Good morning. I am not a professional speaker like most of the people up here so I’m going to read a little bit of what I have come up with.
Good morning, and thank you for coming. I hope everybody’s doing well. We’ve been through a lot of issues these past few years, but I hope everybody is doing well.
A little bit over 20 years ago, my partner and I started a new venture which is now known as C&J Logistical Services. Today is a bittersweet day for us as we stand here getting ready to celebrate the grand opening for the groundbreaking of our new building, a part of our C&J family is not here. My partner and his family are currently dealing with a situation that calls for them to be absent from this momentous event. We pray that they find peace and comfort during this difficult time.
20 years ago, we decided that our headquarters would be in Pharr, mainly due to the efficient operations by the Pharr International Bridge and CBP. We started our operations and a 4,000 square foot building that was located right here with hopes and dreams of making it big.
The startup of our new venture was not easy. We invested a lot of time and money, a lot of effort into our new venture. Sometimes working late into the evening, early mornings, weekends and holidays. Throughout the years, we’ve had our ups and downs, like almost all businesses. We have had our good years and our ad years. But it has been an amazing ride. I wouldn’t have chosen anything else.
As our new venture grew, we created mutually benefiting strategic business relationships that we now call friends. We made relationships with Mexican brokers, carriers, other warehouses, clients. And that has helped us grow our business in the Pharr area.
With the completion of this building, we will be operating over 100,000 square feet of warehouse space in the city of Pharr. We not not only work in Pharr but we are committed to continued growth in Pharr. C&J was initially solely a U.S. Customs brokerage firm, assisting importers and exporters in filing documentation. Throughout the years, we have expanded our service to not only include warehouse, which is what we will be doing here, but also distribution, transportation and other logistical services. As your international trade partner we look forward to servicing many others dealing in international trade. Very soon you will see our tractors and trailers moving about the streets of Pharr and the nation as we launch our transportation division, C&J Express, which will also be headquartered here in Pharr.
Throughout these 20-plus years, we’ve hired many employees, possibly hundreds. But those that you see standing back there, sitting off to the left side, those are the employees that have made C&J what it is today, a leader in our industry. Some of these employees have been with us for quite some time. For example, Mario Perales, he’s been with us for 18 years. Maria Guajardo, 15 years. Israel Perales, 12 years. Rigoberto Garza, nine years. Arlo Burgandy, nine years. Israel Guerrero, three years. Israel Guerrero is our newly licensed US Customs broker within the C&G Logistical Services company. Other employees have two to three years of experience with C&J but all work equally hard to service our clients. Thank you each and every one of you for your hard work. It is greatly appreciated.
I would also like to thank the Villalobos family, the Perales family, the Garza family, the City of Pharr, PEDC, Pharr International Bridge and all those that helped us a long the way. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife and my children for all their continued support throughout the years. I know it has not been easy but thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: The above commentary was provided by businessman Crispin N. Flores at the official groundbreaking for a new warehouse his company, C&J Logistical Services, is building in south Pharr. The above commentary is the first in a two-part series on C&J Logistical Services. Part Two, featuring the analysis of staff from Pharr Economic Development Corporation and Pharr International Bridge, will appear in our next edition.
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