Lake Erie Transportation

Lake Erie Transportation, headquartered at 3025 West 17th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a comprehensive provider of regional asset-based trucking, thirdparty North American logistics and expedite, heavy duty truck maintenance, and crossdock warehouse services. Shown here are the company’s leadership team (from left): Director of Business Development Denton Sauers, President and CEO Chuck Sites, Director of Operations Tina Sites and Vice President Adam Gaton.

Chuck Sites is the president and CEO of Lake Erie Transportation.

Trucking, Logistics Firm Delivers 5th Year of Success Under New Ownership

Chuck Sites knows the importance of going the extra mile. As president and chief executive officer of Erie, Pennsylvaniabased Lake Erie Transportation (LET) — the parent company of Lake Erie Trucking, Lake Erie Crossdock and Lake Erie Logistics — Sites and his team have navigated new ownership and the challenges of the COVID pandemic, and achieved operational success, marking a historic revenue year in 2021. In fact, Lake Erie Transportation, LLC’s journey has been 50-plus years in the making. Its division Lake Erie Trucking is one of the oldest locally owned trucking companies in the Erie region started by Erie businessman Joe Benacci and his late uncle. The business would operate from 1967 till 1998 when Benacci would buy Dodsworth Trucking and go on to form Lake Erie Logistics in 2004 when an enthusiastic Sites joined his team. In 2016, Sites and partners bought Lake Erie Logistics. They then revived the name Lake Erie Trucking in 2017, paving the way for Lake Erie Transportation to begin operating the following year. “Our fifth year of ownership is a big accomplishment for us in that we’re carrying on the company name. We’re carrying on the trucking company that was started by the Benacci family many years ago,” Sites explains. “For us, it’s about a renewal of the company and taking it to the next generation.” With more than 30 years of industry experience, Sites certainly has the knowledge, experience and team to guide it. The Pittsburgh native grew up in the trucking industry where his father worked in small parcel delivery, often joining him on routes as a kid. Sites’ first jobs were delivering freight, and he even continued to hold down a delivery job while he majored in transportation management at Robert Morris. “That’s basically the way I worked my way through college,” he says. After working for several transportation firms in the Pittsburgh area, Sites eventually met Benacci through a mutual friend. Benacci, then owner of TWL, had purchased Dodsworth Trucking and needed an expert for his less-thantruckload (LTL) operation, recruiting Sites to join his team. On July 5, 2004, Sites became a minority partner in then Lake Erie Logistics (doing business as Dodsworth) — which turned out to be one of the best moves of his career. During his tenure, Sites served as vice president of Operations, gaining valuable leadership experience that would help him strike out to form Lake Erie Transportation years later. “I have a lot of respect for Joe Benacci, and I want to recognize that,” Sites says. “Without him, we wouldn’t be here.”

Director of Business Development Denton Sauers checks on a shipment in the logistics department. Lake Erie Logistics, the third-party division of Lake Erie Transportation, specializes in ground expedite and nationwide logistic solutions.

Today, Lake Erie Transportation, which employs a team of 55 fulltime and part-time employees at its nearly 40,000-square-foot headquarters, warehouse and truck terminal on West 17th Street, is a comprehensive trucking and logistics company providing services to various parts of the supply chain world. Its operation consists of assetbased trucking and maintenance operation Lake Erie Trucking; shortterm crossdocking and warehousing business Lake Erie Crossdock; and, its third-party division, Lake Erie Logistics, which specializes in ground expedite and nationwide logistics solutions. Lake Erie Trucking — the largest portion of its business — operates 18 to 20 hours a day, five days a week, operating within a 140-mile radius from Erie to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Buffalo to Jamestown in New York and west to Cleveland, Ohio. The company provides a wide range of services for transportation commodity freight including lessthan-truckload, full truckload and temp-controlled services as well as hot-shot trucking for smaller, timesensitive loads. “Whether it is one skid or a truckload of freight, LET’s dedicated group of drivers and management strive to exceed customer expectations and provide on-time services,” Sites says. “First and foremost, we’ve been able to tailor things directly toward our customers.” John Miller, a sourcing specialist for Graco High Pressure Equipment in Erie, can attest to Lake Erie Transportation’s customer support. The machining manufacturer has used Lake Erie Trucking for various services, and Miller has personally used Lake Erie Trucking for hotshot/time-critical pickups and deliveries, local pickups and deliveries, as well as pickups and deliveries in the tri-state area. Lake Erie Trucking also has partnered with other trucking companies outside of its daily tri-state areas to help Graco High Pressure Equipment meet vendor/ customer needs. “LET’s customer service, attention to detail and amazing track record of coming through for us speaks for itself on a daily basis,” states Miller. “They go out of their way to meet our demanding schedule for deliveries and pickups and have a genuine interest in helping us succeed.”

