Southeastern Freight Lines Puerto Rico to invest some $300K in ’23
Southeastern Freight Lines Puerto Rico service center will be investing some $300,000 in 2023 just a few months after celebrating some 25 years of operations on the island.
In an interview with News is my Business, Southeastern Freight Lines Puerto Rico service center Manager Antonio “Tony” Roldán said the company is investing to renovate the office, the warehouse and the “loading dock area where the containers are.”
“We’re relocating some of the offices, expanding the area were the staff eats, and we are getting a new rack system, among other things” Roldán said.
Southeastern Freight Lines, a provider of regional less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, “is celebrating 25 years of quality without question service at the Puerto Rico service center,” he said.
Located in Guaynabo, the service center opened for business in 1997 with eight associates. Since then, the facility has grown to 15,650 square feet of warehouse space, including two double doors, an office, and a loading dock area for nine containers.
Roldán said that currently, they have four warehouse workers, four clerical employees that offer customer service to clients, one warehouse supervisor, one salesperson, and himself.
“We move all kinds of merchandise, but there are certain items we don’t move because of security,” he said, while reiterating the company offers services to all kinds of clients that need to move merchandise from Puerto Rico to the mainland US and vice versa.
Regarding the company’s customer service, Roldán explained that one of the most important aspects is the company’s training program, which is updated every year.
“We, as a company, have a training program… That training starts from the moment the phone is picked up and the way we treat the client, coupled with instructions that have to be followed so the client doesn’t have to wait on the phone line for too long,” Roldán said.
He further noted that the customer service employee that answers the client’s call finds the “solution for the client in that first call.”
“This training is updated every year to maintain the flow of what the company wants to us to do,” he said, while adding that all the company’s staff in Puerto Rico is fully bilingual.
Inflation has not been an issue
Roldán, who will reach his 20-year milestone in the company in January 2023, told this media outlet that “thankfully the current inflation has not affected the company.”
“Since the Puerto Rico service center’s establishment in 1997, our associates have served the region with excellence,” Roldán said. “Our goal is to continue innovating our quality processes to grow our presence in Puerto Rico and cultivate meaningful relationships with new and existing customers and associates.”
Furthermore, over the years, the service center has given back to Puerto Rico’s communities, most recently as part of “Southeastern Serves,” a program dedicated to giving back to communities across Southeastern’s footprint by having associates of all levels get involved with providing for the less fortunate. Puerto Rico associates have donated time and resources in partnership with organizations such as La Casa Ronald McDonald Puerto Rico, Iniciativa Comunitaria and Hogar de Niñas de Cupey.
The Puerto Rico service center was the 49th service center opened by Southeastern Freight Lines since its founding in 1950. The company now operates 89 service centers spanning 13 states, Canada and Puerto Rico and has undergone numerous upgrades in trucks and trucking technologies.
Southeastern Freight Lines, a privately-owned regional less-than-truckload transportation services provider, specializes in next-day service in the Southeast and Southwest and operates 89 service centers in 13 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Southeastern has a network of service partners to ensure transportation services in the remaining 36 states, the US Virgin Islands and Mexico. Southeastern Freight Lines provides more than 99.4% on-time service in next day lanes.
“The support that I have always received from the company’s leaders is one of the things that inspires me each day,” he said. “I always seek to follow the company’s mission; of valuing our associates completely. This has been extremely important for our success in Puerto Rico as our associates are key in achieving the quality and excellence the client expects.”
