1st Class Service…
The pledge upon which our company was founded 40 years ago. As employees, we realize that we are the back bone to such a pledge. We will give our talents and our experience to insure the highest quality of service to all of our customers. We take pride in our commitment to excellence, leadership, and improving our network as a company. By doing so our pledge will remain alive and our industry will become stronger because of our existence. Guided by the lessons learned in the past, we move into the future. We are committed to providing our customers, our community and our industry with a level of communication and support that can only be described as 1st class.
Company Mascot
In 1980, owner, Michael D. O’Brien took a crew of employees to Inman, South Carolina whereas the first of two Tigers were purchased. The “Tiger” shortly thereafter became Avondale Container Yard’s Mascot, which would be known and discussed throughout the industry worldwide. Swimming pool, hanging tire, bowling ball are just a few amenities within the Tigers home, which was located within Avondale’s main facility. Many contracts were discussed, pictures were taken, and stories will be remembered from within the tiger’s house. As we all know, Tigers are considered wild animals and even though these Tigers have lived their entire lives around and within a specific controlled environment…all could change within a flash. So, to better control the unknown, a group of zoo doctor specialist came in to make a suggestion, which was to “declaw” the tigers. The procedure took several hours, but after all was said and done, everything worked out just fine. The “claws” from both Tigers would later be turned into pendants and given out to a specific set of friends, which had a specific relationship to/with what we called internally- the “Cats”. At age 21 and considering a few health issues related to cancer cells within both Tigers, Dr. Gutter from the Audubon Zoo decided it best to put them to sleep rather than let them suffer. How big of a deal was this: Customers and friends flew in from all over the world to attend a very special service, a service that involved a Military type salute and plenty of shared memories that would be discussed and shared way into the next morning! Through a federal permit, we were allowed to have both Tigers fully mounted here within the United States. The first of the two Tigers sit in front of Owner, Michael D. O’Brien’s desk and the other hangs suspended from the ceiling in a Sports Bar located nearby. The “Tiger” has a tremendous ability to adapt to change and its surroundings and so do we!