Cochran, Georgia, United States

In 1986, Tom Gilmer purchased a small warehouse that had operated as a multiple-service company. He named it Gilmer-Georgia, Inc., and signed on to provide trailer spotting and glass unloading services. Unfortunately, only one year later, the customer closed the doors on their manufacturing operation. That didn’t stop Tom. With vision and determination, he was able to secure a new warehousing contract for what is now our Kathleen Warehouse and also established Perry Transportation, Inc. to handle shipments of aluminum cans throughout the southeast. In 1989, Tom took his business two steps further. First, he opened Four Star Container Company to service a new glass plant by supplying wooden shipping containers on a just-in-time basis. Second, he obtained another warehousing contract that gave Gilmer-Georgia the ability to handle the receiving, sorting, palletizing, stretch wrapping, and shipping of a new customer’s air conditioning units. From the start, his children, Aaron, Jonalyn, and Erica, were involved in various areas of the company. They all accompanied their dad to work after school and during summer breaks to learn the recipe to grow a successful business. In the mid 1990’s to the early 2000’s, the kids became a permanent part of the company as they took on various management positions, and eventually changed the company name to Gilmer Warehouse, LLC. Today the company owns and operates 17 different locations across multiple states totaling over 2.5 million square feet while employing over 430 full time employees. The company stays successful by providing unmatched service to over 20 customers across its platform, and always striving for continuous improvement.