C2 Freight Resources Joins the TA Services Family

In May 2022, TA Services added Alabama-based C2 Freight Resources, Inc. (C2 Freight) to its roster of recent acquisitions as yet another commitment to continued brokerage growth and expanded services for new and existing customers. C2 Freight was founded in 1998 by Jeff Gunnin and John Cunningham to bring third-party efficiencies to shippers across North America — but what makes C2 Freight Resources such a great fit for TA Services? It’s simple: integrity, healthy competition, community, performance, and yes, you guessed it… incredible people.

Integrity: A company founded to provide a better experience

C2 Freight was born out of John’s vision to do things better and with honesty. In the 80s and 90s, freight had a bad reputation, and he was committed to doing things differently. He felt that honesty was lacking and that there was room for someone to come in and do it right.

Since then, the story tells itself, as John and Jeff both prefer — as they shared the value of leading by example. “We didn’t want to be someone that said, it’s our integrity, it’s our character, it’s our honesty, it’s just the way we do business. I always sort of thought, well, if we’re doing it, there’s no sense in talking about it,” said Jeff Gunnin, C2 Freight co-founder and president. Years later, the story speaks louder than words as C2 Freight has become part of TA Services, a company that operates on the premise of many of those same values.

Healthy competition: Start each day with a team huddle

Each day at C2 Freight Resources starts with a team huddle to run through the day’s activities and set a strategy for how to best attack the tasks at hand. The team comprises 18 or so people who cover loads, handle operations, and are committed to customer experience across modes including dry van, flatbed, temperature-controlled, expedited, and LTL. A healthy sense of internal competition and recognition is encouraged at C2 Freight.

Walking in the office you’ll see a centrally located, illuminated load board that highlights each load as it gets covered in real time. “It shows the whole company’s progress because everybody’s a team. Everybody’s one team,” said Tonya Turner, Accounting Manager, C2 Freight. “There’s a lot of excitement out there. And that’s the kind of thing that we’re doing to help each other succeed.”

Giving back: Blood drives, power bills, and more
Each month the team at C2 Freight Resources participates in a local blood drive — and it’s a company-wide effort. Employees look forward to being able to contribute to their local community in valuable ways. A church-based program that C2 Freight participates in is especially powerful: They pay for three months’ worth of electricity bills for widows, widowers, and police officers in their community. “We think it’s easily the place people want to work in the area, that it’s the most desired place for people to work,” said Turner. “We love the community and being part of it not only as an employer but by giving back in meaningful ways.”

Performance: A growing company with long-lasting relationships from the inside out

C2 Freight has an impressive customer roster of Fortune 500 companies in industries ranging from building materials, paper, and animal products to food and beverage, packaging, and consumer goods. C2 Freight has been recognized for its top-tier service with awards including the NASTC Broker of the Year. Boasting a nearly non-existent employee turnover rate, Gunnin acknowledges that the team culture is where it all starts. “Our people develop strong relationships that lead to incremental growth over time,” said Gunnin “We share this strategy with TA Services, which is why we are such a good fit together.”

People: Humble beginnings and ends… a big family with heart.

You will hear Gunnin tell many stories about his co-founder [and cousin], John. He was an integral part of the C2 Freight Resources history. As mentioned earlier, C2 Freight was born out of John’s vision to bring a better way of doing things to an industry that welcomed positive changes.

John’s untimely passing in November 2021 was hard on everyone at C2 Freight. Shortly before John’s passing, the two started talking about succession planning. They agreed that any company they sold to had to meet three requirements: First, all C2 Freight employees would keep their jobs. Second, the HQ would remain in Alabama so families would not be uprooted. And third, cultures had to align.

“John and I always believed that if we didn’t have the relationships with our people, and have that first, then going out and building relationships with our shippers or our carriers was hypocritical. So, the culture that we built was always intended to be, ‘how would we want to be treated if we worked in a company?’” said Gunnin. “I walked out of a couple meetings where I didn’t believe that they were going to uphold those wishes, but not with Scott [Schell, TA Services president and CEO]. So that’s why we believed in TA Services. I believed in Scott, and he believed in us.”

Get in touch today to learn more about TA Services and C2 Freight.

For more information, read the full C2 Freight Resources, Inc. acquisition press release.