In 1984, Jim Syfan built a trucking company from the ground up.

He and his wife, Gloria, and their two sons ran Turbo Transport from a tiny trailer beside a busy railroad track in Gainesville. Business boomed over the next two decades and by the mid-2000s the company had more than 150 employees and was worth $100 million.

“Over the years, we developed it into a large company, but a larger company came along and made us a deal we couldn’t turn down,” Syfan said.

The family sold the business in 2006, and they signed a temporary non-compete agreement. Once that document expired, the Syfans went back into business.

Today, in its fourth year, Syfan Logistics is growing fast. Most recently, the business announced plans to expand its over-the-road fleet of Syfan Transport trucks in the coming year as part of an increasing effort to better serve its shipper customers.

Syfan Logistics is the parent company. Syfan Transport is a division of Syfan Logistics.

“Our business has always been asset-based with a fleet of trucks to supplement our expansive network of carrier partners,” said Syfan, CEO of Syfan Logistics. “With the expansion of Syfan Transport, we are responding to customer demands for even greater accessibility to equipment — around the clock and across the country.”

Based in Gainesville, Syfan Transport’s truck fleet is also supported by several hundred trailers. Founded in 2011, Syfan Logistics has been recognized for its rapid growth by trade magazines around the country.

Syfan Logistics is a full-scale, asset-based logistics management company, serving shipping needs throughout the country for temperature-controlled, dry or flatbed loads with pickup and delivery.

The company oversees the transport or shipment of a wide assortment of goods — from refrigerated poultry and other meats to automotive parts, soft drinks and even Christmas packages as a backup for UPS during the holidays — to places across the continental United States, Mexico and Canada. Syfan Logistics accomplishes this service with its own trucks, as well as partnerships with thousands of independent trucking companies across the United States.

Reflecting on the past several years, Syfan said he feels “blessed” by the company’s rapid growth.

He said the secret to success in this business, “or in most any business,” is hiring good people.

“There’s a lot of companies that try to develop a hiring process that’s pretty narrow,” Syfan said. “They want college graduates or 3 years of prior experience, and it eliminates so many good people. We look for the kind of people who want to do good things for people … service-oriented individuals with a can-do attitude.”

It’s that kind of personality that helps Syfan Logistics continue to grow and be successful, he said.

“Our biggest job is to make our shipper happy and keep our drivers happy,” Syfan said. “And that’s a balancing act.”