CEDA speakers discuss SCIENCE OF LOGISTICS

FALLON — As the Churchill Economic Development Authority’s new executive director, Nathan Strong knows the importance logistics plays in the everyday movement of goods.

“We need to know the moving parts of our economy,” he told guests at the recent CEDA Business Council’s breakfast before they heard how logistics and transportation help local businesses.

Darryl Bader, chief operating officer at ITS Logistics in Sparks and Greg Moon with Dairy Farmers of America in Fallon discussed the role of logistics. ITS Logistics provides services to the local DFA dry milk plant by moving their final product to market.

“Logistics is moving anything to anywhere,” said Bader, who along with two friends — Dan Allen and Jeff Lynch — began ITS in 1999. “It’s been a fun ride. Sometimes up, sometimes down. With logistics, we follow the economy.”

Not only is it a local company, but it also has expanded its operation out-of state

ITS, Bader said, deals with the transportation of goods, warehouse distribution and freight brokerage, where the company handles any type of freight in North America. He said ITS is a very simple organization that prides itself on service and takes care of its customers. Bader, however, is responsible for strategic planning, business operations, corporate leadership initiatives and the overall growth of the warehouse and distribution business unit.

“We’re very customer centric,” he added.

He referenced their website, which details the services ITS offers: “Simply put, we provide creative logistics solutions with our asset-based dedicated and expedited fleet, warehousing and distribution services and nationwide multi-modal freight brokerage.”

Bader said ITS has experienced growth especially in the freight brokerage division.

Bader said ITS is combining most of its business operations into a 630,000-square-foot building in Sparks that General Motors formerly occupied. The move puts most of ITS operations under one roof to include corporate offices, five warehouse and distribution centers and the Reno/Sparks trucking operations.

ITS Logistics’ freight brokerage division, ITS National, remains in downtown Reno.

One important client is Fallon’s DFA plant, which opened in 2014. Bader calls DFA one of its “large” customers. Moon said the DFA plant has 39 employees. Currently, he said the Fallon plant produces powder milk and exports it to its customers, many of them in Mexico, Vietnam, China and Colombia. He said Vietnam is their largest consumer.

Moon oversees logistics activities including purchasing of raw materials and packaging, warehousing, transportation of finished goods to the port, inventory control and off-site warehousing.

As for the plant’s capacity, Moon said it’s about half of what the DFA plant can produce. Moon sees more growth in the future with the Fallon plant.

ITS, therefore, moves the milk product out of Fallon from a smaller DFA warehouse to a larger one in Reno. ITS or DFA then arranges for the transportation of the milk.

“I was impressed by the interest in your organization and to hear of the various things that are happening in the community,” Bader said.

Strong said after both men spoke, it’s great to see how ITS and DFA are working together for the benefit of both businesses.