That focus on success has always helped drive the company, but even more so throughout the COVID pandemic when Lake Erie Trucking launched its new Home Delivery (HD) Service in March 2020. The idea was to help meet the needs of small businesses and individuals that do not have large facilities equipped with loading docks and forklifts and provide shipping options for individuals who buy and sell items on online marketplaces. “First mile and last mile is essentially getting to people’s houses, so one thing that COVID did was create a massive need for home delivery and home pickups,” Sites explains. “So, in March 2020, we were able to capitalize on some work for other trucking companies and deliver to people’s houses. Over the last year, “Our fifth year of ownership is a big accomplishment we’ve seen a huge increase of momfor us in that we’re carrying on the company name. We’re carrying on the trucking company that was started by the Benacci family many years ago. For us, and-pop businesses that have two people that are operating outside of their shed or garage. We’ve also had more need of picking up at big-box it’s about a renewal of the company and taking it to stores and construction sites, and the next generation.” — Chuck Sites there’s a lot of opportunity for that in the future.” LET’s HD Service has a variety of vehicles that can accommodate any shipping need — from tractor-trailers and flatbeds, to box trucks with liftgates, as well as other smaller units such as 16-feet flatbeds and cargo vans. The company recently made some major investments in its fleet, which has grown to 15 day-cab tractors, 15 straight trucks (between 24 and 26 feet boxes with liftgates), and approximately 50 trailers. To keep the trucks on the road, Lake Erie Trucking provides heavyduty diesel maintenance and repair for its own fleet as well as outside customers. The company’s mechanics and technicians offer >

Lake Erie Transportation is a comprehensive trucking and logistics company headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania and the parent company of Lake Erie Trucking, Lake Erie Logistics and Lake Erie Crossdock. Through the three divisions, Lake Erie Transportation provides regional asset-based trucking, third-party North American logistics and expedite, heavy duty truck maintenance, and crossdock warehouse services. Headquarters: 3025 West 17th Street Erie, PA 16505 Website: lel-erie.com Phone: 814/825-9891

Lake Erie Trucking has a large fleet to handle a variety of transportation commodity freight including less-thantruckload, full truckload, and temp-controlled services as well as hot-shot trucking for smaller, time-sensitive loads, as well as its new Home Delivery (HD) Service.

a wide variety of services from state inspections to complete truckrebuild capabilities. “We specialize in working on pre-emissions vehicles, any kind of diesel, non-diesel vehicles, and we can do inspections as well,” says Sites. “We have a great group of mechanics.”

