Navy Vet Buys Into TQL Dream
MOBILE (Ala.) – The old recruiting slogan said the United States Navy wasn’t just a job, it was an adventure.
True for TQL Mobile’s Joshua Lane, who served from 2005 to 2011 (and did two more years in the Navy Reserves after his active duty). He escorted American aircraft carriers, submarines and other ships in and out of ports in Spain, Dubai and Djibouti.
He had a year of college under his belt before enlisting and finished his degree in computer and electronic engineering while he served.
He went back into civilian life working as a production manager at a steel mill, making a $125,000 a year and not feeling challenged.
Lane joined TQL Mobile in September of 2014 – two months after the office opened - and was the first LAET there to become a successful broker. He recently became branch team leader for the newly opened Team Mobile II.
“I took a $90,000 pay cut for a dream,” Lane said. “I’m passionate about it. This is about 180 degrees from what I was doing before; it was just me by myself in a big room of computers.”
“TQL had the same qualities I was looking for in a company – integrity, opportunity – that I had in the Navy.
“Ever since I was in the military I’ve been a leader and a team player. I knew how to adapt to different people and personalities. I had everything from people 20 years in the service under me to brand new recruits. They respected me, because I worked hard and I gave them respect. It’s the same thing here.”
Those qualities are some of what TQL hopes to recognize and celebrate with its inaugural Military Month this July.
“We hire veterans and active duty members of the military because they possess the skills and values we are looking for – an outstanding work ethic, the ability to learn new skills quickly, and the tenacity for creating success in any situation,” said TQL President Kerry Byrne.
Total Quality Logistics is the second largest freight brokerage firm in the nation. TQL connects customers needing to move truckload freight shipments with carriers having capacity to move them. TQL is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its 2015 sales topped $2.2 billion and it employs more than 3,800 people nationwide. Connect with TQL on the web at TQL.com, on Facebook at Total Quality Logistics or on Twitter @TQLogistics.
