Closer Than They Appear

Tom Wintz has always had a different way of seeing problems and opportunities.

As a squinty-eyed seventh-grade wrestler at St. Paul’s Fairview Middle School in 1978, Wintz was moving too early in matches because of his poor depth perception. So his coach gave him a tip: Ask the ref for a touch start. A touch start lets a wrestler with visual impairments maintain contact with his opponent, giving him a fair shot at a takedown.

“I remember the ref turning to the other kid to explain it, and the kid gives me this funny look,” Wintz recalls, “Like, ‘So he can’t see?’ I could see that he thought, ‘This should be easy.’” Ten seconds after the whistle, Wintz pinned him. “He tended to underestimate what was happening,” Wintz recalls jovially. “I thought, ‘This is a good strategy.’”

Dedicated Logistics' system confronts a major industry challenge: empty trailers returning from deliveries.

Wintz has made a career of overcoming challenges and apparent shortcomings. This approach to life and business has helped make the grown-up Wintz’s St. Paul–based trucking company, Dedicated Logistics, Inc., one of the top local carriers. Dedicated Logistics specializes in dedicated fleet operations—that is, providing an on-call source of trucks and drivers to its customers. Founded in 1995, the privately held business has grown at a rate of about 20 percent per year, taking it from five customers and $18 million in revenues to more than 100 customers, 500 employees, and $70 million in revenues in 2005. Wintz expects 2006 revenues to exceed $100 million.

In January, Dedicated Logistics launched its most ambitious endeavor, a computerized command center that changes the way customers ship goods across town. Instead of customers simply renting trucks and drivers from Dedicated—the standard mode of operation—they’re turning dispatching over to Dedicated as well. That way, trucks aren’t making deliveries and running back empty, thus wasting time and fuel.