"HENRY Dock Works took tremendous pride in their work and provided nothing short of exceptional customer service... and consistently met and often exceeded our expectations in the quality of their work, reliability of performance, and flexibility in scheduling."

- Tony Giampapo
Director of Distribution
Hannaford Bros. Co.

Feb 20, 2006

HENRY Names CEO

Rocky Mount, NC – Chad Seymour, president of C.S. Henry Transfer, Inc. and Henry Dock Works, Inc. since mid-2001, now has the additional designation of chief executive officer of both firms, effective January 1,               

2006.

The announcement was made jointly by the other two stockholders and members of the board of directors of both companies, Marshall and Gayle Henry, Seymour’s parents, both of whom will remain active with the organization. 

Marshall Henry, chairman of The HENRY Companies and last CEO, said “Our organization started 75 years ago in Rocky Mount by my grandfather C.S. Henry as a one-truck operation.  Ours is a family business, which has been sustained by continuously evolving and reinventing itself over time as opportunities have come our way.” 

C.S. Henry, the man, never went to school or learned to read and write.  Yet in 1931, even without formal education, he was able to get the ball rolling as founder of a new business venture,   He called it C.S. Henry Transfer. 

“My father, M. Webster Henry, who succeeded his own to become second generation owner and operator of the family enterprise, kept the little ball rolling and growing in earnest following his return from the South Pacific late in WW II where he gained experience as a young motor transport officer in the Marines.  In the ensuing years, he made his mark not only as a local businessman but also as a recognized motor carrier industry leader,

“I represent the third generation,” said Marshall Henry.  “Much has been written about family businesses and how the third generation often dissipates all that has gone before.  Therefore, it has been a special challenge to grow our business instead of seeing it washed away in a flood or gone by the wayside from other circumstances.

“Before Hurricane Floyd in September, 1999, having hauled freight for close to 70 years, we had a chance to start a related venture as part of HENRY.  By the close of its first year, 1997, we had made it a separate corporate entity, with the name Henry Dock Works, Inc.” 

Seymour, 35, and a 1988 graduate of Rocky Mount High School, attended NCSU, and then earned a B.S. degree in Marine Biology from UNC-W.  He completed graduate studies in mariculture at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, TX. and worked in the aquaculture industry several years.

Seymour joined Dock Works at the end of 1997, having worked for C.S. Henry Transfer, Inc. in the maintenance shop throughout high school.  He traveled several years ‘from sea to shining sea,’ literally, developing the new HENRY business and training crews of cargo handling specialists for Dock Works.  This was all before meeting and later marrying his wife, former DeeAnn Ezzell of Nash County, in 2001.

A year after the Flood of Floyd ravaged much of Eastern North Carolina and Rocky Mount, including its site and facilities, HENRY saw, for long-term survival, the need to shed its interstate fleet, and sold its trucking assets – trucks, some trailers, and customer accounts – to EPES in Greensboro – in early 2001. 

Avoiding financial disaster was possible only because Dock Works had gained sufficient momentum by then to allow HENRY to exit its long established motor carrier operation and emerge, re-invented, as a broader transportation and warehousing solutions organization. 

“We transitioned successfully from the truck driver’s seat to the rear of the trailer by increasing focus on the growth of Henry Dock Works, Inc. as cargo handlers and on-site warehouse service providers to the food service industry. Today, we have employee crews in over 25 distribution center locations in 10 states, unloading trucks and handling goods for our foodservice clients and delivering truckers.”

“At the same time, we looked at our remaining assets, including our experience as truckers.  HENRY maintains an inventory of 100 van trailers for rental as storage or use over-the-road.  Even though the company no longer operates a fleet of trucks long distance, HENRY is actively increasing local, dedicated trucking and warehousing services close to home.

HENRY’s latest venture, Global Trade Works, provides inland transportation for domestic and international cargo of various shapes and sizes.  Without a fleet of its own now, c.s.HENRY Transfer, Inc. uses other carriers to pick up and deliver its customer loads, which move on various types of equipment.      

“For a business to be alive and well after 75 years and three generations of family defies all odds and is seen seldomly.  Although proud of the accomplishment, we’re humble and far from resting on our laurels.  Continuity with change, as with the Henry Dock Works metaphor, is possible only as long as we continue to have young leaders with fresh ideas, who will help us, grow and succeed.”

That’ll be a top priority for the fourth generation of this Rocky Mount based business, now known as The HENRY Companies.  However, Chad Seymour, the new chief, enthusiastically reminds us of the organization’s catchy slogan,                    

“Relax. We can handle it!”

Rocky Mount Telegram February 20, 2006