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November 11, 2014 
Allen Lund Company Newsletter
Written by your perishable experts 

In This Issue
Proud to Be Stuck in the Middle with You
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Contact Info 
Nora Trueblood, Editor
4529 Angeles Crest Hwy., Suite 101
La Ca�ada, CA 91020
(800) 475-5863 - Office
Contributors 
Support Services
Kenny Lund, V.P.
800.777.6028

 

Boston
Lenny Sciarappa, Mgr.
800.381.LUND (5863) 

 

Los Angeles
Tracey Lewin, Mgr.
Joe Brindle, Asst. Mgr.
Matt Christ, Freight Broker 
800.300.LUND (5863)

 

Orlando
Shaun Leiker, Mgr.
800.290.LUND (5863)

Phoenix
Matt Minthorn, Mgr.
800.761.LUND (5863)
  
Portland
Steve Hull, Mgr.
800.999.LUND (5863)

 

Rochester
Paul Brunelli, Mgr.
Fred Huberlie, Natl. Accts. Mgr.
800.953.LUND (5863)

 

San Antonio
Troy Magers, Mgr.
800.456.LUND (5863)

San Francisco

Bob Rose, Mgr.  
Chris Raihl, Asst. Mgr.  
800.876.LUND (5863)
 
 
Outside Services
Chris Wozniak, Mgr.
413.247.8355

Carrier Development
Bill Bess, Director
877.915.LUND (5863)

Proud to Be Stuck in the Middle With You

 

On a recent trip to our company headquarters I heard one of the scions of our founder say, "We are always in the middle." It made me think about how the middle gets a bad rap in our culture: the middle child syndrome, the middle man, middle school, middle of the road. The implication seems to be that something important happened before and something more important will follow after, or simply that it is a bad place to be. Middle is average, middle is overlooked, the middle man should be cut out. As a middle child myself, I have always rather resented that. Our supply chain structure proves that this is not just a misconception, but could result in a gross misunderstanding of how products are moved in America. 

 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy trucks haul approximately 70% of all freight moved in America, and I have heard it said that an even higher percent of produce traveled by truck at some point in the distribution process. The carriers involved in that process did not plant the produce, did not nurture its growth, did not harvest it, did not clean and package it, did not sell it to the company receiving it. They, like the broker who procured their services, were involved in the middle. The middle is absolutely necessary. Without it there would be no connection of the beginning to the end. After all, in the essay format, if you learned the old hamburger style, the beginning and the end were the top and bottom buns. The middle was where the flavor was.

 

The supply chain structure is like a persuasive essay. At the beginning we have the stated premise from a buyer. Farmer A grows good quality product. My store's customers want that product. I will purchase that product from farmer A for my customers. A great many things need to happen successfully for the end user to have the opportunity to purchase that product. 

Granted, this is an oversimplified view of the supply chain but you get the idea. Without the middle you would just be eating bread, not a burger. Not to downplay the importance of the buns. Without the folks who specialize in growing, buying and selling, we would have nothing to pick up and deliver. Just try eating a hamburger with no bun - things get messy. But just like them, we are specialists in what we do, and we are important too.

 

Just think about it, what is a cr�me filled donut without the middle, what would a movie be like if you only saw the beginning and the end, how would your favorite book read without those middle chapters? In fact, what would life be like without all of the things that happen between birth and death? The middle is important. I am proud to be stuck in the middle with you doing the important work that we do.

 

 

Steve Kendall
Transportation Broker, Orlando
 

Steve Kendall began his career with the Allen Lund Company Orlando office in February of 2014. He came on board with 11 years of experience in the transportation industry. Kendall graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a BA in English with minors in Education and Psychology. He also completed Post Baccalaureate work in Journalism at University of South Florida, and University of Florida. 

 

About Allen Lund Company: Specializing as a national third-party transportation broker with nationwide offices, the Allen Lund Company works with shippers and carriers across the nation to transport dry, refrigerated (specializing in produce), and flatbed freight; additionally, the Allen Lund Company has an international division, which is licensed by the FMC as an OTI-NVOCC #019872NF, and a logistics and software division, ALC Logistics. 
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