Careers at NFI Industries

Mission

Delivering completely customized supply chain solutions

History

One of North America’s largest logistics and transportation companies, NFI Industries has a fleet of over 2,000 tractors, 8,200 trailers, over 20 million square feet of warehouse space and 7 million square feet of real estate. Despite its present scale and distribution across the United States and Canada, NFI has much more humble origins in the northeast United States. The company was originally founded by Israel Brown who wanted to start a trucking company in New Jersey. He started National Hauling in 1932.

Within seven years, the new company went from one truck to establishing its first warehouse and its first few truck terminals. The company managed to find growth during a time of severe economic depression following the stock market crash of 1929. The rate of growth was sustained through World War 2 and the economic opportunities that large-scale military mobilization afforded. The post-war period provided another boon to NFI’s growth. In 1945, just at the end of World War 2, NFI was awarded a contract by the American government’s Veterans Administration. Within five years, Brown’s son joined the business in a senior role.

In 1955, National Hauling changed its name to Carrier National Freight. Six years later, the National Distribution Center division of the company was launched. The new service provided logistics solutions to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic area. With the advent of refrigeration NFI was able to purchase its first refrigerated trucks in 1969. The 1960s up until the early 1970s were a time of rapid technological change and new developments in the trucking industry that increased speed, efficiency and cost-savings for carriers. In late 1970s, Israel Brown’s grandchildren joined the company.

NFI didn’t truly become a national carrier until 1980, when it began expanding beyond its New Jersey and Northeast base. In 1983, Sid Brown, who would go on to become its first CEO, joined the company as a staff member. During the 1980s NFI expanded beyond its trucking and freight forwarding origins to become a full-service logistics provider with warehousing, and other supply chain solutions. Through the 1990s, the company introduced new technological advances including visibility and traceability solutions and E-fulfilment services.

In the early 2000s, the company made a number of acquisitions including Burnham’s Manufacturing Support in 2000 and Campos Express in 2004. It also expanded into Canada in 2002 and launched its brokerage business in 2003. In 2004, the NFI became a global logistics company with the launch of intermodal and global services. The following years saw a period of aggressive expansion through acquisitions of several logistics companies in the US and Canada. In 2011, the company exceed $1 billion in revenue. By 2014, the company had over 8,000 employees. NFI is still owned by the Brown family and is based in New Jersey.