Treat others how you want to be treated. That’s the Golden Rule.
It’s a simple notion many are taught growing up. However, in the jumble of adult life, with its many interactions, stressors, and opposing ideas, it can be overlooked.
But not by Allen Lund Company.
The transportation expert has long held this concept at the core of its culture, treating every team member and customer as if they were family, and, in return, has received loyalty and love back.
Due to this unwavering dedication to its associates and its partners, the company recently hit a massive milestone—reaching the $1 billion revenue mark. But, for an operation like Allen Lund Company, affectionately referred to as ALC, which prides itself on relationships, this achievement stands for so much more than financial success: It’s proof that strong dedication can foster an encouraging, caring work environment and be fruitful at the same time.
“It’s very exciting to hit a billion dollars. I think in any business you’re in, that’s a pretty unique milestone. We don’t really concentrate on top-line revenue that much, though,” explains President Eddie Lund. “At Allen Lund Company, we like to look at other factors we think are important to see if we’re on the right path or not. We are still very proud and want our entire team to celebrate the achievement.”
While the $1 billion mark may serve as an exciting landmark to point to in the company’s history, for the transportation maven, it also indicates that its long-term, finely tuned strategy is paying off. And, with this expertly crafted plan in play, Allen Lund Company has seen a plethora of other key developments in recent years, all of which played an integral part in the company’s recent accomplishment.
“We’re a sales company, and we’re in growth mode,” Eddie continues. “This recent milestone signifies that achievement and shows we had success in evolving with our current customers as well as adding new customers. Building on that, I think the bigger thing for us is that we’ve experienced incredible load growth of 94,000-plus in 2021 and a 30 percent increase in loads moved in the first quarter of 2022. That’s the bigger thing to look at and one of the reasons we were able to hit the $1 billion mark.”
These impressive feats become that much more important when the current state of the produce industry, the supply chain, and the economy are taken into account. Earning $1 billion in revenue is always remarkable, but reaching that goal with those hurdles in place showcases the tireless efforts of ALC’s dedicated team in the face of challenges and the company’s unwavering commitment to serving the industry and local communities.
“The industry has experienced one of the tightest truck markets over the last two years, and rates are as high as they’ve ever been. We told our people that we could have made a lot of excuses for not performing well, but we decided not to. Instead, we worked to figure out solutions to the challenges we were facing. It was great to be deemed an essential business during the pandemic, and we took that seriously. So, we made it our mission to move a lot of food and felt like we were contributing to the overall economy by getting products where they needed to be. At Allen Lund, we take a lot of pride in that.”
With all of these triumphs under its belt, Allen Lund Company did what anyone would do—celebrated! And, in typical company fashion, the organization took the festivities to its employees as part of its aptly named Gratitude Tour.
“We told our people that we could have made a lot of excuses for not performing well, but we decided not to. Instead, we worked to figure out solutions to the challenges we were facing.”
Eddie Lund, President, Allen Lund Company
Hitting the road, Eddie and the rest of the executive team traveled across the country, paying special visits to every single Allen Lund Company office to honor the hardworking associates that have helped achieve these goals.
“The tour was quite a feat, especially with some of the COVID concerns early on,” Eddie imparts. “Right off the bat, we didn’t know quite how to celebrate this milestone. At first, we thought about having a big party at corporate, but it just didn’t feel like us. So, we said, ‘You know what? We’re a family business, let’s go see the entire family!’ And that’s exactly what we did—we visited our last six offices at the end of April.”
As the executive team snaked its way across the United States, they were able to spend one-on-one time with the dedicated employees that work tirelessly to keep the operations running smoothly. To say thank you, each team was provided with a lovely meal and was given a special-edition T-shirt to remember the occasion, because, for Allen Lund Company, all of its employees are rock stars, and what is a good concert without some fun merch?
“I think the tour was very well received. Everyone we visited got a Gratitude Tour T-shirt with a rock-and-roll-style design, and we had a special gift for everyone that worked in 2021,” Eddie joyfully says. “It was really neat and a fantastic way to celebrate hitting $1 billion, and also a great way to visit the offices and see everybody’s faces. We have hired a lot of new people that historically would have come to our corporate office for training, but that hasn’t really been possible since March 2020. So, this provided a great opportunity for us to meet a lot of new employees.”
Coming off of the Gratitude Tour and the company’s most recent success, Eddie tells me that, moving forward, its next goal is to continue expanding its family of associates. This has become especially important as the produce industry and other sectors in the United States have come up against a tight labor market. In other words, by adding more high-caliber people to its team, the operation will be enabled for further growth.
“Getting even more quality people into company seats is something we are working very hard on. Typically, before the pandemic, we probably had anywhere from 15 to 20 job openings at once, and right now we have close to 100 job openings,” Eddie conveys. “So far, we’ve done a good job hiring, but the truck market remains volatile, and we want to keep up. To do that, we’ve added to our recruiting team and bolstered our referral program for current employees, offering them added benefits if they help build out our team.”
With its strategy geared toward expansion, whether that be of its operations or its team, Allen Lund Company is taking its gratitude and its achievements and using it as fuel for its next phase of evolution.
“We’ve jokingly been saying that the first billion-dollar mark is the toughest,” Eddie humbly kids before laying out Allen Lund Company’s ambitious future plans. “With the way 2022 has started, our short-term objective is moving half a million loads in one year, and the long-term target is hitting that next billion. While it took us 46 years to get to that first billion, I’m confident we can get to the next billion in a fraction of the time. As long as we’re adding customers and carriers, increasing our load count, and providing great customer service, those top-line numbers will take care of themselves.”
You get what you give. Allen Lund Company is a prime example of this simple, yet powerful, idea, showing there is ample value in kindness and respect, especially in an industry of people like fresh produce. So, always remember to abide by the coveted Golden Rule—you too will uncover success in more ways than one. 
