non-standard practices, e.g., extremely casual attire, lack of budgets and plans, goofy personality of our CEO, etc., it doesn’t fully connect the dots as to how and why this has all been so successful. Great “managers” have budgets and plans; however, great “leaders” are beyond these standard business tools. Mr. Berlin is one such individual. Yes, he wears a t-shirt, tennis shoes, and jeans; tells funny stories; and hasn’t read our policy manual in over 10 years – but what he does do each and every day is show emotion, compassion and support for his employees and his business. A day hasn’t gone by where Jim hasn’t preached that “Logistics Plus is the company that gives a sh*t” and that we need to show our customers that is truly the case at all times. So while our company culture may seem casual and different, it has fostered an employee base that began as 3 and is now over 350, and one that has real passion for serving its customers, growing the business, and achieving success (over $120M worth of success, mind you, mostly through business referrals and customer testimonials, and as Jim often says of our employees “finding a way to YES!”).
It is true our employees enjoy the onsite fitness center, corporate trainer and free meals; but when they’re back at their desks they are working hard – often beyond normal business hours – to support the business. They know they are fully empowered to “do what’s right” for our customers and the business, and to think out-of-the-box to get the job done. And what’s great is that they also know if they make a mistake, they’ll simply get a hug from the CEO and pat on the back (and, of course, told “now, don’t do that again, right?”). I’ve been around a lot of big companies, and you won’t find that approach in too many company policy manuals, nor will you find many companies that will go the extra mile every day for their customers like Logistics Plus does.
Read the Erie Times-News Article
View the Erie Times-New Photo Gallery
by logisticsplus | Sep 9, 2015 | News
Logistics Plus (LP) was contacted recently by the Great American Stations Project to prepare a case study on how Erie Union Station was converted for commercial use. Amtrak® established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources. The case study documents Logistics Plus founder and CEO Jim Berlin’s quest to restore the old station, create a cool vibe for his company, and support economic development of downtown Erie. The author of the case study summarizes the keys to the successful commercialization of Erie Union Station as follows:
- LP renovated the station to suit modern office and commercial tenants
- Experimented with a tenant mix that responds to local market demands
- Station was one of the first large-scale building rehabilitation projects in Midtown
- LP continues to participate in wider efforts to support neighborhood redevelopment
- Renovation maintained the station’s historical integrity.
Thank you to Patrick Kidd, Senior Communications Specialist for Great American Stations Projects and Amtrak Archives for producing this case study in support of train station development. You can read the complete case study by clicking the image below. You can also download a PDF copy of the case study by clicking the thumbnail image shown above.
