At the end of April, Coppersmith Global Logistics celebrated seventy years in business. If you’ve not taken a moment to check out the timeline on our website showing many of the major milestones in our company’s history, please do. Looking back from the founding of the company by my grandmother makes me realize just how many things have happened in my lifetime and prior, and it is a humbling experience.
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been a part of the Coppersmith family during these past seventy years. Whether customer, employee, vendor, agent or friend, your support means a great deal to all of us. We are pleased to have remained privately-held and family-owned this whole time. We believe that the culture and climate that we have created around the company are all things that my grandmother and father believed in personally and professionally. We remain faithful to her memory and remember her every day – our NVOCC is named Adrienne Shipping Line in her honor.
We asked several of our branch managers and long-time team members to share their thoughts about what it has been like to be a part of the Coppersmith family. Their words resonate with far greater importance than mine can.
Lisa Gingerich – Chicago Branch Manager:
I’m the Chicago Branch Manager and I’ve been with Coppersmith for just over ten years. I’m a licensed Customs broker and have been in the industry nearly twenty-two years. Coppersmith is by far the best company I’ve ever worked for in or out of this industry. There’s something very special about working for a family owned business and Coppersmith is rich in history beginning with Adrienne – Jeff and Bud’s grandmother who started the company.
She was one of the first female licensed brokers in the country in the 1940’s – that in and of itself is impressive and now seventy years later, five of our nine branch managers are women and it makes me tremendously proud to be one of them. Working for Jeff and Bud has given me more opportunities than I ever realized were possible. I work and travel a lot for our hunting trophy division and I also assist in our pet clearance division along with my management responsibilities. I love meeting and interacting with our clients face to face. We have a tremendous management and executive team that supports and enjoys working with each other.
We truly are a family. Our number one priority as a company is our customer service and we don’t just talk about it – we live it and it starts at the top. We’re not trying to be the biggest, just the best at what we do.
Victoria Lane – Corporate Compliance Manager, Portland Branch Manager:
Working for Coppersmith Global Logistics has launched my career further than I expected and I owe it all to the leadership of the Coppersmith Family.
For many years and working for other companies, I felt destined to be an entry writer though I had many years of experience and a Custom broker’s license. But in April 2002, the company I was working for was purchased by Coppersmith Global Logistics and things started to change. As a new Coppersmith employee, I felt welcomed and appreciated for what I had to offer and executive management saw my potential. I became the Portland Branch Manager and then, through my involvement with both the local, regional, and national industry associations, I expanded my knowledge to eventually become the Corporate Compliance Manager of the company.
I enjoy working for Coppersmith Global Logistics and the Coppersmith family. The freedom they give me and our staff to grow in our industry and within the company makes me look forward to many more years under their leadership.
