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Avanti CEO and President Erich Reindl
Houston — Effective January 1, 2017, Avanti Transportation and A Ambassador Limousine & Transportation have merged their operations.
Avanti President and CEO Erich Reindl, A Ambassador President and CEO Mike Hajek, and their respective CFOs closed the merger on December 30, after roughly three months of conversations and determining how the two companies will combine their employees, fleet, offices, and resources. Reindl and Hajek were emphatic that the entire A Ambassador and Avanti Teams are welcome to stay on board.
“We explained that nobody is getting fired,” Reindl said. “We have no intention of letting anyone go.”
Reindl added that unifying the two Texas businesses will create one of the largest companies in not only the Houston region but also the state—and was a decision that both he and Hajek feel will yield untold benefits to both outfits.
“It’s a combination that gives both companies a great opportunity because we have something the other company doesn’t have, and vice versa,” Reindl said. “It’s a really good fit with incredible advantages down the road. We don’t overlap on any of our accounts. It’s really a compelling financial and strategic transaction, I think.”
While the two companies have a combined 150-vehicle fleet—including four buses from Avanti and 36 from A Ambassador, plus sedans, Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, and SUVs—Reindl said that they will work to “trim the fat,” getting rid of older vehicles that don’t need to be replaced to “increase the fleet’s efficiency.”
The companies will work from Avanti’s three-acre property, which Reindl hopes to outgrow “in the near future,” as they combine their strengths to both companies’ benefit.
“A Ambassador has year-long contracts on their buses that Avanti doesn’t have. They work with passenger airlines where they transport the crew and the first-class passengers, while Avanti has the cargo airlines,” Reindl said. “I consider Avanti an old-style limousine company as we knew it 15 or 20 years ago. We are strong in that market and nationwide: We not only have affiliate work but also clients nationwide. That is our strength.”
The merger comes as a response to an ever-changing industry, one that Reindl sees as having changed tremendously in the past five years especially in ways that put larger companies at an advantage.
“Smaller companies may run into difficulties moving forward—some of them are already facing hardships. I’m not saying a larger company doesn’t have that problem, but a larger company maybe has the resources to get through that. On top if it, we will be, as a larger company, able to attract and go after clients that smaller companies would not have the opportunity to,” Reindl said. “And with TNCs, we haven’t been as affected as the taxi industry—yet. But it could come. All I know is that the cake did not get any bigger and everyone out there is nibbling on the cake. I think at this stage, bigger is better.”
Visit avantilimos.com and aambassador.com for more information.
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Destiny, Heather, and Melody sharing their holiday with Chosen Payments’ Sarah McKee and Jeff Brodsly
Moorpark, Calif. —Credit card processor Chosen Payments recently helped two families in need have a “Chosen Christmas” by donating presents and gift cards this holiday season. The company selected a family in the Midwest as well as a local household who have been struggling with financial issues over the year.
In Michigan, Chosen Payments assisted a family of five, whose middle child, Melody, suffers from Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by weakness or paralysis of multiple cranial nerves. The condition puts Melody in the hospital for months at a time, which puts a hefty financial burden on the family.
After hearing of the family’s plight, Sarah McKee, Chosen’s VIP client relationship manager, arranged for the company to adopt the family, and she and CEO Jeff Brodsly travel to meet the family in person. In addition to the gifts donated by Chosen Payments others in the family’s community came forward and made a mortgage payment for them.
In their hometown, Chosen assisted a single mom raising three kids. This Moorpark family was brought to the company’s attention through the local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club. Chosen acted as Santa, and gifted the children with toys, sporting goods, clothes, and shoes as well as a family dinner at Red Lobster.
Visit chosenpayments.comfor more information.
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Bob and Matt Levine
West Haven, Conn. — Hy’s Limousine Wordwide is proud to announce that they’ve recently celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2016.
Founded by Hyman Levine in in 1951 with a single Packard Limousine, the company flourished under the leadership of Hyman and son Bob, sgrowing into the largest livery service in Connecticut.
Harry Truman was President and Elizabeth II was still a Princess, when Hy bought the Packard. A Streetcar Named Desire hit the movie houses as Hyman’s car hit New Haven. It was a big star at weddings back then and the business grew on the bridal, funeral and special event bookings. When Bob joined the business right out of college he recognized that there was an opportunity to book “over-the-road” transportation and began buying the company’s first sedans and by 1980 they were up to 28 vehicles. Ground broke for the new 15,000sf headquarters in West Haven in 1982. Sadly Hy’s lost Hyman just months before the Grand Opening. Bob took the helm and has charted a course of great success fueled by a commitment to excellence.
Hy’s opened a second office in New Britain in 1998 to better serve upper Connecticut and Massachusetts, and acquired Greeenwich Executive Transportation in 2015 to anchor service in lower Fairfield County, Westchester County, NY and New York City (Hy’s is MassPort and NYTLC permitted).
Hyman and Bob Levine
By the time Bob’s son Matthew Levine joined in 2008, the business had expanded to a 100-vehicle fleet. After a stint in New York City in the marketing department at Rolling Stone magazine following his graduation from Syracuse, Matt fell into the family business.
“Part of me really wanted to set out and create my own path, but the pull of the family and the heritage of this business was just too strong. I was so proud of my grandfather and my father growing up, having built this amazing company and working so hard to do business and serve customers the right way, I realized that I want to help carry on this legacy as well,” Matt says.
Bob added “As you might imagine I was thrilled to have Matt decide to come home and continue what his grandfather started. But it wasn’t just the family thing. Matt brought back a really valuable set of skills. The advances he initiated in technology have put us at the forefront of the industry and his marketing experience has delivered measurable results. And you can rest assured that it wasn’t me who put us on Facebook, Twitter and the like!”
The original Packard Limousine purchased by Hyman Levine
One of the benefits of a long, successful history is the opportunity to be a part of the fabric of a great community Hy’s contributes to many area charities and causes and is most proud of its partnership with the Make-a-Wish Foundation that has resulted in many fulfilled wishes and broad smiles. Bob adds with a grin “the kids do light up when a shiny super stretch pulls up.”
So the Blue Sapphire 65th Anniversary is upon Hy’s Limousine Worldwide and there is a great deal of pride in the history and a clear-eyed vision for the future. “My grandfather used to say ‘Every ride has to be perfect’. That hasn’t changed,” says Matthew Levine.
Visit hyslimo.com for more information.
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