Access America adding 450 jobs in Chattanooga, 100 in Knoxville

photo Chad Eichelberger, left, is the president of Access America Transport, pictured with company CEO Ted Alling.

Chattanooga-based Access America Transport will more than double in size through the next five years, the company announced today.

Access America, which serves as a middleman between shippers and trucking companies, will grow to $1 billion in sales and almost 1,000 workers through 2017, from about $385 million in sales and 425 workers currently, said founder and CEO Ted Alling.

The growth will include 100 new jobs at a Knoxville office and 450 at the company's Chattanooga office, at a rate of about 100 new jobs per year. Access America pays a median salary of $72,000 per year, officials said.

"When I started the company I thought we could be a $100 million company, but this is now blowing me away," Alling said.

Alling and co-founder Barry Large started the company in 2002 with help from Large's family company, Key-James Brick. The duo operated from a small headquarters in Alton Park.

The company has grown primarily through its emphasis on better technology and better employee retention than its competitors, Alling said.

"We pay our people more and we have a better culture, so they stay," Alling said.

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