‘This is a transformative step for us’: After 23 years of domestic time-critical service offerings, DTH Expeditors, Inc. plans to go global

DTH Expeditors, Inc., or DTH, is a leading transportation services provider, offering logistics services through air and ground shipments. It serves the life science, aviation, power, and energy industries.

DTH was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Forest Park, Georgia.

As a journalist, I find DTH Expeditors, Inc. quite striking. From the emotional branding standpoint to the high energy and motivation I felt just talking with the Chief Executive Officer, Michael E. Winslett, DTH stands out. It’s the sense of pride I get just doing this interview and learning about the company.

Interview Highlights

Q. When it comes to longevity, DTH Expeditors has it. I find it unique that an organization has what it takes to continue to offer services for 23 years. How did the company continue to adapt? 

Relationships! At our core, DTH Expeditors, Inc., is built on the power of relationships. The most critical relationships are those we have with our customers. Every decision we make is with them in mind. To this end, our relationships with our vendors, partners, and drivers are also a high priority. DTH has strived from the beginning to give customers a personalized approach and experience with expedited logistics.

Although much has changed over the last 23 years, what I can say has come full circle is the customer experience. It's what drives the critical logistics business. We primarily handle shipments that revolve around the loss of life, loss of capital, and/or loss of time. You must be able to trust your carrier in expedited logistics to avoid these losses.

Setbacks are a part of every growing business. Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped DTH grow through the years.

Notable setbacks throughout DTH’s history include 9/11, the economic recession of 2009, and most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. Such roadblocks didn’t just affect DTH – they impacted every component and player in the world of logistics. Throughout these challenging times, DTH remains careful and selective in the customers we do business with. This selectivity allows our team to thrive in times of turmoil.

The Covid-specific obstacles include supply-chain interruption and staffing requirements needed to sustain a company such as ours. DTH is a 24/7/365 operation, and it takes significant manpower and technology to keep DTH running and servicing clients. During Covid, other companies cut back staff and struggled to hire new staff. Instead, DTH doubled down on the number of employees and devoted more resources to creatively and purposefully problem-solve those issues facing the time-critical shipping process and movement. Additional challenges included airline cancelations, local pickup and delivery companies closing their doors, and trucker shortages.

This combination of factors made it far more difficult to move Next Flight Out or Next Truck Out. Our staff additions allowed us to overcome this barrier, but it wasn’t a simple fix. The solution was expensive and hard to achieve during a global pandemic, but DTH can say with certainty that it paid huge dividends. We emerged from lockdowns with a balance and necessary staffing to get the job done—and get it done exceptionally well. For us, the lesson learned is that time-critical customers want and expect service despite, and perhaps, because of, everything going on in the world around us. Our customers were willing to remain loyal to DTH, and in some cases, even pay more to get the service they need and expect.

Q. What strategies does DTH implement to provide the highest level of service in the time-critical transportation industry?

This is something we’re thinking about all the time. The very reason we exist is because of the service we offer our clients. We are steadfast in our commitment to training and continuing education of employees, compliance with government standards and regulations, driver training and retention, overall safety and compliance, and a genuine commitment to the daily process and protocols of time-critical freight movement.

Technology is an enormous and ever-evolving piece of our strategy in keeping pace in the fast lane of expedited transportation. We are currently designing and implementing a multi-mode transportation management system that showcases real-time communication, transparency, and service offerings to our customer base. In short, technology is and will continue to be an area where DTH stands above other carriers.

Q. How skilled is the DTH team of experts, and how do they bring value to the company?

There is no substitute for the experience and relationships that veteran employees bring to DTH’s table. Their value is innumerable. They know the customer, what the customer wants, what the customer expects, and how to deliver optimal service and satisfaction to the customer. Many of our employees have been with DTH since the day we opened our doors, and many more have been with us for over two decades. The DTH staff is completely committed to the success of our company, and they are our biggest asset. This idea threads back to what I mentioned earlier about relationships being a central tenet of our success.

Q. What level of growth do you hope to see in the next five years?

With the unveiling of international services, a focus on the increased onboard courier, air charter, white glove services revenue, and the demand for a highly specialized and customer-friendly time-critical logistics company; we’re confident that DTH is in a prime position for continued growth. DTH’s revenue currently falls in the 20% increase range, year after year, particularly for the past 24 months. We will expect to continue that growth while still being highly personalized and intimate with our customers.

Q. Is there anything else you want us to highlight that we might have missed?

DTH’s ownership is part of a four-generation, privately held transportation family. We are committed to staying family-owned and operated. DTH plans to build a new national control center outside of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The control center will be fully operational in the next 24 months and will house our domestic, international, and corporate teams.

Michael E. Winslett | Founder, President & CEO

Michael E. Winslett founded DTH on the principle of offering personalized, time-critical logistic services through individual relationships. The company is named after his three children: Drew, Tyler, and Hannah.

In 1983, Winslett began his career in Birmingham, Alabama. He gained operational, sales, and management experience working with CF Airfreight, SurfAir, and Eagle USA throughout North America, before opening DTH in 1999.

“We are currently designing and implementing a multi-mode transportation management system that showcases real-time communication, transparency, and service offerings to our customer base. In short, technology is and will continue to be an area where DTH stands above other carriers.”