Kenco memorabilia
photo by Mia Schoenly
Kenco, one of North America's leading third-party logistics providers, celebrated its 75th anniversary Friday at its Chattanooga headquarters on Riverside Drive, marking a remarkable milestone that fewer than three percent of companies achieve.
The celebration brought together numerous employees, local dignitaries, and community partners to honor the company's journey from a single warehouse operation in 1950 to a logistics powerhouse operating 140 locations across North America.
"This milestone is yours, and we're here to celebrate you," said Denis Reilly, Kenco's president and CEO, addressing the crowd.
The company's story began on Aug. 1, 1950, when Jim Kennedy Jr. and Sam Smartt Sr. invested approximately $25,000 to start Cherokee Warehouses. The business was born out of necessity when a downtown store fire created demand for warehouse space to safely store inventory.
"Our founders realized there was money to be made leasing empty space, and as they say, the rest is history, all 75 years of it," said Jane Kennedy Greene, representing the founding Kennedy family.
Today, Kenco stands as one of the fastest growing third party logistics providers in North America, with a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent over the past five years. Even more remarkable, Mr. Reilly announced that 2025 is shaping up to be the company's safest year in its history.
The celebration also recognized employees who have been with the Kenco family for 20 years or longer. When asked to stand, nearly half the room rose, demonstrating the extraordinary loyalty the company has earned from its workforce.
"That kind of comes back to the culture," Mr. Reilly said. "It's very inspiring, to say the least. You're really the heart of Kenco's culture, and we're grateful for everything you've done."
Sam Smartt, whose father co-founded the company, noted that when his father passed away in 1964, the company had only 34 employees. Today, it employs more than 7,500 team members across North America, including 800 in Chattanooga.
The celebration featured remarks from several distinguished guests, including Mayor Tim Kelly of Chattanooga and Mayor Weston Wamp of Hamilton County, along with State Rep. Greg Martin and state Senator Todd Gardenhire.
"This company has been a part of my life since I was a kid. It was just a fixture in Chattanooga," said Mayor Kelly. "The families that founded it have just been the cornerstones of our civic and cultural life in Chattanooga for a lot of years."
County Mayor Wamp praised Kenco as a "force of good" that helps define the community. "Companies like Kenco are forces of good, and they end up defining communities like ours," he said. "Nothing replaces the value. If you could build a community from scratch we would build it around companies like Kenco."
The celebration also featured remarks from Tony Pritzker, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Pritzker Private Capital, Kenco's investment partner. Mr. Pritzker marveled at the company's growth, noting it has become 2.5 times larger in just the past five years.
"You are the people who are making this place such a great company and something that we and our co-investors at Pritzker Private Capital are proud to be partners with," Mr. Pritzker told the gathered employees.
Looking ahead, Mr. Reilly outlined three critical initiatives for the company's future: significant investments in automation capabilities, continued investment in advanced technology teams with emphasis on AI and machine learning, and an accelerated acquisition strategy targeting companies that complement Kenco's offerings.
The event also recognized several nonprofit partnerships that have been important to Kenco over the years, including representatives from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Boys and Girls Club, and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
As Kenco looks toward its next milestone, Mr. Reilly noted that only 0.5% of companies reach 100 years in business. "Our next milestone is going to be 100 years, that's 25 years from now, and we're going to be up there with Procter & Gamble and others," he said.
The celebration concluded with a video highlighting employee perspectives from across Kenco's 140 locations, emphasizing the company's culture and the meaningful work being done to keep supply chains moving and the economy functioning.
"Kenco's success has always been, and always will be, a team effort," Mr. Reilly concluded. "We're incredibly proud of what we've built together over the last 75 years, and we're even more excited about what lies ahead for us."