Kentucky-based Legion Logistics has opened a new satellite office in the city of Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico.
The new international office, staffed by two bilingual freight specialists, gives Legion Logistics a strategic presence in the industrial center of Mexico.
“It allows us to increase our service offerings on the Mexican side and communicate more effectively with our Mexican customers and carrier partners,” said Tony Coutsoftides, chief executive officer of Legion Logistics.
In Mexico, Legion Logistics will be focused on refrigerated, van and flatbed freight, said Coutsoftides. Santiago de Querétaro, with a population of around 642,000 people, is located roughly two hours from Mexico City.
“Our primary port of entry focus is Laredo, Texas, and we are currently servicing freight to and from destinations in the economic triangle of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City,” Coutsoftides said.
It took nearly a year to get the new Querétaro office up and running, according to Legion officials.
“The biggest challenge was navigating the bureaucracy of a foreign country in a foreign language,” Coutsoftides said. “We had to have partners we trusted who could do the ground work and send us clear translations.”
Legion Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, was founded by Lacy Starling in 2009. Starling started the business herself in the basement of her home in Kentucky. Coutsoftides joined Legion Logistics about a year after Starling started the business.
Today, Legion Logistics has around 33 employees and is one of the Cincinnati region’s fastest-growing companies. The company specializes in full truckload, less-than-truckload, government freight, hazardous materials and produce shipping.
Earlier this year, Legion Logistics acquired Dandridge, Tenn.-based Qontinuity Enterprises, a fellow third-party logistics brokerage. Legion Logistics is greater Cincinnati’s 11th-largest logistics firm and reported $29.3 million in 2018 revenue, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Santiago de Querétaro is a hub for companies in aerospace, biotechnology and information technology. Querétaro is also a strategic logistics hub for the “Bajío” region, a neighboring state where automotive giants like Honda, General Motors, Toyota, Mazda and BMW all have manufacturing plants.