Like many logistics companies, Delafield-based
Evans Transportation Services, a third-party provider of logistics solutions, has seen a sizable increase in revenues within the last three years.
Unlike its competitors, Evans Transportation did not see its growth come from market rate increases caused by supply chain backups. Instead, Evans Transportation leadership attributes both a refocus on company values and the addition of new customers and employees to its continued organic growth.
Evans Transportation saw revenues increase from $80 million to $400 million since 2018. The company also expects to grow another 10% this year. To help support this growth, Evans Transportation recently closed on a larger credit facility with PNC Bank.
“We’re going to continue to reinvest across all categories. Think of technology, think of existing and future hires, think of maybe even evolving from the marketing perspective. At its core it’s going to be reinvesting in technology and people,” said
Jason Mansur, president and chief operating officer of Evans Transportation.
About four years ago, the company embarked upon a revamp of its core mission and values – a process company leadership dubbed Evans 2.0. At its core, this revamp was focused on some customer service fundamentals. This has allowed the company to not only keep its current customer base happy but focus on more targeted customer growth.
“We like to make the transportation world complex and it can get complex at times. But at the end of the day, you’re moving something from point A to point B. It’s pretty straightforward. Where I think Evans really differentiates itself is on the overall experience,” said
Ryan Keepman, chief executive officer of Evans Transportation. “It’s not magic or a secret sauce. It’s execution.”
Evans Transportation wants to be Wisconsin’s third-party logistics provider of choice and is making a major push to increase the amount of business it does locally. About half of the company’s business is done in Wisconsin currently.
As part of this expected growth, Evans Transportation will also move into a new office in downtown Delafield that Mansur said is “two to three times larger” than the company’s current space, located at 400 Genesee St. He declined to name the new office location because the lease hasn't been finalized. Additional office moves in Minnesota are also being considered by the company.
“A significant increase to our credit capacity allows us to remain focused on our plans, while investing more into the company and its greatest asset—our employees,” said Mansur. “By investing in the best possible experience for both our customers and team members, we’re setting an industry standard no one else can match. That’s what the Evans Experience is all about."
The company currently has 100 employees, with approximately 40 located in Wisconsin. Another 40 are located in Minnesota while the rest work remotely.
While Evans Transportation expects to continue its growth trajectory, the company will still need to continue navigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mansur said the company is not worried about finding talent or new customers, but instead keeping an eye on their current customer base, which will likely seek some relief from inflated pricing.
“Our client organizations took significant cost increases over the last two years and they’re going to be demanding cost savings and reductions. They’re also going to be demanding more flexible financing,” said Mansur. “I really think there’s going to be a lot of cost pressures in our market space.”
Also part of new initiatives for 2023, Evans Transportation will look to become more active in the community. Keepman said Evans Transportation will start to provide financial support – approximately 10 percent of the company’s income -- and volunteers to local charities.
“Doing the right thing, being intentional in what we say we’re going to do, and delivering at the highest level and providing that Evans experience has given us credibility in the (logistics) space. While it doesn’t sound too flashy or complicated, people know they can call Evans and trust us,” said Keepman.
