Pegasus Spreads Its Wings To Coppell
Logistics company relocates HQ; plans to add up to 100 employees
By Holli L. Estridge Staff Writer
| Change is in the air at Pegasus Logistics Group, a privately held third-party logistics provider. |
| The Grapevine-based company, riding the fast-paced growth it has seen in the past two years, is preparing for a corporate headquarters relocation that will nearly double its current corporate office and warehouse space. |
| The company also is shifting its operating model to focus more on its niche domestic time-definite market segment. Time-definite logistics involves so-called "shipments with consequences," or those that carry strict time and destination requirements. The company will still provide international and domestic third-party logistics services. |
| Pegasus has signed a lease for 70,000 square feet of combined office and warehouse space in Coppell's Freeport North development and will move in late October. |
| The city of Coppell will have a five-year, 75% real property tax rebate in place for the Freeport development, effective January of 2006. As a tenant, Pegasus will automatically qualify for the rebate, which would save the company approximately $29,000 annually, according to the city of Coppell. Pegasus will be the only tenant in Freeport XII. |
| The city of Grapevine did not provide economic incentives for Pegasus at its current location, said Tommy Hardy, Grapevine's director of development services. |
| "Freight forwarding companies tend to move around the city and move in and out," Hardy said. Pegasus is one of a large number of logistics companies with operations in Grapevine, capitalizing on its proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. |
| Adding flexibility, jobs |
| The company will continue to operate its existing 120,000-square-foot warehouse space along Texas 121 in Grapevine. |
| Pegasus Chief Operating Officer Brent Snyder said the new location will better accommodate the headquarter's 120 employees and provide more flexibility for future growth. |
| "Employees are stumbling over each other," Snyder said. "Our move really addresses a sheer need for space." The need for additional space will become even more important over the next 18 months, as Pegasus positions itself to add as many as 100 employees company-wide. |
| Pegasus, which opened as a three-employee Dallas operation more than a decade ago, now has 162 employees nationwide. In that time, revenue has jumped from less than $9 million to $52 million in 2004. The company, which has grown by 40% annually since 2003, projects revenue of $70 million for 2005. |
| The company also has attracted several large customers in recent years, like EDS and technology giant Texas Instruments. |
| Snyder said the company's growth pattern is related to Pegasus' strong corporate culture, variable cost model and special attention to each customer's logistics needs. Pegasus operates a limited number of offices but maintains the flexibility to place employees where they are needed -- even at a customer site, Snyder said. |
| Under its variable cost model, Pegasus customers, instead of paying a flat rate for service, pay variable fees based on costs Pegasus incurs by providing services in different areas. The model gives customers options that can result in a cost savings. |
| Also, Snyder said Pegasus' corporate culture steers much of the company's growth. "When you have employees who love to come to work, and you invest in those people ... you can, in turn, provide better service for your customers," Snyder said. |
| The company brings in a massage therapist twice a week and offers a variety of team building opportunities. Pegasus' consideration of its employees drove the relocation process, Snyder said, as the company sought to provide a more comfortable work environment. |
| Dallas-based Stream Realty's Chris Jackson and Rebecca Smith represented Pegasus in its relocation search. Landowner Duke Realty Corp. was represented by Jeff Thornton. |
| Thornton said Pegasus' lease brings Freeport North to 100% occupancy. |
| Pegasus Contact Information: Darren Drewitz Blanchard Schaefer Advertising & Public Relations 817-226-4332 Ext. 225 darrend@bsapr.com |
From the August 19, 2005 print edition of Dallas Business Journal © 2005 American City Business Journals Inc. |