An Americana Fleet Tale: Birth & Growth of TSOA

Tim Williamson, founder & CEO of Transport Solutions of America (TSOA), has been involved in the automotive industry for most of his career.

He started out detailing cars for a driveaway company but was looking to start his own business the whole time. 

“I spent three or four years detailing fleet vehicles. I realized, by looking through a different lens, that I could take a different approach to vehicle transport with more organization, systems, processes, and volume and do it well,” Williamson said.  

TSOA officially started in 2006, just following Williamson’s departure from the detailing business in 2005. Williamson left the detailing business with the explicit goal of beginning a driveaway business. “It took some time to get started, especially the insurance piece. I had to go find customers to get started with. When I started TSOA, it was just two other people and me. It took six months before I could gather more staff to build volume,” he shared. 

An American Story

TSOA has an authentic “Americana” business story. 

“From TSOA’s ground-up start, the company formed around the work ethic of my grandfather. His generation has a good work ethic, and we follow them. These include ‘do what you say you’re going to do, and then work hard,’ ‘make commitments and follow through,’ ‘know your purpose and serve it,’ and ‘don’t duck the hard stuff — seek it out, and do it well,’ ” Williamson recalled.   

The company has continued to grow organically over the past several years. 

“We have shown great loyalty to our clients, and they have reciprocated. This has happened because we do what we say we’re going to do. When we fall, we are candid and do everything to fix it. We get more business with new and existing clients by being consistent, innovative, and loyal. We work as an extension of our client’s businesses and customers and take the load off them. The true key to our success? They trust us,” Williamson said.

Expanding & Rebranding 

TSOA has continued its growth path from its humble beginnings in 2006. The company’s most significant expansion over the past few years was its expansion to Canada as TSOA Fleet.

“As a stand-alone company in Canada, we serve fleets, upfitters, and FMCs. We do it the Canadian way and respect the way our clients need to be served in Canada. We hired a great team of Canadian drivers who are in tune with the fleet industry in Canada,” Williamson shared. 

Another expansion strategy TSOA has completed is adding people to the company’s staff with real-world fleet experience. 

“We hired Paul Fox and Erin Gilchrist Rugg, who come with years of experience. Paul from the FMC side and Erin offers the fleet’s perspective. Their knowledge and expertise help us to understand our clients even better and better serve them the way they expect and need,” Williamson shared. 

TSOA also acquired a new campus to accommodate growth. It is expanding that campus now for more office space.   

The company’s rebrand is a reaction to the evolution of the company and the times. 

“We want a closer alignment between how we see ourselves and our brand. “We’re focused and on target, we have a great story, and we’ve changed and redefined ourselves over the years. But, at the core, we have not changed our philosophies. The refresh more closely aligns with how we see and feel about ourselves and the sort of DNA of our company,” he added.

Today, TSOA is a driveaway company serving FMCs, upfitters, and fleets across North America. 

“But it’s the way that we conduct business that we’re most focused on and most proud of; it’s what differentiates us from our competition,” Williamson said. “We move vehicles of all shapes and sizes, including HAZMAT. Our approach to hiring, paying, retaining, and training drivers is thorough, hands-on, and world-class, building a culture of safety and loyalty with our driver base.”

A Changing World

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted much of the world since early 2020, and TSOA was no different.

“The main way it impacted our operations was remote working, having our employees scattered. But, the beauty of the timing was just before we went paperless. The change to paperless made the remote working a lot easier and more natural,” Williamson said.

He added that COVID-19 allowed TSOA to focus on the essentials it did well, primarily focused on package delivery vehicles, and come through nearly unscathed.  

The Bottom Line

Williamson is proud of the culture, attitude, and drive that TSOA’s leadership team has.

“It touches everyone we employ. Everyone buys into the culture, the dream, and the goals, and it comes into play in our work,” he said. “For our employees, this is not just a job; they are invested in the success of the business, business improvement, and growth and most importantly, wowing our clients and customers with every transaction. The pride in our work shines through and makes us stand out.”