Odyssey Logistics Posts Double-Digit Gains in Past Year
New products and services including a cloud-based transportation management system have helped Odyssey Logistics & Technology post double-digit growth during the past year.
“Our earnings growth is a direct result of our acquisition strategy and technology advancements, as well as leveraging our global network to expand the offerings in our portfolio,” CEO Bob Shellman said in a recent earnings statement. “We continue to seek opportunities that not only expand the breadth of Odyssey’s services but also satisfy the increasing needs of our global client base.”
Odyssey ranks No. 48 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest North American logistics companies.
The privately held company announced that earnings increased by about 18% over the past year. Sales figures were not released by the company, but executives credited the increased profitability to new offerings, including the Web Integrated Network that was launched in September.
WIN is designed to give Odyssey Logistics’ customers a single-sourced tool to more cost-efficiently manage their shipments. Last year, the company also opened a managed services chemical sampling facility in China and launched global services there that had only previously been available domestically.
In October, the Danbury, Connecticut-based company announced an international expansion of its domestic transportation services for the metals industry based on the company’s proprietary Load and Roll Pallet system. The LRP system allows for the transportation of coiled metal products without requiring additional handling at shipping ports.
“Shipping metals is very specialized.” said Paul Sever, executive vice president and general manager of CMI Logistics, Odyssey’s intermodal metals business unit. “Metal can be damaged by movement, moisture, mishandling and improper securement as well as other factors. Our LRP and system of services significantly mitigate those factors and reduce the costs associated with the utilization of expensive wood skids and heavy blocking and bracing.”
The company, which has more than 1,200 employees globally and manages more than $2 billion in shipments annually, has posted double-digits earnings growth for the past eight years.
Odyssey Logistics is a spinoff from Union Carbide and was founded by Shellman in December 2002.
When Dow Chemical acquired Union Carbide in 2001, Shellman persuaded the new owners to allow UniGlobal to go private. Since then, the company has maintained its roots by having its headquarters in the Matrix center, Union Carbide's former headquarters.
