Ep. #61: Greg Paulson, CEO of Giltner Transportation

In this episode, Andrew sits down with Greg Paulson, CEO of Giltner Transportation, a transportation and logistics company based in Jerome, Idaho. Greg’s journey with Giltner began in 1999 when, as an accountant, he worked closely with then-owner Doug Blevins, who eventually offered him a job. Now, 26 years later, Greg and his wife, Shawna, own and lead the company.

Giltner started in 1980 as a milk tanker transporter and has since expanded into a 300-truck reefer fleet, a $250M brokerage, a $100M factoring business, and an insurance and compliance arm helping small carriers.

In this episode, Greg also shares:

• Hard lessons learned from Giltner’s toughest challenges, including near-bankruptcy in 2003 and how the company rebounded.
• The four pillars of a successful trucking business and his philosophy on business. 
• What he’s learned from running a trucking business, like navigating bid cycles, developing smart bidding strategies, managing the emotional toll of losing key lanes, and why a diversified network is key to long-term stability.
• Operating an asset-based trucking company alongside a brokerage and the pros and cons of company drivers vs. owner-operators.
• Growing a factoring business to 300 trucks without any sales or marketing, just by word of mouth.
• Trucking’s biggest safety challenges today, including the impact of nuclear verdicts and how Giltner is investing in technology to protect its drivers.
• Advice for entrepreneurs looking to start and scale their own trucking businesses.

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*** This episode is brought to you by Rapido Solutions Group. I had the pleasure of working with Danny Frisco and Roberto Icaza at Coyote, as well as being a client of theirs more recently at MoLo. Their team does a great job supplying nearshore talent to brokers, carriers, and technology providers to handle any role necessary, be it customer or carrier support, back office, or tech services. Visit gorapido.com to learn more.

A special thanks to our additional sponsors:

• Cargado – Cargado is the first platform that connects logistics companies and trucking companies that move freight into and out of Mexico. Visit cargado.com to learn more.
• Greenscreens.ai – Greenscreens.ai is the AI-powered pricing and market intelligence tool transforming how freight brokers price freight. Visit greenscreens.ai/freightpod today!
• Metafora – Metafora is a technology consulting firm that has delivered value for over a decade to brokers, shippers, carriers, private equity firms, and freight tech companies. Check them out at metafora.net. ***