Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Chad Eichelberger, left, is the president of Access America Transport, pictured with company CEO Ted Alling.At age 29, Chad Eichelberger has driven up the ranks of rapidly rising Access America Transport to become president of what's nearly a $100 million a year business.
"It has been a goal of mine to continue to move up," said Eichelberger, who joined the Chattanooga-based, third-party logistics company five years ago. "It has been rewarding to see the growth of the company."
Ted Alling, one of Access America's founders who remains as chief executive, said the privately held transportation business isn't afraid to empower its employees.
"We've thrown him the keys and he's driving the company," Alling said about Eichelberger, who moves up from a vice president post.
speeding ahead
Despite a sluggish economy, Access America continues to speed past financial and other mileposts.
Alling, 33, said the venture that specializes in truckload, less-than-truckload and supply chain management services expects revenues to hit $95 million by year's end, up from $54 million in 2009.
Inc. magazine earlier this year cited the company as one the nation's fastest-growing private businesses. It was ranked No. 483 on the Inc. list with three-year growth of 619.2 percent.
The company has hired 50 more employees this year, and it could add up to 80 more in 2011, the company CEO said. The business now has 140 workers, with more than half that number in the city, he said.
About a year ago, Access America expanded its physical presence in Chattanooga from its East 43rd Street headquarters by leasing space at Eastgate Town Center because it was "bursting at the seams," Alling said.
J.Ed. Marston, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of marketing, said Access America has come on "quickly and impressively."
He said the company's business model involved applying technology to an industry that otherwise came to it relatively late. Also, Access America has shown a lot of interest in diversifying that model and driving growth as a result, Marston said.
Eichelberger said the company, which he called "one of the top 20 players" in its industry, plans to take advantage of several key factors to continue to race ahead in 2011.
nationwide clients
The company is large enough so it's working with national clients as well as attracting talent countrywide, officials said.
"We're recruiting on a national scale," Eichelberger said. "We're looking at things from a larger perspective."
Alling said Access America is dealing with Fortune 500 companies. Amazon.com, which has a proposal to build new distribution facilities in Chattanooga and Bradley County, is one company with which Access America is talking, for example, he said.
"We're talking to national and global companies about opportunities," Eichelberger said. The company has over 4,000 customers.
Meanwhile, the tough economy has culled some of the company's competitors, officials said.
"A lot of the competition couldn't weather the storm," Alling said, who plans to spend more time in long-term strategic planning. "The next few years look very, very bright."
Another key to the company's emergence is a business model that aggressively uses technology, but doesn't have a lot of middle management, they said.
"We're a flat company," Alling said. "There's no micro management."
Looking ahead, Alling said there may be opportunities for acquisitions. In addition, the company is examining the start up of other businesses, he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.