Getting products from one place to another is a challenging task. You have to know when things need to be somewhere, how far away it is, what it weighs, and any challenges with carrying it. Companies that make products don’t necessarily want to handle that themselves which means we need companies like V3 Transportation. V3 coordinates all the details to get packages from one place to another and it doesn’t matter if it is something small (but important) like the gift given to the Pope the last time he visited the United States, or large quantities of items like the t-shirts to be sold at a concert. V3 added an entertainment division in 2019 and now carry the t-shirts and other mechandise for groups like Billie Ellish, Jellyroll, Kiss, Alice in Chains and more!

In 2012, John Sliter was asked to start an expedited trucking division for a large trucking company. That means they specialize in orders that need to happen quickly and efficiently and only travel by truck. As he worked through the process of launching the division, it became clear it made more sense as a stand alone company and he and his team struck out on their own. Since then they have added additional locations, an entertainment division, and even air charter services where time-sensitive shipments are flown on a plane. 

Finding drivers is really hard right now. Generally long haul truckers are away from family for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Our trucks are owned by the drivers so it is also up to them to maintain and get insurance on their truck. We are seeing success with people who drive as a team. Couples, and even some with dogs or cats, will drive together and do jobs all over the country. They get to travel and have fun together while making a good living. But we need to get that word out.

We have our headquarters in Seville, Ohio, and then we have additional locations in Greensboro, North Carolina, St. Louis, Missouri, Laredo, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, and Pheonix, Arizona. We mainly drive east of the Mississippi River but some in Texas. Over half of our routes are in the South.

Smart Way is a trucking environmental certification and we make sure all our trucks are part of the program. We are always looking for ways to be fuel efficient and anywhere we can improve equipment to be more efficient, we do.

Because our trucks are on the road every day, we interact with the Department of Transportation. We work closely with the FMCSA or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration who is responsible for reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. They create safety guidelines and rules that we follow closely.

We also love our local government officials. We work closely with the county, township, and village. When the Granger Township Fire Station roof was damaged, we had the fire trucks in our garage so they could easily do the repairs. 

Typically drivers decide they want to do this job and then we hire them to provide the service for us. We are seeing a number of immigrants liking the work because they get to learn the country, they can practice English while they are driving, and they can make good money. In the office, we post positions in the usual places. We find our best workers to be gamers because they are good at multitasking and noticing things on screens.

Why do employees like to work here?

We have a very fun and upbeat culture. The majority of our team are entrepreneurs so there isn’t a lot of management and everyone has a lot of freedom to get their work done the best way they know how. We are definitely not over-managed!