STI (Specialized Transportation Inc.)

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Specialized Transportation Inc.
Type	Private, Agent-owned
Founded	1964 in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Headquarters	Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
No. of locations	44 Distribution Centers
Area served	, United States , Canada
Key people	President & CEO - Rob Shearer CFO - Rick Burton CIO - Brent A. Baker
Industry	High Value Products Transportation & Logistic Solutions
Owner	Specialized Transportation Agent Group Inc.
Website	www.stidelivers.com www.stidelivers.ca

Specialized Transportation Inc. has been a key player in the transportation industry since 1964, under various ownership. Originally named the High Value Products Division (HVPD) of North American Van Lines (NAVL), the company came under the ownership of PepsiCo, Norfolk Southern Corp., Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and other independent agent groups. It has done business with some of the most successful businesses of all times and also played a major role in moving the transportation industry forward with innovations of equipment, service and marketing that have revolutionized the business. This corporation has not only transported shipments that amount to millions of dollars per shipment, but has also moved historical shipments, including the secret shipments of the 1977 tour of King Tutankhamun.

1 History
2 Notable shipments
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Beginning in late 1964 NAVL created its High Value Products Division (HVPD), which later was bought out and taken private as the independent company named Specialized Transportation Inc. The original division began with 20 drivers from the NAVL Exhibit and Display Division, and moved high value electronics for defense installations, contracted by Control Data Corporation, IBM and the computer division of General Electric.^[1]

Vans are equipped with: air-ride suspension, 4,000 lb. maximium weight ramp, storage boxes and mobile telephone for dispatches and customers.
The logo on the vans included the classic North American paint job, along with the words "Electronics Division" and directly beneath "specially equipped-air suspended-radio controlled".
Early products transported included equipment involved with the SAGE, DEWLINE, NIKE and similar defense installations.
First major customers included: Control Data Corporation, IBM and the computer division of General Electric.

[edit] PepsiCo

On July 5, 1966 Spedco Inc., a subsidiary of PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission to purchase NAVL for about US$22 million in PepsiCo stock, and by 1968 NAVL became a subsidiary of Pepsico.

Immediately changed the logo by adding the colors Red, White and Blue to it.
The High Value Product Division fleet increased to 35 units.

► Early 1970's, High Value Products Division business started booming due to the fleet vans being equipped with lifts, cranes and climate control.

No other truck company had such a diverse fleet, which in turn, the diversity helped lower customer costs by increasing effiency.
National Cash Register and Digital Equipment Corporation were added to major customers list.

► 1974, revenue for High Value Products Division increased 61 percent putting them at $22.2 million annually.

► 1975, High Value Products Division expanded and started to service an Air Freight Division.

High Value Products Division worked with the Air Freight Division to transport the equipment to and from the airports.

► 1976, High Value Products Division expanded into the flatbed operations.

High Value Products Division created a flatbed with sides and a top enabling them to carry large equipment that had electronical components, named it the "Flat Max" trailer.

► 1978, PepsiCo decided to relocate North American Van Lines headquarters to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

► 1982, North American Van Lines gained federal approval to transport almost any general commodity.

High Value Product Division created the marketing campaign "No-Crate Freight", which introduced customers to padded van, uncartoned and uncrated shipping services. The marketing department would send 3 plaques to potential customers. Each plaque had a different tool attached to it that had a note explaining how that certain tool would be losing its value due to the new padded services. The tools used were a claw hammer, crowbar and nails.

In 1983 the High Value Products division became NAVL's third division to exceed the US$100 million annual revenue milestone.^[1]

[edit] Norfolk Southern

By April 1984, North American Van Lines Inc. was put up for sale by PepsiCo.^[2] On May 3, 1984 NAVL was approved for sale by PepsiCo to Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) for US$315 million.^[3]^[4]^[5]

► June 1985, Norfolk Southern Corp. acquired North American Van Lines for $375.7 million. ^{[citation needed]}

Norfolk Southern Corp. was the first to now have created a transportaion system that provided both a motor carrier and rail service.

► 1991, North American Van Lines started Worldtrac , which was the industry's first satellite tracking system.

Satellite provided the drivers location within 1,000 feet.

► 1992, North American Van Lines recorded a loss of close to $40 million.^{[citation needed]}

Norfolk Southern Corp.decided to sell off two of North American Van Lines's divisions

► 1993, North American Van Lines continued only with its relocation services and High Value Products Divisions.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Allied Van Lines/SIRVA

On January 12, 1998, NAVL was bought out from Norfolk Southern Corp. by the private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice for more than US$200 million.^[1]

On November 21, 1999, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice also completed their acquisition of Allied Van Lines and merged it with North American Van Lines to create Allied Worldwide.^[1]

On February 11, 2002 NAVL's holding company Allied Worldwide was renamed to SIRVA, Inc.^[1]

► Feberuary 11, 2002, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice committed a substantial amount of growth capital to enable Allied Worldwide to become a global provider and add more value offerings to its customers.

SIRVA came from the Latin word "servire" meaning to serve.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 SIRVA, Inc. announced its initial public offering, and its common shares became listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SIR".^[1] (NYSE: SIR)

[edit] STI independence

On October 11, 2004, a group of 43 North American Van Lines' agents, named the Specialized Transportation Agent Group Inc., bought out NAVL's High Value Products Division from SIRVA. The buyers renamed the new company Specialized Transportation Inc. (STI).^[6]