On Thursday, October 15, Canadian Business, in collaboration with Maclean’s, published its “Growth List for 2020,” and Pinnacle Logistics Solutions (Pinnacle) was awarded the designation of third-fastest-growing startup company in Canada, as well as fastest-growing startup in the Canadian transportation & logistics space.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, Pinnacle was founded in 2017 and comprises a specialized transportation and project management company with a focus on over-dimensional and multi-modal freight. The young enterprise distinguishes itself by offering the versatility of a broker with the technical know-how and hands-on approach of an asset-based transport company. Combining specialized equipment with strategic relationships in order to execute large- and medium-scale partnerships – both domestic and international – Pinnacle’s mode of operation provides its customers with some of the most efficient, cost-effective and creative turnkey logistics solutions in the industry today. That formula saw Pinnacle’s revenue growth jump by 8,257 percent in its first three years, which caught the attention Canadian Business.
“The startup list includes companies between three and five years old; this was the first year we were eligible to compete,” noted Aaron Gerber, principal and vice president of sales. “We applied in the spring and submitted our notice-to-reader financials for 2017-2019. Ultimately, they notified us that we’d be ranking well. We have other friends in the industry that have been on that list and are on it again, and those individuals were excited for us – telling us to get ready for a high ranking.” Gerber knows Pinnacle’s growth isn’t an accident, but also believes it goes deeper than just operational success. “We’re a very unique company; no one else is doing it the way we do it,” he confirmed. “We’ve said from the beginning that we’re going to take the expertise of an asset-based transport company and combine that with the scalability and responsiveness of the third-party logistics side. But it’s also about the spirit of reciprocity – we’re just trying to do right by people. And we’re not going to lose any momentum to conflict. We’re focused on cultivating and maintaining long-term, productive relationships.”
Pinnacle currently boasts 12 employees, and will finish 2020 at around $40 million in revenue. Principal and Vice President of Operations Sean Devries echoed Gerber on the relationships, and added that Pinnacle is wise beyond its years, and small but mighty. “There might be just twelve of us wearing Pinnacle hats, but there are over two hundred individuals on any given day wearing the sub-hat – and for each one of those individuals, representing maybe thirty or forty companies, we’ve got relationships at the ownership level, the management level and on the frontline level,” he explained. “It allows us to punch well above our weight class – because of those relationships and that sophisticated network of experience.” Devries also confirmed that Pinnacle is anticipating a busy 2021. “We’re looking at expansion in the U.S., and we’ve got an exciting partnership on the horizon that we will be announcing next year.”
Growth being what it is, Gerber pointed out that Pinnacle has, “… definitely exceeded some of our own expectations. But I also think recognition from this award will continue to fuel additional growth. It lends credibility to our name – people definitely aren’t looking at us like the new person on the block anymore. We’re here to stay.”
