New boys

In 1973, Sam Whitney created a novel way to advertise his startup trucking company that hauled phosphate out of west-central Florida mines.

Whitney saw an unmet need, particularly in phosphate-heavy Polk County, to drive the materials the last 10 miles or so to plants — a route area rail lines didn't handle well. Whitney got in his truck, with the name of the company, Trans-Phos, plastered on the side. He drove up and down the road with all the phosphate plants, more than a dozen possible customers.
Whitney did that all day, every day, until the name sank in, says Neil Whitney, a grandson. Eventually mining companies began to hire Trans-Phos. “He was a real character,” says Neil Whitney.

Customer acquisition is no longer the chief challenge at Mulberry-based Trans-Phos. When Sam Whitney's sons took over the business in the 1980s, it successfully shifted from hauling mostly phosphate to hauling mostly construction materials. Trans-Phos officials project the company will grow revenues at least 20% this year, and surpass $50 million. It has 150 employees and a fleet of 200 trucks. “Anything you can put in a dump truck,” says Neil Whitney, “we can haul it.”