The History of FMI International
FMI was founded in 1979 by Ernest DeSaye, a former air freight forwarding executive who had a vision to create a logistics service provider for the fashion industry by moving garments-on-hanger (GOH) with unitized pricing. By offering this service for both ocean and air shipments destined to the United States, apparel importers were afforded the ability to select multiple transportation alternatives, guaranteed costing and garment condition integrity. The program and concept was a huge success!
In 1985, the company expanded their operation and business model by offering warehousing, distribution and value added services to their import customers at a single facility in Carteret, NJ.
By the late 1980's, FMI expanded their supply chain services to meet the growing demand of their customer base. FMI introduced transportation services with the addition of our regional fleet of company owned tractors and trailers to provide container pick-up service at the NY/NJ piers, air cargo at JFK, loose cargo at container freight stations and domestic pick-up and delivery in the NY/NJ metro area.
The 1990's brought continued expansion of FMI's services by expanding warehouse, distribution and transload services to Miami, FL and Southern California. FMI's customers now had the ability to choose from multiple facilities in the nation's most popular gateways. This allowed them to select the most cost effective and efficient gateway for their imported goods. In addition, FMI responded to the growing demand for JIT (Just in Time) inventory arriving at JFK International Airport. FMI opened a marquis facility within minutes of the tarmac at JFK with round-the-clock operations and a full range of services for airports sweeps. FMI is among the largest independent air cargo operators providing next day delivery within a 650 mile radius of the airport.
In 1995, FMI's supply chain services growth continued by adding dedicated domestic line haul services with company-owned equipment for trans-continental service. This service offered customers the ability to deliver transload merchandise to their interior distribution centers or deliver direct-to-store. FMI made the investment to equip all of the trucks with Qual Comm communication devices, and fitted the trailers with Terion, a state-of-the-art asset management device for tracking and enhanced security.
In 2003, FMI partnered with KRG Capital Management, a Denver-based private equity investment company. This transaction allowed for additional capital and financial resources to support the company's continued expansion.
In 2006, FMI completed a merger with a couple of other logistics companies to form Summit Logistics International. The goal of SLI was to offer high-performance end-to-end supply chain solutions for importers and exporters, primarily in the transpacific trade. Unfortunately, due to adverse trade conditions and a poor economy, SLI filed for bankruptcy protection in January of 2008. In April of 2008, the founding partners of FMI, along with other founders and senior executives from Summit Logistics International, decided to re-purchase the assets of SLI and return to a privately held entity. The company was renamed Summit Management Group with three distinct operating brands, Summit Logistics International, Seamaster Logistics and FMI International.
Summit and Seamaster still control more than 75,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of ocean transportation and FMI manages over 1.5 million square feet of public warehouse space in key transportation hubs. In addition, FMI continues to own and operate the FMI fleet of over 240 tractors and approximately 500 trailers for domestic transportation services.
Today, the original founders of FMI (Greg DeSaye, Bob O'Neill, Mike DeSaye and Joe DeSaye) continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the company.
For more information about FMI International, please contact us at info@fmiint.com or contact your local sales representative.