The First 50 Years of Team Hardinger
Harold “H” Bender, Team Hardinger owner (left) and Bill Schaal, Team Hardinger co-founder
Bill Schaal began his transportation career in the United States Navy motor pool. Following the end of his tour of duty he joined the team at Herrmann Transportation. During his time at Herrmann, Bill served in all facets of the operation including dispatcher, dock foreman and driver. In 1969, Bill and a partner purchased Hardinger Transfer Company. Forty-three years later, Bill invited his general manager, Harold “H” Bender to be co-owner of the business. H then became sole owner of the business in 2015.
1950s
1969
- Bill Schaal, Sr., and a partner purchase Hardinger Transfer Company, a one-truck operation
1970s
- Midwest and Eastern regional transportation routes expanded
1980s
- Transportation services offered nation-wide
1990s
- Hardinger Transfer begins doing business as Team Hardinger, recognizing that success will only come through the efforts of the entire team
2000
- 80,000 square feet food grade facility built adjacent to the W. 18th Street Erie location
2002
- William “Bill” Schaal, Sr. assumes controlling interest of the company with a renewed focus on excellence in customer service
- Second Erie site opened at 3106 McCain Avenue with 150,000 square feet
2004
- Value-added services now include export packaging and crating, as well as a 3,000 square foot industrial paint booth
2007
- Grove City warehouse built with 120,000 square feet and value-added services
2009
- C-TPAT and Smartway certifications obtained
2012
- Transportation technology upgraded to industry-leading transportation dispatch software
- Fleet trucks upgraded with in-cab GPS units and company commitment to E-logs as part of safety initiative
2013
- Region’s public Foreign Trade Zone launched with 150,000 square feet in East Erie and 120,000 square feet in Grove City, PA
2013
- Truckload brokerage subsidiary, Hardinger Logistics, LLC launched
- Paint booth upgraded to include forced-cure and electrostatic gun use, improving both quality and efficiency, and drastically increasing capacity
2013
- Implementation of a best in class warehouse management system at two sites
2015
- Harold “H.” Bender assumes ownership
2015
- Full integration warehouse management system across the network
2015
- Team Hardinger opens 130,000 square feet warehouse on W. 23rd Street in Erie
2016
- Achieve 98.5% on-time delivery and 99.9% inventory accuracy
2016
- Hardinger Logistics becomes an agent of RR Donnelley’s DLS Worldwide allowing Hardinger to bring value to customers through the multi-carrier DLS Worldwide platform