The bitter taste left by an overturned truckload of grapefruit planted the seed for the founding of a company celebrating its 40th anniversary and being recognized as the No. 1 truck broker in the nation.
Founded by Joseph T. Comito and James A. DeMatteis, the successful business known today as Des Moines Truck Brokers (DMTB) traces its beginnings to an ill-fated over-the-road trucking accident and a vow that financial losses from such mishaps had to be prevented.
The year was 1968 and Capital City Fruit Company (CCF), a company founded and owned by Comitos family, had a load of grapefruit being trucked from Texas to the CCF facility in Iowa. The truck overturned and no one had insurance not the trucker, the producer or the broker. CCF had to eat the $7,000 loss, figuratively speaking.
Comito vowed that hed never again suffer that kind of loss, and he came up with a way to make his vow a reality.
Comito contacted DeMatteis, a man he described as a quality person and excellent trucker, whod been driving for a living since he was 15 years old. They shared the same values and had the same vision for the way business should be done. Together they formed DMTB in1969 and started connecting shippers and carriers to transport cargo all over the country, making sure that each load was insured and they were doing business with quality partners.
Fast forward 40 years to October 31, 2009 and a stage in Nashville, Tenn., where DMTB was honored with the 2009 National Broker of the Year Award, presented by the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC). The coveted award was accepted by Jimmy DeMatteis, the son of co-founder Jim Sr. and now President of DMTB.
The NASTC is made up of 2,600 trucking companies and designates 300 Truck Brokers as Associate Members, based on highest credit worthiness, reputation and professional integrity. The association chooses one annually as best in the nation. DMTB is a proven logistics company that has been on our select list for many years, said David Owen, President of NASTC. Jimmys company sets a professional standard of excellence and his personal support also contributes to the growth and success of our Association. It was a real pleasure naming them 2009 National Broker of the Year.
During a given year, DMTB will manage the transportation needs of hundreds of shippers and thousands of shipments from literally every state in the continental United States, plus Canada and Mexico.
When they say they are going to make something happen, they do, said Gene Lacaeyse, President of G.F. Lacaeyse Transport, a DMTB trucking client for 30 years. They are good customers, good partners and good friends honest, down-to-earth and quick pay. Dont know anyone who pays more quickly. Greatest testament I can give is a referral and we do indeed recommend them to a lot of folks.
Long-term relationships are an underlying theme in DMTBs company story. I started working at Frontier Natural Products about 24 years ago and remember Jim Sr. from Des Moines Truck Brokers showing up to talk about helping us transport our spices and oils, said Iva Clinton, Buyer for the natural and organic products company.
We have been doing business with them ever since, and as we have grown, so have they. We now depend on them for all our West Coast trucking and some of our East Coast orders.
We are very particular about the shipping, handling and storage of our products. The conditions of transport and timing of deliveries are critical parts of our quality control process, added Clinton. The fact they won National Broker of the Year is just awesome and well-deserved!
Joseph M. Comito, Board Chair at CCF and son of DMTB co-founder Joseph T. Comito, said the success of Des Moines Truck Brokers has been remarkable. Isnt this something else? From a partnership that began over an overturned truck of grapefruit to a 40-year-old company recognized as the best truck broker in the nation, said Comito. Our two companies recently had a party celebrating our combined 100 years of business and as I looked at Jim Sr. and his son Jimmy, who now runs DMTB, and my own family and the employees, customers and other well-wishers I thought, How did this happen?
Its not what we planned and far greater than anything we ever imagined. Just absolutely wonderful. I cant imagine a more deserving broker.
In addition to providing incredible service, protecting client loads and guaranteeing carrier payments is also a priority with DMTB. Transcredit, the transportation industries premier credit service, lists DMTB with a 102 of 100 credit score. And DMTB has made it a practice to only do business with clients that are insured. DMTB itself is fully insured and in 2007 became one of only six brokers nationwide to voluntarily increase its surety bond from the required rate of $10,000 to $100,000. Jimmy DeMatteis said DMTB did this for two reasons: to accept a higher degree of responsibility and to lead the way for what he believes should be a national requirement.
Source: DMTB