TIM GERMAIN AND THE T-LANE NATION SUCCESS STORY

HOW THIS CANADIAN ENTREPRENEUR GREW HIS START UP BUSINESS FROM ONE TRUCK IN 2000, TO HOUSE ONE OF CANADA’S DEEPEST TRUCKING AND TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY FOOTPRINTS IN UNDER 16 YEARS.

Tim Germain: The Man With The Vision

Tim Germain, Customer Concierge at T-Lane Nation, is a leader of surpassing integrity with an assiduous “go for it” attitude who emulates the essence of the word “entrepreneur” at every juncture. Finding meager satiation within the status quo, Germain leads his team to “shatter the box” in every instance by perpetually considering, creating and seeking out better than best practices and new business opportunities. Direct drivers of T-Lane’s rapid national growth can be attributed to Germains customer service positioning as well as his courageous, “against the grain” business acumen.

Arguably, current business culture has observed a swift decline in the investment in and implementation of viable, live person based, customer service experiences (“press 1 for…press 2 for…to leave a message for” etc.) whereas there is not one voicemail box in use in any T-Lane Nation office across the country, every call into T-Lane Nation is answered by a live person. “Without the customer, we are nothing,” states Germain “the customer and our attention to them is everything”.
Ask Germain for a business card, you might be surprised by his title. Germain holds his team to the highest level of customer service, as such every position in T-Lane from CFO to Order Entry to Accounting reads ‘Customer Concierge’, Germain included. The T-Lane Nation org chart also finds the staff at the top with the management listed at the bottom, as management’s main position is to support the staff in all efforts to supersede customer expectations. These are but a few of many examples of how the customer relationship is paramount at T-Lane Nation. Couple T-Lane’s formidable repeat client base with its exponential client growth over the last 16 years and you’ll find a strong indication that Germains methods work.

Innovative Approaches and Future Plans 

Germain might say that the recipe to T-Lane Nation’s continued success includes adaptability, research, ingenuity, and the fearlessness to go against the pack to find new and better ways to navigate the industry. Germain himself is highly adaptable and fosters the same in his team. Every idea is valued and taken into account. By creating an organic, ever changing business model for T-Lane he ensures that the company is always on the cutting edge of industry opportunities and technology, affording T-Lane Nation to be prepared to deal with any product and services challenge as they may arise with the skill and clarity unrivaled by others in the industry. The ultimate goal is not to mirror any of the other industry “machines”, but instead offer an experience for every client that marries expertise (i.e. ability to move anything, and get it there safely every time) with a personal, customer based approach that establishes, fosters and maintains ongoing relationships.
Key differentiating offers from T-Lane Nation include the ability for complete tracking of shipments including satellite tracking on equipment along with 24-7 access for customers, coast to coast and USA and Mexico coverage while having specialists in crane heavy haul and industrial moving. Another key differentiator is the team’s capacity to move pieces that scare most other carriers. Some of T-Lane Nation’s key and highly successful services are based on providing specific areas of expertise that have not been commodified and where experience based competition is low, including large building moving, military security clearance, hazardous goods etc.
Germain harnesses a work hard / play hard/ lead by example approach and is never afraid of getting his hands dirty while putting in the hours to do the job right and then take the time to have fun, relax and enjoy life. Germain also invests in expert caliber staff with the inside knowledge needed to take T-Lane to the highest industry levels. Recognizing current and potential limits, he actively recruits highly skilled employees often before they’re needed using his vision to shape T-Lane’s future and the company’s next levels. This practices has perpetuated the growth and change that has turned T-Lane Nation into the industry force it is today.

Company Initiative/Culture
Tim Germain is a very generous, philanthropic leader – he’s thankful for the gifts he has & believes in “paying it forward” 100% of the time. Always conscious of the Germain family’s social and moral obligation to the community, Germain believes in giving back to charities including Sunshine Dreams for Kids which provides dreams for children challenged by severe physical disabilities or life threatening illnesses. Germain is also a longtime supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and has organized & been a major sponsor of both the Mike Cassidy Legacy CF Golf Tournament and Golf Fore Kids, which has topped over $350,000 in contributions to children’s charities. T-Lane Nation also makes significant charitable donations with all employees involved in the process of selecting and allocating amounts to specific charities, annually these donations to charities is also approximately $200,000.

Philanthropy is such a part of the T-Lane Nation culture that Germain gifts every employee with two paid days off each year to donate their time to the charity of their choice. Embraced and appreciated by the team, charities that benefit from this support include (but are not limited to) the Canadian Cancer Society, the SPCA, Mission Women Resource Society, Make a Wish Foundation and MADD.
Through the corporate culture Germain has fostered, employees sense that their T-Lane Nation commitment spans beyond any 9 to 5 responsibility, but is an opportunity to help people who are in need at all times. It is this philanthropic initiative more than any other that empowers employees to do their part while growing their own personal self-awareness within the community. The noted results are greater employee engagement, greater employee pride (both self and corporate) and because of this employees tend to be less likely to leave when compared to other companies of this size and development.

Health and Wellness are imperative to T-Lane’s employee success.  Happy, healthy employees create the same in terms of culture and environment which then best perpetuates ongoing success and growth for the company.  Germain provides fresh fruit and filtered water to his staff each week and has an internal Health and Fitness Coordinator who shapes both the team with thrice daily “T-Lane Body Break” workouts and a monthly newsletter that platforms relevant information to help the T-Lane Nation team keep themselves commited to working to reach their health and fitness goals.  The company also has a series of internal exercise / stretching video’s for satellite offices, drivers and employees who work from home to utilize.

Germain’s recipe for success has created a company robust with pride and dedication.  The T-Lane Nation team perpetually pushes the customer service bar higher with every project to best set the industry standard for safety and efficiency with every project.

VIEW T-LANE NATION’S CORPORATE PRESENTATION HERE