COE Distributing

is that we have an educated, outside sales force.The majority are third party, independent sales organiza- tions and we cover 40 states with the sales group; that includes everything east of the Rockies. So, our geographic footprint has expanded over the course of the last eight years. In the last two years,we’ve expanded into Texas and we are in the process of expanding into Chicago and the Midwest, in gener- al.” Going forward, Ewing wants the company to con- tinue to evolve its product mix to “be relevant and ahead of the curve.That’s part and parcel as to why our success has been so great,”he maintains.“Inte- grating new technologies as they come out, such as from a health and fitness standpoint. For example, the standing desk, the height adjustable worksta- tion, has made a significant impact in our business, recently. So,what’s the next thing coming and how do we adapt to that?” He also believes that continued success will de- pend upon the effectiveness of its rapidly expand- ing staff.“Our hiring over the last twelve months has been nonstop,”he says.“As much as anything else, our ability to be successful has been integrating new employees and keeping and improving the cul- ture of our company; making sure that everybody is focused and understands what our goals are,which is servicing the customer better than any of our competitors and doing that consistently.” In fact, Ewing reveals that the company is in the midst of a team-building exercise: “Our theme for this month, for our management and sub-manage- ment group, is ‘leading together.’And that’s getting more people engaged from top to bottom, and bottom to top, and making sure that anybody that doesn’t understand what they’re supposed to be Lightning Transportation offers over 30 years of expertise in Intermodal Trans- portation for drayage service with offices in Baltimore MD, Norfolk VA, Charlotte NC, Charleston SC, Savannah GA and Atlanta GA. Wayne Gaumer n President wayne@lightningtrans.com Brian Kontor n Regional Sales Manager bkontor_943@comcast.net For rates or dispatch: cservice@lightningtrans.com WWW.LIGHTNINGTRANS.COM n 800-233-0624 Corporate Office 16820-C Blake Road Hagerstown, MD, 21740 “Our operators are the best in the industry - and we treat them that way!” Commercial Truck Rentals Brokerage Used Trucks Integrated Logistics Full Service Leasing Gas & Oilfield Services Preventative Maintenance Professional Shop Management Solutions for Your Transportation Challenges www.aimntls.com | info@aimntls.com COE DISTRIBUTING doing, and how to do it, has the right information and tools. In the first three days since we’ve started that,we’ve seen dramatic improvement where we didn’t even necessarily see the need for improvement - just by having the same conversation in a little different way.” In the end, Ewing says that what has truly allowed COE Distributing to be successful “boils down to timing and hard work. I truly believe that there is no magic wand,”he avers.“You can’t just make a company great.There’s a lot of hard work involved. It takes continual effort and hard work from all the teammembers, new and old.” n Aim Integrated Logistics, Inc. www.aimntls.com n Lightning Transportation www.lightningtrans.com PREFERRED VENDORS