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Business View Magazine
local businesses. We gave them opportunities to go
back to the railroad; we gave them better rates and
cost savings where they could say ‘I don’t have to haul
my stuff from St. Louis to Batavia, New York on a truck
all the way – I can bring it by rail.’”
Examples of customers that GVT has lured away from
shipping by truck include a gypsum manufacturer, a
birdseed distribution company, and a nearby scrap
dealer. “They were bringing things in and shipping
things out by truck,” he says. “With our warehouse
and our transfer facility in Batavia, we gave them the
opportunity to bring their scrap two miles to our rail-
road siding, put it in a railroad car, ship it to Pittsburgh
or Indiana, and save their own trucks from doing all
those roundtrips, saving them thousands of dollars.
One boxcar can accommodate what would normally fill
four truckloads.”
Monte Verde is quick to explain that even though GVT
is now doing well, it has only done so by carefully and
assiduously cultivating new customers, and then serv-
ing them well. “There were days when Conrail was not
doing too well and service was poor. When we took
these railroads over, we had to go back to the custom-
ers and sell them that rail service was worth it; that
we would be there every day. When they came to work
at eight o’clock in the morning, and when they’d slide
that warehouse door open, there’s going to be a box-
car there. We complement the big railroads with the
final mile of friendly, customized, customer service. If
you ran out of product at 9 o’clock that night, and at
8 o’clock tomorrow morning, you’re going to start up,
we would run something at 6 o’clock in the morning so
that you would be able to continue your business. We
strive very hard.”
Monte Verde is quick to give all the credit for GVT’s
success to his employees. “The people make the com-
pany,” he exclaims. “I am really happy with the people
we have working for the company. My biggest pride is
the fact that they do their jobs safely and the custom-
