It's a place where the sales team meetings are in a huddle, you can watch sports on TV from your desk, and even get treated to "Free Beer Fridays" every week. The company where it all happens is called Blue Grace Logistics, headquartered in Riverview, and it's growing rapidly.
"It's very unorthodox, and I don't know anyone that's having more fun than the people here," said Bobby Harris, Blue Grace Logistics CEO.
Blue Grace launched in the middle of the recession in 2009, but found a way to help companies with one of their biggest costs -- shipping. The company's approach is to serve as a one-stop shop connecting people able to move goods with the places companies need to move them, all from a hub in the southeastern United States.
"We're putting more freight on the trucks, on the trains, on the planes, that otherwise wouldn't be there, while saving customers and clients a lot of money," Harris said.
As a result, the business has grown from a small start-up to 369 employees today. And thanks to a $255 million outside investment, Blue Grace is planning to add up to 700 jobs in the next few years. The company's expanding its current office space to make room for 200 of those new positions later this year.
"A lot of sales people that we'll be looking for, customer service, financial services, even some senior management positions are coming available with that kind of scale," Harris said.
For those who already work at the company, they say the job can be challenging, but the fun and friendly atmosphere is what they hope new recruits will find appealing as the company continues to grow.
"We have eight core values and one of them is 'Mean people suck and they don't work here!' And that is 100 percent how we operate. We're a family, and part of something that's much bigger than us individually, and that unites us day in and day out," said Brittany Lott, Blue Grace corporate trainer.
To see available jobs and to apply online visit, mybluegrace.com.
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