Turning ‘what if’ scenarios into reality through innovation, strategy

Heather Graves

Staff

July 1, 2024

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Everything RGL Logistics – a nationwide transportation and logistics company based in Northeast Wisconsin – does, Derek Fritsch, vice president of sales, marketing and operations, said, is directly connected to its “what if?” mindset.

Fritsch said RGL Logistics helps its customers reinvent logistics by creating solutions that simplify, improve and reduce waste in its respective supply chains.

The recent groundbreaking of the company’s newest warehouse in Neenah (1725 Dixie Road), he said, further cements its commitment to continuous improvement.

“We identified an opportunity to create a central location for our customer’s Fox Cities plants,” he said. “This will significantly reduce costs for our customers by creating a more sustainable supply chain model and minimizing local trucking mileage.”

Safety culture, Fritsch said, also plays a big part in RGL Logistics’s growth.

“Only through maintaining a culture of safety can we earn the right to grow with our customers,” he said.

Specifics

RGL Logistics’s expansion project, Fritsch said, is divided into two phases – with Phase 1 now underway following the mid-June groundbreaking.

“Phase 1 focuses on constructing a 357,500-square-foot warehouse, with completion expected in the next seven months,” he said. “We plan to be fully operational by January 2025.”

Phase 2, Fritsch said, will kick off in summer 2026.

“(It will add) another 243,000 square feet – bringing the total building size to 600,000 square feet,” he said.

With a focus on providing a central location for Fox Cities’ customers, Fritsch said the facility will help streamline the flow of shuttle trailers supporting its plants, as well as reduce the number of trailers needed.

“By centralizing the location, we can handle unloading finished goods for shipment and reloading trailers with raw and WIP (work in process) materials,” he said. “This in turn equates to fewer miles traveled and reduced diesel consumption, which leads to greater sustainable practices.”

High-fives all around

Fritsch said the project wouldn’t have been possible without the “dedicated RGL Logistics team who has played an integral part in shaping the culture we have here today.”

“A statistic we’re proud of is that 32% of RGL teammates have been with the company for 10-plus years – which is our largest represented population,” he said. “Our culture of commitment will ensure this remains true for years to come.”

The entire team at RGL Logistics, Fritsch said, is excited about the growing partnerships with customers the expansion project affords the company.

“Our customers (are the) best in class in how they treat their vendors and our teammates,” he said. “They treat us as an extension of their company – and our team takes a great deal of pride in serving them. The core values of our organizations align, and it has created an excellent experience for both sides.”

A part of the community

The company, Fritsch said, was founded in 1903 by the Leicht family who were passionate about giving back to the communities in which they lived.

“This passion still guides us in everything we do – which is evident through our robust volunteer program where teammates are encouraged to volunteer individually and through company-sponsored events, as well as through our generous donations back into the communities we live in.”

Over the last century-plus, Fritsch said RGL Logistics has grown to operate 3.5 million square feet of warehouse space across Green Bay, Appleton and Neenah – with transportation solutions nationwide.

“Our services include transportation management, warehousing and distribution, ambient and refrigerated contract packaging, commercial leasing, port services and in-plant/e-fulfillment solutions,” he said.

Fritsch said the long-tenured RGL Logistics values are ingrained into everything the company does.

“(One of the most important) is our ‘Work Safe, Live Safe’ value, which ensures each day our people go home safe, healthy and fulfilled,” he said. “These values guide us each day when interacting with each other and our partners.”

Fritsch said RGL Logistics keeps it simple.

“When you treat your teammates well, they treat your customers well,” he said. “When our teammates feel engaged in the work they’re doing, it creates inspired people who create unparalleled value for the customer. That mindset has allowed RGL to celebrate 121 years in business.”

This ethos of paying it forward, Fritsch said, shapes every RGL Logistics interaction and decision.

The company’s continuous efforts on employee engagement, satisfaction and advancement, he said, recently earned it a gold standard rating from the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce as an Employee Friendly Workplace.

“This is an accomplishment we have been working toward, and earning this recognition signifies that culturally we’re moving in the right direction,” Fritsch said.

Other company values, Fritsch said, include:

• Treat everyone with dignity and respect
• Act with honesty and integrity
• Continuously improve
• Be accountable

Together, Fritsch said RGL Logistics values support its vision, which is “driven by a singular, overarching goal of inspiring our people to deliver unparalleled customer value and lead a transformative revolution in changing how logistics is done.”

“It has been an exciting year for RGL thus far, and we are excited for that trajectory to continue,” he said.