Northwest Freight Handlers Inc., a Spokane-based company that unloads goods from trucks and cargo containers for other companies, has doubled its revenues over the last three months and now is considering expanding to Portland and Southern California, says owner Sergio DeLeon.


He says the company, which currently employs about 80 people, including 50 here, could hire between 200 and 300 additional workers in those markets if it decides to expand.


We try to do a good quality job, and people seem to like us, says DeLeon. Its a little scary to expand so quickly. You worry that youre going to lose customers along the way.


DeLeon declines to disclose the companys revenues.


Already, the 9-year-old company unloads a high volume of cargo for about five clients here and one in Seattle. It unpacks and stacks incoming freight for URM Stores Inc., the big Spokane-based grocery distributor. It also unloads and loads cargo containers for a giant Japanese-based shipping company that has an operation in Auburn, Wash. It started that work about three months ago, which led to its substantial revenue increase.


Weve grown by word-of-mouth, says DeLeon. We dont market ourselves. We got the Seattle contract because one of our customers recommended us to them. Weve done so well for them that they want us to unload freight for them in California.


Northwest Freight relies on organization and the muscles of its employees to unload about 80 trucks a day here. Those trucks contain a wide variety of goods, ranging from frozen food to paper products.


The company operates out of a small office at 59 E. Queen, just north of NorthTown Mall. Northwest Freight coordinates its work force through its office manager, who directs employees where to go to work, although its employees generally work at the same job site every day. It pays its workers between $8 and $15 dollars an hour, and it provides health-care benefits.


The company doesnt own any trucks or heavy-lifting equipment. Instead, its workers use lifting equipment owned by the companies it serves.


For competitive reasons, DeLeon declines to say what the company charges to unload trucks. Typically, Northwest Freight has operating agreements to work in its clients warehouses. But in some cases, Northwest Freight charges individual truckers directly to unload cargo.


The workers who unload freight are called Lumpers by those in the shipping industry, DeLeon says. The term originates from the time when truckers unloaded freight themselves. They often were tired from a long drive and would bang their shins while offloading freight, leaving their legs bruised and lumpy, he says.


Trucks arrive at Spokane-area warehouses in the early morning hours, usually around 4 a.m. Truck drivers are anxious to have somebody unload their cargo, so they can get to their next jobs, DeLeon says.


Whenever a trucker gets here, the first thing he asks is Where are the Lumpers? DeLeon says. Then we get to work.


At each job site, Northwest Freights managers work with its clients warehouse managers to insure goods are properly stored. Northwest Freights managers also work directly with the companys employees to keep them moving quickly and efficiently. DeLeon says the idea to have managers on site came after he saw problems with companies using temporary workers.


There were a lot of problems with temporary workers not showing up, or having to constantly retrain them, he says. This way we have a manager who is working alongside them. The managers job is to keep them motivated and doing a good job.


Humble beginnings


In many ways, DeLeons life is the classic American story. He immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with his family when he was 7 years old. Later, he bounced around the country looking for work, mostly picking fruit and vegetables for low wages.


DeLeon keeps a small faded picture of himself standing in a strawberry field looking exhausted after hours of backbreaking work. The picture, hanging in his office, is a reminder of where he started.


He says his experiences in the fields taught him that there is no substitute for hard work. Eventually, DeLeon became a U.S. citizen. He didnt graduate from high school, but later earned his general equivalency diploma.


There are no limits in this country if you work hard, he says.


He worked a variety of jobs, searching for the right fit. He came up with the idea for starting his business while working as a Lumper for various companies here.


Years ago, a number of small businesses clamored to unpack and stack freight at URM Stores large warehouse at 7511 N. Freya, DeLeon says. He says those businesses would get into bidding wars, and that led to problems and arguments over who would get jobs. He adds that it wasnt uncommon for a fight to break out in the parking lot.


DeLeon believed he could create a niche by hiring the right people who could do a good job consistently, and by instituting strict management controls.


He and his wife, Mayra, founded Northwest Freight in 1995. They worked seven days a week and slowly added employees.


URM liked how we did things, DeLeon says. So they came to me and asked me to take it over.


Northwest Freight was awarded the URM Stores contract in 2000, and it was a key factor in the companys growth, says DeLeon.


Northwest Freight also unloads trucks for Bunzl Distribution Inc., a St. Louis-based paper and packaging products distributor that operates in Liberty Lake as Papercraft, and Supervalu Inc., a Minneapolis-based grocery distributor that serves many grocery operations, including Tidymans grocery chain from its warehouse in Spokane.