Fetch Logistics Inc.

Being in the transportation business gives Fetch Logistics Inc. a front-row seat to spot trends in the economy, officials of the Amherst freight broker say.

"We see a lot of economic indicators here even before economists do," said Gary Zoldos, Vice President of Operations.

"In the case of fuel prices, if they are high and people have $20 to $30 a week less to spend in stores, our customers drop their orders to us." he said. "If we could change anything for the sake of the business, it would be stabilized fuel prices."

David Bryk, company Vice President of Sales, said that working on a daily basis in the transportation marketplace sometimes enables the company's to recognize economic trends three to six months before they become generally apparent.

What's Happening: Fetch Logistics Inc. is a freight broker - a third party provider of freight transportation services.

Who's Who: Robert Closs, William Wilcox and Robert Atwater are co-owners of the private company. Zoldos, Thomas Cloen and Bryk are vice presidents of Operations, Customer Service and Sales, respectively.

Customers: Fetch's customer list includes companies in the food and beverage, paper, plastics, building materials and consumer goods industries. Most are manufacturers.

History: The company was established in 1997. When founders Robert Closs and William Wilcox were trying to decide on a name, they searched a thesaurus for alternate words for moving or transporting and settled on "fetch."

The image of a pugnacious bulldog was selected as the logo for the company.

Closs, Wilcox, and the third partner Atwater, who joined in 2001, all formerly worked for a national transportation company's Western New York regional office.

Fetch Logistics' first decade has been marked by steady growth in revenue and jobs.

In the last five years, sales grew from $11 million in 2002 to $17 million in 2003, $21 million in 2004, $27 million in 2005 and $30 million in 2006.

The customer list has grown from one with mostly small- to mid-size companies to a list where three-quarter are Fortune 500 companies, Bryk said.

Employment also has climbed steadily. When Cloen arrived six years ago, the workforce consisted of seven employees. The total was 12 when Bryk came on board, and in the 20s when Zoldos arrived in 2003. There are 55 employees today.

The company was launched in the basement of the house of Robert Closs's parents. The current location, where the company moved in 2006, is its fourth. All have been in Amherst.

"We have been profitable from the start," Zoldos said. "This has been a great success story."

Territory: The company services companies in the lower 48 United States, Canada and Mexico.

Revenue: More than $30 million.

Employees: The workforce includes accounting people, employees who trace shipments, sales personnel, customer service representatives and dispatchers.

Proudest moment: "Being named by Inc. Magazine four consecutive years from 2002 to 2005 to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S. was our proudest moment," said Bryk. "We had to be in business five years to qualify.

"We're also proud that we are celebrating our 10th year anniversary this year," he said.

Most extravagant business expense that was worth more than the price: "Investment in software has easily been our most important investment. It is averaging easily $100,000 a year every year. We will continue to improve and invest in new and improved software and programs," Cloen said.

"A lot of companies make IT investment a one-shot deal," Zoldos said, "but we do it continuously."

He noted however, that though keeping up with technology is vital to the company's continued success, everything it does is linked to trucking. "It's ironic that no matter the technology, it can't top a truck. Trucks will never be outdated," Zoldos said.

Growing pains: "In the beginning, our way of interviewing and hiring was not as thorough as it is now. Also, we didn't have an employee training program like the one that we have in place now," Cloen said.

Also, said Bryk, in the company's early days, more tasks had to be performed by the relatively few employees. "Now with more departments being created and more employees, their roles are more clearly defined and focused - another reason why good training is important," he said. In which area do you expect the most growth next year? "We will be adding more services and expand our service area as well as continue to invest in people and technology," Bryk said.

What makes your business different? "We are like a travel agency. They are in the travel business but they don't own the planes. By the same token, we are in the transportation industry, but we don't own the trucks," Bryk said.

"Service is the only product we sell. There are 15,000 competitors in our business so we have to be very good to ensure that our customers get their products to department stores or replenish the shelves in grocery stores, all on time," he said.

What's next in the future? "We want to be a $100 million company five to 10 years from now. That's in our goal," Bryk said. "It means a significant increase in revenues and workforce.