It doesn’t take Scott Riddle ’93 long to remember how many employees M33 Integrated had when the transportation management company started. There were two – and he was one of them.  “I was working out of a spare bedroom in our house, and the other one was a driver who I had hired to make particular runs for two or three customers,” he said. 

The majority of their clients are based in the Southeast, yet they help transport goods across North America.  M33 Integrated has evolved over the years. It started as a trucking company, then moved into the brokering business.  The focus changed to transportation technology and logistics management in 2002.

“It was a great move,” Scott said of the change. In 2002, the company had only one contractual account. It now has 22 contract clients, managing more than 40 shipping locations and more than $30 million a year in freight.  By 2015, the Riddles hope the company will have contracts with 100 clients and be a recognizable, leading transportation and logistics provider based in the Southeast.

Beginning the company was not without difficulties. Sammy says they experienced their share of mistakes, such as trying to create a new service they perceived to be useful but was not received well by potential clients.  “What we learned was, let’s take something that already works and be the best at it,” Sammy said.

They credit the Walker College of Business for teaching them how to communicate and work well on a team.  “As we’ve grown, we put successful people around us,” Sammy said. “Bringing in those top performers has been the single greatest factor to our growth.”