Press Release
Air Freight All-Star Jim Crane, Owner of the Houston Astros, to Keynote AirCargo 2015 Conference
(WASHINGTON) - Jim Crane, the Houston Astros owner who built his wealth and success on revolutionizing air cargo, will give the keynote address at AirCargo 2015, the premier trade show and expo for the air freight industry, scheduled for March 1-3 at the Sheraton New Orleans.
The event is sponsored by the Airforwarders Association, the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association, the Express Delivery & Logistics Association and the Airports Council International - North America. Online registration is available at www.aircargoconference.com.
During his presentation to more than 900 expected attendees from across the freight forwarding and air cargo industries, Crane will discuss his cutting-edge strategies for moving freight and building enormously successful companies that do it.
A native of the St. Louis area, Crane moved to Houston in the early 1980s and borrowed $10,000 from his sister to establish Eagle USA Airfreight, an air freight logistics business. The company made money in its first month and grew into an organization of more than 10,000 employees with more than 400 facilities in 139 countries. As Eagle Global Logistics (EGL), the company went public in 1995 and was sold in 2007 in a leveraged buyout.
The following year, Crane formed Crane Worldwide Logistics and, bringing in members of his original EGL management team and sales force, he quickly grew the company into a premier global provider of customized transportation and logistics services. His business interests also include Champion Energy Services, which ranks among the country's top 20 retail electricity companies.
In 2011, Crane led the investor group that bought the Houston Astros. It was not his first experience with baseball. As a pitcher for the Central Missouri State baseball team in 1974, Crane set an NCAA Division II championship series record by striking out 18 batters in a game, including the first 11 he faced.
A scratch golfer, Crane purchased The Floridian National Golf Club in 2010 from H. Wayne Huizenga, the founder of Waste Management, Inc., and Blockbuster Video.
Each year, the AirCargo conference and expo brings together a virtual "who's who" of the industry within the airfreight forwarding, express delivery, airport cargo management and expedited motor carrier industries. The 2015 program will include professionals from across the industry sharing their insider knowledge in an open session environment, as well as more than 100 exhibitors on the trade show floor.
[Attention reporters and editors: If you would like to apply for media credentials to cover this conference, please send an email request to david@stjohncommunications.com.]
About the Airforwarders Association
The Airforwarders Association (AfA) represents more than 360 member companies dedicated to moving cargo throughout the supply chain. The association's members range from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to large companies employing more than 1,000 people and business models varying from domestic to worldwide freight forwarding operations. In short, they are the travel agents for freight shipments, moving cargo in the timeliest and most cost efficient manner whether it is carried on aircraft, truck, rail or ship. For more information, visit the association's website at www.airforwarders.org.
About the Air and Expedited Motor Carrier Association
The Air and Expedited Motor Carrier Association (AEMCA) is a national trade organization that has represented the interests of the Air and Expedited Freight Trucking Community for 45 years. AEMCA members offer a variety of important ground transportation services that support and enhance the products made available to the Freight Forwarding community. These include airport-to-airport, local air and expedited pick-up and delivery, same-day dedicated and time definite delivery services. For more information, visit www.aemca.org.
About the Express Delivery & Logistics Association (XLA)
XLA is the voice of the express delivery, postal and logistics industry. The Association is driven and focused on providing targeted member service and best-in-class advocacy on the issues that impact members' bottom lines. XLA members represent all aspects of the express delivery, postal and logistics industry, from companies that are engaged in the expedited, door-to-door delivery of high-priority shipments both domestically and internationally to airline, consultant and companies who provide services and products utilized by the express operators. For more information, visit www.expressassociation.org.
About the Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA)
Airports Council International - North America represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. More than 340 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the five worldwide regions of Airports Council International. For more information, visit aci-na.org.
