Driving Success with Customers for Generations: PITT OHIO’s family-run business credits its sustainability and strong values

Pitt Ohio Express, LLC – better known to everyone as PITT OHIO – is one of the most recognizable transportation and supply chain management companies in Pennsylvania. The reason is simple: the Pittsburgh, PA-founded business’s steady growth has been fueled by a deep commitment to its customers, its people and its quality.

The family business, Hammel’s Express, began more than a century ago with a horse and buggy and eventually transitioned to a modern trucking business. In 1979, Chuck Hammel and his two older brothers continued in the family business by opening PITT OHIO, a less-than-truckload transportation provider. 

If you are asking yourself how the Ohio part of the name came about, that too is simple. The company was started to create an easy trucking flow system from Pittsburgh to Ohio, and PITT OHIO has done just that and more.

Today, PITT OHIO serves the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern United States, sending its tractor trailers across this part of the country.

The company has seven terminals throughout Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Washington, West Middlesex, Allentown, Phoenixville, Hazelton and Harrisburg. And, with the help of those terminals, PITT OHIO can pick up and deliver to any address in the Keystone State.

PITT OHIO’s successful operation has been possible due to its consistency – both in its value system and in staying true to its mission.

“PITT OHIO’s core values and business practices have been passed down from generation to generation,” PITT OHIO Executive Vice President Geoffrey Muessig said. “Charles Hammel, Sr. opened Hammel’s Express in 1919, and in 1940 Charles Hammel, Jr. continued the tradition. He then provided the foundation in 1979 for his sons to continue in the family business. Trucks ran between Pittsburgh, PA and East Palestine, Ohio.

“Today, under leadership from Charles (Chuck) Hammel, III, PITT OHIO operates 25 terminals throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. His sons, Charles (Chuck) Hammel, IV and David Hammel, are leaders within the company, providing the direction needed for PITT OHIO to continue to be a carrier that companies want to do business with and employees want to work for.”

If someone at PITT OHIO had to give one word to describe the company, ”consistency” would likely be it. The leaders and employees have not only been a model of consistency within carrier industry operations, but also when it comes to maintaining a successful family-run business that has earned customers’ trust since its inception. 

“The trucking industry is very competitive,” Muessig said. “Successful trucking companies need to differentiate themselves by creating valuable solutions for customers. PITT OHIO always has set the bar by providing solutions for customers that others in the marketplace may have thought to be difficult. PITT OHIO has used technology innovations to reduce cost and improve productivity and service.”

PITT OHIO is constantly willing to adapt. The company’s focus on providing customers with solutions where others cannot – or will not – has enabled it to stand the test of time and become an industry leader. 

The regional and national awards PITT OHIO has earned speaks to its success. The company has revolutionized sustainability within the trucking industry and beyond.

“We believe in being good corporate citizens and giving back by aligning ourselves with organizations who share our same approach and commitment to improving sustainability for future generations,” Muessig said. “PITT OHIO’s sustainability strategy focuses on People, Planet and Purpose. We leverage our strategy to drive employee engagement, reduce our operating costs, and gainshare these savings to grow our wallet share with LTL customers.”

Above all else, PITT OHIO wants to grow alongside its faithful workers and customers. The company’s success has been largely driven by its diligent workers, 70 percent of whom are drivers, dockworkers and/or mechanics. PITT OHIO fosters an environment that allows each employee the opportunity to perform to his or her greatest potential, because it knows that the commitment and loyalty of its employees facilitates the success of the organization.

“We will continue to use our sustainability strategy to differentiate ourselves in a busy marketplace,” Muessig said. “Through our sustainability strategy, PITT OHIO will strengthen our work culture, improve our efficiency, grow our business and give back to the communities where we operate. We respect the hard work of our employees and listen to them to ensure we remain an employer of choice.”

There is no doubt that PITT OHIO’s commitment to the values passed down through generations of family leadership (with an emphasis on supporting the people who drive the business forward) has the company on a road toward future generations of success.