Image courtesy of Downtown Decorations
Downtown Decorations Inc. has mastered designing and supplying commercial grade holiday décor throughout the U.S. and around the world. Helping to deliver this cause is Mohawk Global Logistics as Downtown’s domestic and international transportation services provider.
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Wayne Wolfe, Domestic Manager (top left) and Matt Machovec, Senior Domestic Coordinator (bottom left). |
The two have been working together for over six years and Ted Peterson, President and Owner at Downtown Decorations, remembers when Mohawk began to stand out from other logistics companies he has worked with in the past.
“There were about three trees that had to be delivered by 7am to New Jersey,” says Peterson. “Wayne Wolfe, [Domestic Manager at Mohawk Global Logistics], kept me up to date all night long, telling me where the truck was at 2, 3, and 4am. He called me at 5:30 in the morning saying ‘the truck is there; the truck is there.’ So after that, he had me sold.”
He explained further, that ever since this experience with Wolfe, he wanted Mohawk to be Downtown’s exclusive forwarding partner. Mohawk does everything they can to ensure the success of Downtown’s product, such as keeping them updated on their shipments every step of the way. Wolfe himself said that, “our cooperation drives their success.” Mohawk has been working with them ever since, providing them with the best service we can offer.
Our cooperation drives their success.
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Image courtesy of Downtown Decorations. |
Both Mohawk and Downtown have seen continuous growth over the years they’ve been working together. During the past six years, both companies have added three offices, Mohawk in Ohio, Illinois, and New Jersey, and Downtown in Texas, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. “The more we grew, the more we found out what Mohawk could do to help us each year,” says Peterson.
Who Downtown Decorations Is
Downtown is a family owned business that began out of its President’s, Ted Peterson, home basement and includes his son, Garrett Peterson, Vice President, and daughter, Elizabeth Peterson, Creative Director. Today, the company operates out of its East Syracuse corporate office and warehouse located on, appropriately named, Joy Road.
Downtown supplies commercial grade holiday decor to cities, municipalities, casinos, hotels, malls, military bases, and more. “We have customers in every state in America, every province in Canada, and a lot of countries in South America,” says Peterson. For many of their clients, retail stores and shopping malls in particular, Thanksgiving Day is the cut-off date for decorations to be fully installed. So even though Downtown’s team works all year round, September to November is their busiest time of year.
Mohawk Steps In
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Image courtesy of Downtown Decorations. |
Many of Downtown’s pieces are oversized, fragile, and oddly shaped—think giant wreaths, 120’ tall trees, wire wrapped polar bears, etc.—which makes packing a truck into a difficult game of Tetris. Mohawk handles this problem with the utmost care by sourcing the most cost effective, reliable carrier, and service option to ensure the decorations arrive undamaged and on-time for installation.
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Image courtesy of Downtown Decorations. |
One of Downtown’s biggest concerns is how to package their fragile decorations so they ship to their destination unharmed. To help, Mohawk offers guidance on the safest way to transport certain items. Sometimes the decorations have to be sent in parts: for example, Downtown may have a tree and its ornaments shipped separately. Other times, the item may need to be a decorated a specific way before it’s sent out, such as a customized wreath that needs to be packed in such a way that it comes out of the box fully intact. Downtown trusts Mohawk to successfully deliver their fragile and strategically packed product.
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Joe Gallagher, Domestic Coordinator. |
Someone who knows these challenges all too well is Joe Gallagher, Domestic Coordinator at Mohawk Global Logistics, who works closely with Downtown to ensure their deliveries run smoothly. “One of my most stressful but rewarding experiences was when I had two days’ to coordinate a shipment to a military base in Hawaii,” says Gallagher. “I arranged for a truck to travel from the East Coast to Seattle, where the shipment was then loaded onto a vessel bound for Hawaii, all while there was an impending typhoon.” Still, the shipment was successfully delivered on time to its destination.
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Image courtesy of Downtown Decorations. |
Going the extra mile for clients has always been the Mohawk way, and Downtown has learned this goes beyond coordinating their domestic transportation. “We’re firmly committed to educating our clients about our industry,” says Gallagher, who held a free training class for Downtown’s sales team on accessorials—delivery appointments, lift-gates, call aheads, fork-lifts—and why it’s important to ask their clients qualifying questions before quoting them, to prevent unexpected charges. This is just one example of how Mohawk is dedicated to providing the tools needed to ensure the success of their clients.
The more we grew, the more we found out what Mohawk could do to help us each year.
Mohawk is grateful to be Downtown’s go-to freight forwarder and hopes to continue to grow with them. From Santa’s sleigh to custom holiday wreaths, trees, and commercial grade lights, Mohawk helps Downtown deliver the holidays across the world.