Peter Latta, 67-year-old CEO and third-generation owner of the West Chester, Pennsylvania-based transportation and logistics provider A. Duie Pylewas only 12 years old when he first tried his hand at family business.
“That first day, the store manager asked me to fill up the truck with fuel that was from two gas stations,” Latta says. entrepreneur. “I went out and figured out how to fill up the truck, and he came over and said, 'Son, do you know the difference between diesel fuel and gasoline?' And I said, 'Uh, no.' And he said, “Well, you just put the wrong fuel in the truck.”
Despite the rough start, Latta would go on learn all the ins and outs of his grandfather Alexander Duie Pyle's now 100-year-old company and help guide it through some significant periods of gROWTH.
Image Credit: Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle. Lattas; Peter Latta, center.
The story begins with the purchase of a used truck in 1924; Alexander Duie Pyle drove the vehicle and his wife Mary Ellen, Latta's grandmother, was the bookkeeper and dispatcher for the small operation. The couple would have a daughter, Latta's mother, Eleanor, who married James (Jim) Latta. When Latta returned from the service world War Twohe joined A. Duie Pyle in what he thought would be a temporary base — but remained until his death in 1995, Latta says.
Image Credit: Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle. Mary Ellen and Alexander Duie Pyle.
A decade ago, in 1985, Peter Latta returned full-time to A. Duie Pyle after working as CPA and then as a lawyer. The company had fewer than 100 employees at the time and saw about $10 million in annual revenue, he says. Today, Pyle, which serves the Northeast with expanded coverage through partnerships in the Southeast, Midwest and Canada, boasts more than 4,300 employees and is on track to see $850 million in revenue this year.
The company's largest business unit is less-than-truckload transportation, a for-hire transportation service for loads or relatively small quantities of goods. In 2013, Pyle launched its dedicated services business, whose clients, including the supermarket chain of Wegman's, contract for full-time work. Pyle also has a warehouse and distribution business, a truckload management service and a legacy steel transportation business.
“If people trust each other (and) depend on each other, they don't want to let each other down.”
As impressive as Pyle's track record and earnings are now, he had to navigate some big ones CHALLENGE — and take advantage of several opportunities — to become the success that you are today.
In 1979, a year before deregulation of the motor carrier industry began, Pyle endured a three-month strike when Latta's father, then CEO, sought to negotiate the terms of the Teamsters' National Motor Carrier Agreement. Jimmy Hoffa Sr. He offered a new end date and differential of five cents an hour, believing that the 30-year union relationship could not be sustained if Pyle had to weather the coming storm.
Image Credit: Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle. Jim and Eleanor Latta.
Ultimately, Jim Latta's leadership would strengthen the business: After the 14-week strike, about 30 of the nearly 100 workers resigned from the union and crossed the border. After the certification election, Pyle became a non-union company. “trust it's a powerful thing,” Latta says. “I learned that in the Teamster strike. If people trust each other (and) depend on each other, they don't want to let each other down.”
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Then, in 1980, the process of deregulation was underway. The motor carrier industry wasn't regulated until 1935 when it was treated “like a public utility,” Latta says. The Interstate Commerce Commission regulated movement across states, and the state's public utility commission regulated movement within its borders.
“If you were to operate, you got grandfathered rights to operate in the territory you were operating in,” Latta says. “So, obviously, that was our situation from 1935 to 1980. It was very difficult to get certificates of operating authority issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission or the state utility commissions. And so the carriers would buy another carrier to obtain their certificate of operating authority.”
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Image Credit: Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle. Alexander Duie Pyle at a trade show in 1939.
Moreover, during that adjustment period, the carriers collectively set the rates — with antitrust immunity. Known today as price-fixing among competitors, this meant limited price competition and a “pretty comfortable world,” says Latta. Then, in 1980, deregulation began, making it easier for carriers to obtain new territory operating authority and eliminating the antitrust exemption for collective rate-setting—which meant an influx of new and growing carriers. price competition.
“No one knew what it would bring,” Latta recalls—but it would turn the industry upside down. Businesses within the motor carrier industry reported revenue to the government by 1980, and of the top 60 companies by revenue that year, only three, including Pyle, remain in business today, Latta says, noting that 55 of those 60 were Teamster Union carriers.
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“While deregulation became a disaster for many, many carriers, it was an opportunity to expand, grow and profit.”
Until 1996, Pyle operated one less truck terminal serving an area approximately 50 miles around West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the company did not serve any state as a whole. As industry disruption continued and customers demanded more comprehensive coverage, Pyle stepped up complete the challengesetting out to become a regional carrier in the Northeast.
“At the time, there were six regional carriers that pretty much owned the market,” Latta says. “We were bitten as we expanded geographically in that area. Today, all six of those companies are no longer in business, and we survived. So while deregulation became a disaster for many trucking companies, it was an opportunity to expand, to grow and benefit from deregulation and increased competition.”
According to Latta, Pyle's key to a successful century in business “has really been the commitment of Pyle people, which I always attribute to six core values (sensitivity, honesty, citizenship, service first, integrity and benefit).As we embrace them, all the people on the Pyle team create a very healthy culture, and from that culture comes trust.”
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“Our secret sauce has been our discretionary composite effort of the Pyle people.”
That sense of trust came to the fore again on June 15, 2019, when Pyle suffered a ransomware cyber attack and was unable to access voicemail, email and self-developed operational applications. The company returned to a pencil-and-paper approach – and was honest with its customers about the difficult situation. They appreciated it tRANSPARENCYsays Latta, and some even returned business temporarily with the promise of returning once the situation was resolved.
“From that connection between core values, culture and trust comes a term I like to use — 'discretionary effort,' which is the highest and highest effort,” Latta says. “Our secret sauce has been our composite discretionary effort of Pyle people. After all, we live in a world of service. Trucks, trailers, facilities, technology are all tools of the trade, like a saw and a hammer to a carpenter. But it's the people using their discretionary tools and efforts that determine where we rank against the competition.”
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Image Credit: Courtesy of A. Duie Pyle
Latta loves Pyle's people and culture and says it's gratifying to know the company is “making the lives of 4,000 families better financially.” He recalls an interaction about a month ago when he was in New York's Bronx Terminal for an early morning meeting; a driver showed him a picture of the house he and his wife had just bought, one they “never dreamed” could be theirs, and said they could save for their children's education.
“From a longevity standpoint, (it's about) profit—I use the term 'profit', not 'profit'— gaining trust of our customers, our employees and our employees' families—because that's the silent force behind the curtain, the families—and it helps motivate our Pyle people to do great things,” Latta says.