The story behind ATS Logistics:
For most people, lost luggage can mean anything from a minor inconvenience to a hardship to near castastrophe. For the Gianoukos brothers, lost luggage was the first chapter in what would become the success story that is ATS Logistics, Inc.
In 1986, ATS Logistics, Inc. got its start as Atlantic Transportation Services, a courier service for several airlines at the Charleston International Airport delivering passengers' lost luggage. Gradually the business was expanded by offering package delivery services throughout the local area for department stores and appliance companies. Our client base began to grow.
Soon the brothers began facing stiff competition from delivery giants like UPS and FedEx, and our clients began facing a different need - space. In 1988, with the lease of 10,000 square feet of space on Montague Avenue, ATS Warehouse, Inc. was born. The demand for warehouse space became so great that customers quickly filled the entire 50,000 square foot facility. On year later ATS obtained the rights to the facility and surrounding acreage. Our reputation for fulfilling our clients' needs began to spread...
As word got around, growth became so rapid that by 1994 ATS Warehouse had over 500,000 square feet of space spread out over 7 locations throughout Charleston. Facing the challanges of becoming too impersonal due to managing people and accounts spread so wide, the brothers put together a plan to scale back. Over the next several years, facilities were bought and sold, accounts were consolidated and ATS Warehouse downsized to 270,000 square feet over 3 locations.
We've always tried our best to tailor our business to meet the needs of our partners. By 1996, customers were looking for better ways to ship their goods. They wanted one place that could fulfill all their shipping needs. In response, ATS opened a domestic freight forwarder, ATS Express, Inc., that could move our customers' freight with a savings of both time and money. As customers realized the benefit of this, business grew and ATS Express expanded its service area outside of Charleston and now covers LTL/LCL, TL and container services throughout the US and Canada. We also started offering Freight Management Services to our partners to help them continue to save time and money.
When ATS Warehouse, Inc. made the promise to its clients that containers would be delivered to our facility within 24 hours of notice they never dreamed that business in Charleston would make that promise impossible to meet while using outside vendors. In 1998 that indeed happened, but ATS responded by opening ATS Intermodal, LLC, a local fleet of trucks with a balance of company drivers and owner operators who are there to meet the needs of our customers and fulfill the promises ATS has stood by. That dedication to service opened the door for ATS Intermodal to expand and become the local In-House carrier for Evergreen Shipping Agency (America). This also allowed us to begin handling the local drayages for other warehouses throughout Charleston and the state.
In 2011, ATS Management made the decision to start running trucks outside the state borders of South Carolina. ATS Intermodal purchased 30 tractor trailers over the next 12 months to start serving the Southeast region of the US. Shortly after, 53' dry vans were leased to service our warehouse clients transportation needs. By 2012, ATS Intermodal's truck fleet grew to 42 tractor trailers and 10 53' dry vans.
In 2012, ATS also started making plans to build a brand new warehouse, office and truck container yard on its West Montague and Dorchester Properties. Our goals were accomplished as we moved into these new facilities in June of 2014. Our Air Park and Hock Avenue locations were sold and all operations and offices were consolidated under one roof by the end of 2014. During this very busy year of 2014, ATS Warehouse commenced operations as the brand new Central Examination Station (CES) for US Customs and Border Protection for the port of Charleston.
In 2013, ATS Intermodal ordered and received 24 2014 Freightliner Sleeper trucks for its over the road division. ATS Intermodal ended the year with 50 asset trucks; 30 over the road sleepers and 20 day cabs serving the local and intra-state container drayage moves. ATS Intermodal also had an additional 10 owner operator trucks in its fleet bringing the total up to 60 trucks.
To keep up with the demand for our services from new and existing clients, ATS has continued its growth through this year by purchasing new assets in both trucks and chassis. As of August 2019, ATS has 34 daycabs, 61 sleepers, 8 dry vans and just over 170 chassis. ATS also made substantial changes to our software systems to better service our clients. These updates allow our clients to now track their container and van moves in real-time on the search page on our website. Over the last 5 years, our management team has adapted our business to the needs of our clients and we are committed to growing our business as our clients grow theirs. ATS Logistics has set itself up for a bright future and we welcome you to join us for the ride.