Surry Business

The acquisition of a 340,000-square-foot warehouse in Pilot Mountain helped vault Salem Logistics Inc. onto an annual list of the “Fast 50” — the fastest-growing privately held businesses in northwest North Carolina’s 12-county Triad Region.

The former trucking company, now transformed into a full-service transportation company with an emphasis on distribution management, bought the warehouse in May after leasing it for a year.

“The investment is apparently paying off, with the company debuting at No. 37 in this year’s Fast 50,” writes The Business Journal of the Greater Triad in a special 36-page supplement published Sept. 28. “Revenues grew by more than 55 percent versus 2005.”

Company President and CEO David Eshelman said Salem Logistics more than doubled its trucking fleet, from 12 to 25 vehicles, to help handle the business created by its distribution center, which is used primarily for retail and Internet fulfillment.

“It was kind of a synergistic situation in that … the growth in our warehousing led to the growth in our trucking,” Eshelman told The Business Journal.

Salem Logistics also added 40 employees, bringing its workforce to more than 120.

The company’s outlook for 2007 is very good, Eshelman said. In May it signed a contract to provide shipping services to Nationwide Marketing Group, a purchasing and marketing group for independent appliance and electronics stores. Also, as SurryBusiness.com previously reported, Salem Logistics won a contract this month to manage transportation and logistics for furniture manufacturer Klaussner Home Furnishings.