Total Quality Logistics opens new office in Sarasota, adds 100 jobs

Jessi Smith | Sunday, June 5, 2016

Ohio based freight-brokerage firm Total Quality Logistics (TQL) is expanding to open a Sarasota office, the company’s seventh location in Florida. The new Sarasota office joins TQL locations in Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

TQL’s new office in the BB&T Building at 1800 2nd Street in downtown Sarasota is scheduled to open in June, and will include a $600,000 capital investment. The expansion was made possible through partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Sarasota County, The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Sarasota County, and the city of Sarasota.

“This expansion will bring job opportunities to Sarasota, and we think it’s a great fit,” says TQL Communications Specialist Mark Motz.

Total Quality Logistics plans to create 100 jobs in Sarasota by 2020 including sales, managerial positions and customer service agents to manage the processes and logistics of transportation between shippers and truck carriers. TQL opened its first offices in Florida in 2010, and currently employs 450 people in the state.

“Whenever we look for a new office, one of the first things we seek out is a good pool of professional talent. Sarasota is an excellent location, and we were fortunate to be able to work with the city, the county and the state of Florida to make that happen,” Motz says.

Jennifer Taylor, EDC of Sarasota County VP of Business Development, says that Sarasota’s pool of talented professionals and its exceptional livability are two of the region’s greatest assets in attracting new companies like TQL to Sarasota.

“TQL is expanding and growing very quickly all over the nation, but Florida is definitely a hotbed for them. Access to talent and quality of life are critical to their success. When analyzing a new location, they look for communities where talented people not only want to work but also want to live. It didn’t take them long to realize that Sarasota was a natural fit,” Taylor says.

Total Quality Logistics is headquartered in Cincinnati OH and employs over 3,800 people nationwide. In 2015, TQL’s sales topped $2.2 billion.

Read more articles by Jessi Smith.

Jessi Smith (she/they) is a freelance writer who is passionate about sustainability, community building, and the power of the arts and transformative storytelling. A fourth-generation Floridian, Jessi received her B.A. in Art History and English from Florida International University and began reporting for 83 Degrees in 2009. When she isn't writing, Jessi enjoys taking her deaf rescue dog on outdoors adventures, unearthing treasures in backroads antiques and thrift shops, D.I.Y. upcycling projects, and Florida-friendly gardening.