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Vertex Freight Systems will celebrate its 25-year
anniversary next spring and 17 of those years have been spent at their
current location at 8401 NW 70 Street in Doral.
That's a lifetime in the business of family-owned
freight forwarders yet they are as successful as ever, in part thanks
to the strength of the relationships they've developed with their
clients.
"We try to ensure good service from the very
beginning," Vertex's Vice President and Secretary Lilliana
Madrigal said, "and we try to keep it at that level for the
duration of our relationship. If you're good, they'll come back to
you--it's enough of a hassle for companies once they get into the
destination country, so we try to make our part of the process as easy
as possible."
Although they do a great deal of business all over
Latin America and ship anywhere in the world, Vertex is particularly
strong in their niche market of Venezuela and Madrigal said they have
representatives in all the major cities there.
It's providing that sort of specialization and
attention to the needs of the customers, Madrigal said, which
has ensured Vertex a great deal of customer loyalty.
"We coordinate cargo all over the United States
and anywhere in the world," she explained, "but particularly
to Venezuela. We have clients that we have been working with there for
24 and 25 years now."
One of the reasons that Vertex is able to communicate
so well with their customers is that the co-workers within the company
itself are very close--and I mean very close.
Madrigal's husband, Mario, founded the company and is
still the president; her stepson Mario Jr. works for the company; her
step-daughters Vivian and Nancy Alvarez both worked for the company
for more than 15 years; her step-daughter Edith Berkley worked there
as well; and even her daughter Mailly worked there while in college.
And there's always a chance that Madrigal's other
three children, Marisel, Lilliana, and Lourdes, could spend time at
Vertex as well.
Madrigal likes to relate the following story of how
two of their clients were talking inadvertently at a party in
Venezuela, each extolling the virtues of their own freight forwarder.
"Both of them we're saying, 'my representative is
the best,'" she said with a smile, "and then they realized
that they were using the same company, Vertex, and that I was handling
one account and my step daughter was handling the other."
Even before starting Vertex, Madrigal said that
Mario--from a very young age--was president and general manager of
Supreme Air Freight in Miami, which at the time was the largest
forwarder in the world in terms of shipping from one point to another.
"We all learned from him," she said,
"we just give him suggestions. He's the head honcho around
here."
One thing that Vertex is unlikely to change is their
location--after all these years, and all the changes that have taken
place in the interim, Madrigal said that she couldn't imagine being
anywhere else.
"We came out here when there was nothing,"
Madrigal explained. "We've seen all the development through the
years and we like the area--it's one of the best for business in all
of Miami. It's accessible from the 826, the 836, and the turnpike,
it's close to the airport--it's just very convenient for us and our
clients."
Madrigal, who is also the director of the "Altagracia"
mission at the Corpus Cristi Church in downtown Miami, concluded by
saying that she believed it was Vertex's tenacity--throughout the good
times and bad--that ultimately helped it to thrive.
"It has taken a lot of hard work," she
explained, "building this company through all the ups and downs,
all the political changes in our markets. But during the tough times,
we always paid our bills, even while other companies we going
under--our credibility, our reputation is tremendous, and that's why
we continue to be successful."
Vertex can be reached by phone at 305 592 9550, or
they can be e-mailed at vertexfrt@aol.com.
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