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IL2000's Carrier of the Year Award

Rewarding logistics excellence, two carriers at a time

One idea you’ll encounter a lot at IL2000 is that we don’t just want to meet client supply chain expectations. We set out to exceed them. It’s something we promise when we set out with a client on a new supply chain optimization adventure.
But we don’t fulfill that promise alone. 
Our carrier partners are a vital, daily part of making it happen. Carriers help us focus our big vision right down to the sharp points of practical outcomes: Faster deliveries, greater cost efficiency, and enhanced reliability.
Our annual Carrier Of The Year award celebrates those carriers who make the impossible possible. Starting with 2022, each year we’ll bestow one national and one regional award. The award is both comprehensive in scope and exacting in its criteria, ranking companies across a wide spectrum of indicators, including on-time performance, rate of growth, claims track record, and demonstrable customer service.
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“When it comes to supply chain optimization, good partners aren’t just ‘good-to-haves.’ High-performing carriers will continue to be crucial to IL2000’s delivering outstanding service to our customers. The Carrier Of The Year Award reflects our belief that we, our carriers, and our customers all succeed together.” - Ken Nadler, IL2000 President.

2022 National and Regional Carrier of the Year!

From an intensely competitive pool of carriers, two companies stood out as high performers across the board.

R+L Carriers - National winner
The National Award went out to R+L Carriers. With a fleet of over 20,000 vehicles, R+L Carriers repeatedly demonstrated it could outperform the competition in on-time performance. The company stayed the course with IL2000 on several high-profile accounts last year and staked its claim yet again as an invaluable partner, as committed to excellent customer service as IL2000 itself. 

About R+L Carriers
Based in the United States, R+L Carriers is a Global Freight Transportation and Logistics company that has remained family-owned and operated since 1965. R+L Carriers offers one of the most comprehensive networks of nationwide service centers for LTL, Truckload, Expedited and Cross-Border Shipping. In addition to its core value-added shipping solutions, R+L Carriers has a portfolio of services that extends to International Supply Chain Management, Warehousing and Customs Brokerage.

IL2000 Carrier Awards 2022_R+L Carriers
PITT OHIO - Regional winner
The Regional Award recipient this year was PITT OHIO, a relentlessly energetic carrier servicing supply chains across the Midwest. Pitt Ohio’s volume increased by more than 100% last year, an astounding rate of growth given the company’s quickfire responsiveness and consistently low claim ratios.

About PITT OHIO
PITT OHIO has been providing the best value in transportation and logistics solutions to our customers for over 43 years, reaching over $900 million in revenue last year.  Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, PITT OHIO services the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northeast regions.  In addition to their legacy LTL freight solution, PITT OHIO provides supply chain and logistics solutions including expedite, freeze protection, truckload, warehouse and distribution, container transloading, dedicated and more.  To make this happen, and to fulfill PITT OHIO’s Purpose, they employ over 3,200 employees who are committed to doing the right thing every day.

IL2000 Carrier Awards 2022_PITT OHIO

IL2000 CEO Kraig Cesar works hard to stay on the fast track to success 

Successful companies find their footing in many different ways. In the case of IL2000, it found its feet behind the perseverance and focus of an Olympic hopeful runner, Kraig Cesar.

Kraig Cesar in suit outdoorsSitting breathless next to the track at Ted Gormley Stadium in New Orleans on an early summer day in 1992, Cesar knew he was at an important stage in his life. He had just competed in the 800-meter race, running against the fastest half-milers in the country.

Despite his best efforts, the Mississippi State graduate and multi-time SEC 800-meter champion had fallen short in his second bid to make the U.S. Olympic team.

“I was at my peak and had done all I could do as a runner,” Cesar remembered of that day in the early summer of 1992. “I knew it was time to move into the next chapter.”

 That was the first step in a career in sales and management that took Cesar through a variety of industries. The journey provided constant challenges, opportunities and an outlet for both his fiery competitive spirit and his urge to provide clients with impeccable service and care.

 It all came together in 1999 when Cesar founded IL2000, a full-service freight and logistics company based in Virginia Beach.

 In the two decades since, Cesar has built IL2000 from a one-man shop into a robust company that employs more than 60 people and serves clients around the globe.

“From the beginning, my philosophy has been to take care of clients, take care of employees and take care of profits,” Cesar says. “If you do the first two really well, the third one takes care of itself.”

 The same drive that pushed Cesar on the track has pushed him to assist clients with their freight and logistics needs. While helping clients save money is a key company focus, it’s just part of the equation.

 “Providing our clients with stellar service is our primary goal,” Cesar says. “We work hard, and when you do that while also providing them with substantial cost savings, you will be successful.”

 Delivering great freight and logistics service may seem like a world apart from sprinting around a 400-meter track. For Kraig Cesar, laser focus and work ethic will bring success no matter what the venue.