Pilot Executives Take a Pie in the Face

Richard Phillips, Pilot Freight Services’ CEO, kicked off an employee

appreciation picnic Wednesday at the company’s headquarters in Lima, PA , by thanking those gathered for their dedication, loyalty and results. The picnic luncheon was also an opportunity to raise some money for charity. Employees donated $5 each to wear jeans to work, which raised $655 for the Wounded Warrior Project. And several Pilot executives agreed to take a pie in the face for a good cause. Employees donated $1 for each whipped cream pie toss, resulting in over $700 raised for Pilot’s neighbor, Fair Acres Geriatric Center.

Pilot LAX Wins Big with New International Customer

It's not often that you dispatch two 53’ trailers for an air export shipment, let alone as your first move for a new customer. But that's exactly what Pilot Los Angeles did with its first consignment for a LA-based leading personal care manufacturer. It all started when the local Pilot account executive capitalized on a connection to get a meeting with manufacturer's CEO and logistics team to discuss the company's international moves. The account executive, joined by a Pilot international sales director, listened to the requirements, which included a keen understanding of the product’s packaging, advanced communication with the manufacturer’s Singapore-based distributor and the desire for competitive pricing. Confident that Pilot could meet the company’s needs, the two immediately started researching service and pricing options. The resulting proposal and SOP for air exports to Singapore was met with a confirmation that the next shipment was Pilot’s!

The first move was originally estimated to be approximately 8,000 kilos and consist of 55-gallon drums of high-end body lotions. As the pickup date approached, the shipment literally doubled in size to over 15,000 kilos. This is when Pilot’s local gateway manager went to work securing the required space in what was developing as a tight air freight market from Los Angeles to Singapore. In fact, space was so limited that some carriers were reporting up to a five-day backlog. Not only did the gateway team secure the needed space, they even obtained a direct flight!

Pilot was even able to deliver in a quicker time frame than the manufacturer was accustomed to. As a result of the experience on this initial shipment, Pilot has since handled additional air export and imports for the company. Congrats to all involved for utilizing all available resources to land this impressive new international customer for Pilot!

Pilot Sacramento Delivers Despite TSA Challenge

Move 30 tons of pistachio oil via air freight from Sacramento to Stuttgart, Germany? No problem for Pilot Freight Services’ Sacramento team. The shipment, which totaled 23,770 kilos and encompassed 30 drums, was for a customer of Pilot’s German partner. The real challenge came when the TSA put a hold on a portion of the large load at the airport. “We had to return one drum to the shipper, coordinate recovery of the 29 drums left and then tender them to a new airline,” explains Pilot Sacramento's district manager. She credits the joint effort among her fellow Pilot teammates, the supplier and Pilot’s German partner for bringing the project to a positive completion!

New Home for Pilot Salt Lake City

The team at Pilot Salt Lake City is settling into its new space since moving in April. The operation had outgrown the previous location, so a bigger, more efficient facility was secured. SLC is now strategically located 10 minutes from the airport and next door to Forward Air, an important partner.  

A larger warehouse space and more loading docks were also needed. SLC’s new home has both with 20,000 square feet (double its previous location), nine dock doors and one ramp door. Expansion is also possible. “We have first right of occupancy to the adjacent suite which will allow for an additional 4,000-square-foot warehouse and two more dock doors,” says Pilot’s SLC district manager. 

Looking back at 2015

2015 was a great year at Pilot. It brought us our best-ever performance, with record revenue of $556.3 million and 1.4 million shipments in total.

Throughout the year, we worked to continue our efforts expanding Pilot’s international and domestic reach, delivering our trademark personalized service, and adjusting the customized shipping solutions we offer customers worldwide.

Looking ahead, we are excited to keep the momentum as we bring our people, technology, and understanding of ground, ocean, and air capacity to new stations in Vancouver and Mexico City. In 2015, we debuted a new retail services division, and we look forward to it progressing in the coming year, allowing us to expand our work with brick-and-mortar retailers.

Keep your eyes here for updates, and from all of us at Pilot, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2016.

A special delivery benefiting the foster children of Arizona

Customer service and loyalty has always been important to us. Therefore, when we were approached by past customers, Sheri and Sal Barbera of Sweetles, a publishing company for children’s books, to assist with a special delivery, we were happy to help.

The couple was on a mission to donate over 1,000 copies of Sal’s book, “Mary Elizabeth the Spotless Cow,” to Arizona Helping Hands, a non-profit organization benefiting the state’s foster children. In need of a way to get the donations from the printing facility located in Brainerd, MN to Arizona Helping Hand’s headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ, Sheri turned to Pilot. After remembering her previous experience with Pilot and the value we placed on her customer as if they were our own, Sheri was confident we’d handle this delivery with the same special care.

Tom Drake, VP, domestic/Canadian operations and traffic, and his team worked hard to ensure Arizona Helping Hands received the donations properly and I‘m happy to report we were even able to get them the books ahead of schedule.
 
We take on every delivery with our customer’s best interest in mind and we couldn’t be more pleased to help donate our services to support such a momentous cause. Thanks to Sheri and Sal, the real heroes, for reaching back out to Pilot and allowing us to help make a difference!

Pilot de Mexico open for business!

Planting Pilot roots in Mexican soil has been in the works for some time and I am happy to announce that we've officially expanded our operations to Mexico, where we’re now doing business as Pilot de Mexico. The first station under the Pilot de Mexico brand, located in Mexico City, is a full service operation and will address customers' transportation and logistics needs within the city and the interior states of Mexico.

During our national meeting this year, the growth of the Mexican economy was brought up in almost every breakout session. For example, Gordon Branov, executive VP of business development, pointed out that Mexico’s economy is the 11^th largest in the world, making the region an obvious choice for our growing international footprint. Phil Annese, director of automotive, noted that in the next two years, Mexico is expected to surpass Japan in automotive business, opening up doors for our eager sales reps to make an impact in the country.

Under the management of Alberto Ochoa, a 17 year industry veteran, along with the continued support of sales, customer service and the Pilot community, I have full confidence that Pilot de Mexico will exceed expectations. And because of the potential in this market, I don’t anticipate Mexico City being our only station in Mexico for very long.

Thank you to everyone who played a role in making Pilot de Mexico a reality!