Additional Services and Support

Complementing its asset-based division and maintenance services is Lake Erie Logistics, LLC (LEL), which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company, which began operating as a third-party division of LET in 2007, specializes in ground expedite and nationwide logistic solutions. Lake Erie Logistics provides an all-around customer solution to move freight throughout the United States and parts of Canada. “It’s basically direct freight that has to go on dedicated routes that can’t be on planes, for example,” explains Sites. “We aren’t a clearinghouse or broker, but we do provide the transportation end of it. We focus on what we do best, which is expedited cargo van, straight truck and overthe-road truckload.” An additional benefit of working with Lake Erie Transportation is its short-term crossdocking and warehousing solutions available through Lake Erie Crossdock. Crossdock services involve unloading products/ goods from a truck or container directly onto another truck for delivery. Items are not put away but merely staged near dock doors to await loading. Therefore, there is little to no storage, and turnaround time between receipt and shipment is usually less than 24 hours. Lake Erie Crossdock’s operation began in 2013 when then-General Electric (now Wabtec) opened its Texas plant and was looking to consolidate freight shipped to its Erie facility and different buildings within the plant. “Rather than have multiple trucks coming in, they were able to reduce traffic flow, so they came to us and we built the system from scratch,” Sites says. For customers challenged with floor space, overtime or freight surges, crossdocking services are an ideal solution for shipping and receiving. Lake Erie Crossdock also has the added support of Lake Erie Trucking and Lake Erie Logistics if needed. “For many customers, we can be that one-stop shop for them,” says Sites. “We’re able to bring freight in. We’re able to be their receiving in their shipping operation and be an extension of who they are.” Lake Erie Transportation has the size and flexibility to fulfill customers’ needs, but it also has the team to back it up — and it is one of the most gender diverse management teams within the trucking industry. Tina Sites is the company’s director of Operations, and also on the team are Logistics Ops Manager Shannon Brooks and Controller Jennifer Decker. “For the size of our transportation company,” says Sites, “we have a lot of female managers, which is fantastic.” LET’s people are certainly what Sites believes drives the company to be successful. Many of his team members are from western Pennsylvania and most have been promoted from within, enabling the company to retain top talent. Tina Sites, for one, is a graduate of the Bradford Business School and began her career at Lake Erie Transportation as a clerk. Director of Business Development Denton Sauers, a graduate of Gannon University, and Vice President Adam Gaton, a graduate of Penn State Behrend, both began their careers at Lake Erie Transportation as interns. “We don’t have a lot of turnover as opposed to other companies, and we’ve been able to grow our people and that’s what’s really helped us,” says Sites. It’s this approach that is also helping Lake Erie Transportation address one of the biggest challenges of the U.S. trucking industry — a major driver shortage that the American Trucking Associations estimates could rise to more than 160,000 by 2028. “We have a driver training program where someone can come and start working on the dock and then move up to a straight truck and then move into tractor-trailers,” says Sites. “If you can get people who are talented, get them in, and give them a path to succeed, it works. We know because it has driven us.” According to Sites, competitive wages and technology are also critical to attracting younger drivers to a mature industry. During COVID, Lake Erie Transportation increased its wages for its front-line team, and it also has adopted new technologies to improve both driver and customer experiences. “Our drivers don’t have to do paper logging anymore,” says Sites. “We have GPS and onboard systems for our trucks, and we can basically dispatch our freight through phone apps. Even from the aspect of being able to drop freight off and take a picture of it to use as a delivery sheet, it’s so much better.”

Driving Success

With the right investments and manpower, Lake Erie Transportation appears to be headed in the right direction. The company has navigated the challenges of the COVID crisis, but has kept its focus on the road ahead. The company has added new services, such as HD, and invested in its fleet and people. “We’re very proud of our history and how far the company has come in the last five years,” says Sites. “As a team, we’re looking forward to a bright future.”

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LET’S OPTIMIZE YOUR ENERGY STRATEGY. The energy market is constantly evolving. For you, Judy Rosatti that spells opportunity. By combining our expertise MBA EnergyAdvisor with your needs, we can lead you to an energy plan that yields long-term savings. The energy market is constantly evolving. For you, Direct Phone: 814-314-1933Judy Rosatti that spells opportunity. By combining our expertise MBA EnergyAdvisor From upfront analysis to a tailored procurement strategy — diligence through implementation — our with your needs, we can lead you to an energy plan that yields long-term savings. Direct Phone: 814-314-1933 team can make energy a key component in driving your business forward. From upfront analysis to a tailored procurement strategy — diligence through implementation — our team can make energy a key component in driving BidURenergy, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. © your business forward. 2020 NRG Energy, Inc. All rights reserved. 456480665

The energy market is constantly evolving. For you, that spells opportunity. By combining our expertise with your needs, we The energy market is constantly evolving. For you, can lead you to an energy plan that yields long-term savings. Judy Rosatti that spells opportunity. By combining our expertise with your needs, we can lead you to an energy plan that yields long-term savings. From upfront analysis to a tailored procurement strategy — diligence through implementation — our team can make energy a key component in driving your business forward. MBA EnergyAdvisor Direct Phone: 814-314-1933 From upfront analysis to a tailored procurement BidURenergy, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. © 2020 NRG Energy, Inc. strategy — diligence through implementation — our All rights reserved. 456480665 team can make energy a key component in driving your business forward.

BidURenergy, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. © 2020 NRG Energy, Inc. BidURenergy, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. © All rights reserved. 456480665 2020 NRG Energy, Inc. All rights reserved. 456480665