C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. history, profile and corporate video
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. is a service company, which provides freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies. It is a multimodal transportation services and logistics solutions, operates through a network of branch offices in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. C.H. Robinson Worldwide services include supply chain consulting and analysis, freight consolidation, core carrier program management and information reporting. The company’s other services include sourcing services, contract Warehousing and fee-based information services. The Sourcing services business is primarily the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh produce. It develops proprietary brands of produce including The Fresh 1 and its world organics. The Information services is comprised of a C.H. Robinson subsidiary, T-Chek Systems, Inc. T-Chek is a business-to-business provider of spend management and payment processing services. The majority of T-Chek’s customers are motor carriers and truck stop chains. T-Chek’s platform supports open and closed loop networks that facilitate a variety of funds transfer, vendor payments, fuel purchasing, and online expense management. It also provides Transportation and Logistics Services: Truckload, less than Truckload, Intermodal, Ocean, Air and Other Logistics Services. CH Robinson Worldwide was founded by Charles Henry Robinson in 1905 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN.“
“CH Robinson Worldwide History
Origins and early history
In the early 1900s, Charles Henry Robinson owned a small wholesale brokerage house that provided produce throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. He partnered with the Nash Finch brothers in April 11, 1905, and became the company’s first president. Nash Finch Company was the leading wholesaler in the region, owning and operating grocery stores. The partnership dissolved by 1913 and the Nash brothers retaining control of the company.
The CH Robinson subsidiary played a procurement role as the Nash Finch Company rapidly expanded in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Texas. In the 1940s, the FTC found Nash Finch Company to have a price advantage under the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 and decided to split C.H. Robinson Co. into two companies. The first, C.H. Robinson Co., was formed by the offices that sold produce to Nash Finch’s warehouses and ownership was retained by Robinson employees. The second company, C.H. Robinson Inc., was still owned by Nash Finch.
Expansion into logistics and trucking
C.H. Robinson’s entry into the trucking business came after the Federal Highway Act of 1956 expanded interstate commerce and the roadways of America. C.H. Robinson and other shippers used to rely on trains to transport goods. In 1968, the firm entered the regulated truck business as a contract carrier named Meat Packers Express based out of Omaha, Nebraska.[10] Robco Transportation Inc. was formed by merging Meat Packers Express with additional carriers three years later and was sold in 1986.
In the mid-1960s, C.H. Robinson Co. and C.H. Robinson, Inc., consolidated their operations under the name C.H. Robinson Co.. Nash Finch still held a stake of approximately 25 percent in the brokerage company, with Robinson employees owning the remainder. By 1976, the Nash Finch shares had been bought out and the company was 100% employee owned. Under new leadership, C.H. Robinson focused on using emerging technology to its advantage and adopted IBM mainframe technology in 1979.
The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated transportation industries in America and increased competition for logistics providers and shippers. In addition to distributing food products, C.H. Robinson created a contract carrier program, expanded its freight contract operations, and established itself as a middleman sourcing operation for virtually all shippable goods. The company’s average annual growth, measured by truckloads, doubled and C.H. Robinson posted more than $700 million in sale within 5 years. 40% was generated by truck brokerage, with the rest of the revenue coming from produce sales.
In the years to come, C.H. Robinson expanded its international logistics operations and opened its Monterrey, Mexico office in 1989. It acquired C.S. Greene International in 1992 and added international freight forwarding, air freight operations and refrigerated containers. In 1993, C.H. Robinson bought a 30% stake in Transeco, a major French motor carrier, and eventually bought the entire company. C.H. Robinson enhanced its operations by purchasing companies including Daystar International, a distributor of fruit juice, and FoodSource. It also became an exclusive provider of services to brands like Frito Lay, Tropicana, Motts, and Welches. In 1995, C.H. Robinson formed C.H. Robinson Logistics, a division that that provided end-to-end logistical services.
The company renamed itself C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. in 1997 and had an IPO that raised $190 million for the 101 employees who sold their shares. The initial market value totaled $743 million and the firm began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CHRW. Gross revenues for 1997 reached $1.79 billion, while net revenues amounted to $206 million, a 15.1 percent increase over the previous year.”
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.chrobinson.com
**Video published on YouTube by “C.H. Robinson“
