When it comes to birthday parties, surprises are good.

That’s not the case when it comes to specialized and heavy hauling.

And so, Gene Craig, specialized transportation manager at Kauff’s Transportation Systems wants the company to be known for its “one-call, no surprise” philosophy.

Founded in 1969, Kauff’s has grown from a small location in Lake Park, Fla., to a regional provider of specialized transportation and towing services with terminals in Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Its fleet of more than 200 pieces of specialty transportation and recovery equipment is able to provide service to the lower 48 states and Canada. It includes 45 tractors, 70 trailers, 40 rollback equipment carriers and several rotating recovery cranes with boom reaches of 46 ft. (14 m) and capacities of up to 75 tons (68 t).

The fact that the company uses its own trucks and drivers allows for better control of its services and schedules, Craig said.

Over the last year alone, Kauff’s has transported hundreds of super loads, airport bridges, aircraft engines, concrete buildings, submarines, propane tanks, 176,000-lb. (7,983 kg) transformers, wind turbine generators and literally thousands of other types of construction and industrial machinery.

As one of the founders and current president, Richard Kauff said that the company’s business philosophy is simply to take care of the customer and everything else will fall into place.

“When asked by any potential customer if the company can perform a specific task, the answer is always ’Yes we can,’ and then we might suggest alternatives. It’s always the customer’s choice,” Kauff said.

The company started a towing and recovery service provider to numerous police and municipal agencies in South Florida. These agencies demanded service that was judged in minutes — not hours, days or weeks. As the company grew it added tractors, trailers, forklifts and numerous pieces of equipment along with dedicated and trained staff to meet the demands of an expanding customer base.

After several years of ownership by a publicly traded consolidator, the company was purchased by Geoff Russell in 2003. The company has had double-digit growth annually since the purchase, which Kauff attributes to strong management and a dedicated staff.

“The company is stronger today than when we sold it in 1997,” Kauff said. “With most of our staff’s long-term commitment and training, we tend to attract a better caliber of employee and they tend to stay for a long time.” CEG Staff

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