Dan Sokolowski got his start in the transportation industry straight out of high
school, working for an expedited trucking company moving trucks around a terminal yard. Sokolowski was able to work his
way up from a yard jockey to CEO of the
largest independently owned provider of
ground transportation in North America.
In 1992, Sokolowski started Panther II
Transportation with $5,000 in capital, one
partner and no employees. He restructured
the company and partnered with private
equity sponsor Fenway Partners in 2005 and
transformed it into Panther Expedited
Services, which now has more than 370
employees.
Panther, located in Seville, deploys a 100
percent owner-operator fleet of 1,500 cargo
vans, straight trucks and tractor trailers on a
regional basis, mainly covering the area east
of the Mississippi River. Panther’s more than
4,000 customers include third-party logistics
providers, large automotive and industrial
customers, and the U.S. government.
Sokolowski has grown the company in
many ways. He created an owner-operator
business model instead of having a fleet of
company-owned trucks operated by employees. This allows for greater flexibility and
lower investment costs.
Sokolowski also varied Panther’s customer
base beyond automotive and other manufacturers by launching Elite Services in 2002,
which services customers with specialized
requirements. He also expanded the company from expedited ground freight transportation to premium logistics solutions and
launched its transportation brokerage business in June 2005. This allowed the company
to be a single-source logistical provider.
Sokolowski also brought in new technology by equipping all vehicles in the company’s
owner-operator network with satellite communication and tracking equipment.
In July 2006, Panther acquired its biggest
competitor, Con-way Expedite & Brokerage,
and in March 2007, it acquired Integres
Global Logistics. Sokolowski believes more acquisitions will be pursued in the future.
Sokolowski expects an increased demand
in the expedited and premium logistics markets in the coming years and that Panther will
continue to grow as the customer supply
chain becomes more complex.
HOW TO REACH: Panther Expedited Services Inc., (330) 769-5830 or www.pantherexpedite.com