Tuesday, May 22, 2007

USF Holland names John O'Sullivan as president

HOLLAND -- Just two years after leaving USF Holland for the top financial job at corporate parent YRC Regional Transportation in Akron, Ohio, John O'Sullivan is moving back.

He returns to become president of the 10,000-strong West Michigan trucking company. He plans to relocate his family to Laketown Township within the next month.

"I am extremely pleased to be returning to the area," O'Sullivan said Wednesday, when his promotion was announced.

He succeeds Bob Zimmerman as president.

Zimmerman, who led the company two years, resigned to pursue personal interests.

It already has been a big week for O'Sullivan and USF Holland.

On Tuesday, he was in Orlando, Fla., to accept the Carrier of the Year, Midwest region, award for USF Holland at the NASSTRAC Logistics Conference and Expo.

An accountant by training, O'Sullivan, 47, has worked in the trucking industry for 15 years. He is a native of New York and a graduate of Syracuse University, but said he is a big fan of his adopted neighborhood around Holland.

"The first time I went over the dune in Lake Michigan and looked out, it took my breath away," he said.

His biggest challenge at the helm of USF Holland is keeping it on track.

"It's really maintaining the service excellence we've been maintaining for 78 years," he said.

The company was founded in Holland in 1929.

Now, its revenue tops $1.5 billion annually, handling 9,000 trailers and 5,400 tractors.

It has a stable group of drivers with turnover only about 4 percent a year, O'Sullivan said.

USF Holland, USF Reddaway, USF Glen Moore and New Penn form YRC Regional Transportation.

The holding company, YRC Worldwide Inc., is based in Overland Park, Kan., with Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Reimer Express and Meridian IQ along with the group including USF Holland.

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