By Shannon Adams
Syfan Logistics, based in Gainesville, ships poultry, seafood, candy, cereal and soft drinks for some of the country’s biggest food companies.
In the last four years, the delivery company has grown from a little-known busi-ness to an operation conducting more than $80 million in sales and garnering na-tional attention, said Greg Syfan, president of Syfan Logistics.
In 2015, Syfan Logistics was named to the Top 50 list of transportation compa-nies by Transport Topics, a publication that Syfan calls “the Bible of transporta-tion.” Last year, UPS, another customer, recognized Syfan for its exceptional service during the holiday rush.
The company’s workforce continues to grow, especially as the holidays ap-proach. Syfan chatted about his company and the job opportunities.
Q: How many people do you plan to hire in 2015?
A: We’ll probably hire five to 10 more (full-time, permanent) people between now and fourth quarter. In September, we will hire probably about 60 people. All of those positions are temporary to start with. Of the ones that are brightest and best, there’s a certain percentage that we keep each year of that temporary pool to kick off that next year.
Q: What type of jobs and positions are available?
A: Most of these are support jobs. We’ve got a position called Order Entry, and this is a group that takes all the (freight) orders that the sales people are booking. The Routing and Dispatch group follows up with drivers that are hauling the loads for us, and they’re giving the driver all the pertinent information. Once the truck is loaded and on the road, the Traffic group keeps up with that truck and make sure it’s running on time.
Q: What types of skills do you want to see in candidates?
A: We’re always looking for people that take ownership in what they do, that care, and want to do a good job. Our industry is very fast paced, so people that like to be very busy, that love to come in, blink their eyes, and it’s time to go to lunch, and then come back from lunch, blink their eyes, and it’s time to go home.
Q: What benefits are offered at Syfan?
A: We’ve got a full health plan. We’ve got 401(k) that’s matching at 3 percent. We’ve got paid time off after you’ve been here a certain amount of time, and den-tal and vision (insurance plans).
Q: Why do you like your job?
A: I love my job because of all the people. It absolutely does my heart good to see a college kid come in here and work hard to understand the business, make good money, and go out and buy the first brand new car of his life. That is a great feeling.
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