The story of how Shevell pulled NEMF back from the brink of failure and made it into one of the country's foremost regional LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers is not just a story about a man building a successful business. It's about rebirth - of a man, his family, and his company.

Myron P. "Mike" Shevell himself was no stranger to adversity. The son of a trucking family, he had entered the industry in his youth, dedicated his life to it and by age 36 had worked his way to the top of Eastern Freight Ways, then the third largest truckload carrier in the country. In 1976, plagued by financial problems caused by an acquired company, Eastern went out of business. Shevell's soaring career plummeted to earth.

It was at this personal low point that the opportunity came to buy NEMF, which was at its nadir as a business. Losing 30 cents on the dollar at the time, NEMF was a company nobody wanted. Despite the skepticism and even outright scorn of others in the industry, Shevell determined that both he and his new company would rise together from the ashes.

He dedicated himself to making the failing carrier into one of the most successful LTL companies in the industry. Indeed, had he not acquired the company when he did, NEMF might now be among the many old line trucking companies whose obituaries have been written in the past 20 years.

Instead, NEMF today is a pinnacle on the trucking industry landscape. With revenues in excess of $300 million annually, NEMF has enjoyed unprecedented success in an era when industry deregulation and economic conditions have combined to force many trucking companies to merge, be acquired, or go out of business.

In the fiercely competitive LTL segment of the market, NEMF has distinguished itself by providing high quality, on-time service. This focus on error-free performance and outstanding service has helped the company survive through some economic periods that Shevell himself describes as "horrendous."

Under its early management, NEMF gained a reputation as an innovator, from creating new truck insulating materials to devising new forms of fleet insurance and bookkeeping systems. Many of these innovations later became standard practice in the industry. Despite some growth, however, the company remained small, with about 50 trucks and five terminals, and was never more than a relatively minor player in the Northeast market.

In 1972, the company was sold to the dairy, a move that almost proved its undoing. With its new owners concentrating on their core business and its own internal management difficulties, NEMF quickly lost its focus, and its customer base withered. Within five years, NEMF, its fleet dilapidated and its terminals deteriorating, was at death's door before Shevell took it over.

Shevell had started in the trucking business as a teenager in his native Perth Amboy, NJ, making pickups and deliveries. He worked his way up through various executive positions in family enterprises.

He was president of the family-owned Royal Motor Lines when the company merged with Eastern Freight Ways in 1963. Shevell served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the publicly-held Eastern and, in an eight year span, increased its gross revenues more than 800 percent and its net worth nine fold.

In 1974, Eastern acquired Associated Transport, a carrier beset by severe financial difficulties. Shevell served as president and chief executive officer of both companies. However, by1976 Associated's problems, combined with a major recession, proved too much even for Eastern's solid management. When a consortium of banks backed out of a restructuring plan at the last minute, both companies entered bankruptcy and requested to be dissolved.

Anxious to put the Eastern catastrophe behind him, Shevell bought NEMF from the dairy the following year. Drawing on a lifetime of knowledge of every aspect of the trucking industry from maintenance to marketing, Shevell developed NEMF into a thriving enterprise that now boasts more than 6,500 pieces of equipment and recently opened its thirty-fifth terminal.

Its service area now covers 16 Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-Western states from Maine to Virginia, with service also available to Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Through service partnerships with leading carriers in other regions, NEMF provides second-day service to 32 states, including all states east of the Mississippi.

In 1983, the growing company, then located in Wallington, NJ, moved to Elizabeth. The facility there houses the company's executive offices as well as a modern, 120-door terminal conveniently located near Newark Airport, the Ports of Newark and Elizabeth, the New Jersey Turnpike and other major arteries, and major rail lines.

In 1994, Mike Shevell resurrected Eastern Freight Ways as a truckload carrier, serving the same Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic region as NEMF does in the LTL sector. Today Eastern, like its sister NEMF, is a rapidly growing carrier, with a proven track record of reliability, on-time performance, and outstanding customer service.

Along the way, Mike Shevell's children have become a part of the company. His son, Jon Shevell, is vice chairman and executive vice president, responsible for NEMF's major accounts. He is regarded as an industry leader in the areas of sales and marketing. Daughter Nancy Shevell is vice president for administration, and is responsible for overall office management, including accounts receivable, corporate communications, benefits administration and purchasing.

Mr. Shevell has brought in associates who understand and share his vision. The team has produced astounding results. In 1989, NEMF had 12 terminals and about 1,600 employees. The company's revenues were $60 million. Today, the Shevell Group of Companies, with 4,000 employees and 35 terminals in 16 states, generates $300 million in revenue. That's a phenomenal record of growth at any time, Shevell points out, but a significant part of this growth occurred during the devastating recession of the early '90s, when many, if not most, companies were shrinking and trucking companies in particular were severely battered by the combined effects of the harsh economy and the aftermath of deregulation. Shevell attributes the company's success to the operating philosophy of always trying to exceed the customer's expectations.

Shevell confidently predicts continued prosperity for the company. NEMF's commitment to quality is unwavering, and that, rather than irrational price cutting, is what attracts and retains customers in the long run, he believes. Shevell foresees exponential growth for the company, which expects to have over 7,000 pieces of equipment and revenues approaching $500 million.