In 2011, Falcon Express Logistics, Inc. became a logistics and freight transportation business in Searcy. The first four years of business proved unsuccessful: all four years were negative, the company had accumulated $96,000 in debt, had $65,000 of investments out of the owners’ pockets, averaged 10-20 loads per month, and only finished the first half of 2015 with $300,000 in total sales. At this point, the two owners questioned whether or not to keep the company running.

Gary “Tripp” Thompson, one of the co-owner’s grandsons, was wrapping up a semester of law school. He was visiting his grandfather at his office when the Falcon Express owners were discussing the shutdown.

“I jokingly said, ‘Hey, let me take it over,’” Thompson said. “One of them laughed, but my granddad asked when I could start. I told them Monday. I decided not to finish my last year of law school because this business felt more right.”

When Thompson took over, he said there were several things implemented to expand and create diversity. He created a referral program for anyone who secures a new customer for shipments receives a payment for every load Falcon Express ever does with that customer. They also tried implementing an agent program and also developed a new website. Falcon Fleet was created to help locals move, clean out rental homes and haul projects off.

Thompson said he set his projections to finish 2015 at $1 million. At the end of the year, Thompson paid off the owners’ out of pocket investments, had 178 freight loads in the fourth quarter and finished at $1,006,000 for the year. In one year, Falcon Express went from one employee to six with its own building, payroll and equipment for the first time since the business was established in 2011.

In 2015, Falcon Express was awarded the Best of Best Transportation, Logistics and Freight by the Searcy Award Program.

Falcon Express also has two branch offices in Indiana and Arizona, projected to earn $1.25 million and $750,000 in 2017 respectively. The Searcy office is projected to earn approximately $1.5 million in sales in 2017.

Thompson says customer service makes all the difference in the world.

“Falcon landed the largest shed manufacturer in the USA early in 2016 because you have a direct line and no automated voice options,” Thompson said. “Making a difference and standing out in any industry is our keystone to success. I was asked to move a Polaris Ranger from Baton Rouge to Little Rock on a Sunday, and the customer needed it urgently the next day. We could have told them it would cost $1,600, which is the industry average, but I hooked up a trailer, drove over 1,000 miles to pick up the Polaris in Louisiana and delivered to Little Rock myself. I hand delivered the invoice to them, only charging the cost of gas and a hotel. I am proud to have taken a company from almost going under to now hauling freight all over the US for the largest shed manufacturer.”