Today, the two new leaders of The Erie Community Foundation and United Way of Erie County announced the #ErieUnitedForUkraine campaign. This campaign supports the international effort by United Way Worldwide, a multinational effort to direct much-needed donations to United Way organizations in the countries welcoming Ukrainians fleeing the horrors of war.
The announcement was made from the Logistics Plus ETN warehouse, which has already been collecting items to ship to Lublin, Poland (Erie’s sister city), where it will go to support Ukrainian refugees. Logistics Plus COO Yuriy Ostapyak spoke to the media to thank everyone for the outpouring of support from the Erie community.
United Way and The Erie Community Foundation are encouraging donors and the community to donate through the local campaign portal #ErieUnitedForUkraine. Monetary donations will be directed to the organizations with expertise in humanitarian relief efforts: United Way Romania, United Way Hungary and Fundacja Dobrych Inicjatyw (Good Initiatives Foundation) in Poland.
If you work in the logistics industry, you know how busy and chaotic it can be. This is no different for the Logistics Plus Chicago team. Over the past few months, the team has been managing air charters, massive roll-out projects, and new fulfillment opportunities (on top of all the traditional warehousing work they handle).
Over the weekend, the team finally got together for a long-overdue Christmas dinner (only three months late 🙂 ). Logistics Plus Midwest Manager Christian Marz reflected on what a crazy journey the past few years have been. “It was great to get the team together in a non-work setting for a change. This celebration was well-deserved for everyone. It’s been a crazy couple of years, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Chicago team went from having five full-time employees in 2020 to sixteen full-time employees right now. That doesn’t include the large number of permanent and part-time warehouse workers who work for Logistics Plus in Chicago.
The Logistics Plus Chino, CA and Chicago, IL warehouses have been managing a massive rollout project. In January of this year, a top supplier in the medical device industry contacted Logistics Plus and asked if it could assist with importing, sorting, and distributing large freight shipments of Covid test kits. Within days of the request (and with some of the freight already in the air), Logistics Plus jumped on the project with the following scope of work:
Arrange some of the air charters coming into the U.S.
Send TSA drivers on-site to pick up the freight upon arrival
Deliver the cargo to the Logistics Plus warehouses
So far, Logistics Plus has successfully transported over 100 million Covid test kits to dozens of retail and government clients across the United States. Another 150 million test kits remain at Logistics Plus warehouses in preparation for outbound distribution. You can view some of the Chino and Chicago warehouses footage on the Logistics Plus YouTube Channel or below.
The students at Erie Catholic School System’s six elementary schools made cards for Logistics Plus Ukraine employees and their families and many additional cards for other families in Ukraine. Bridget Philip, President of Erie Catholic School System, and Tami Faram, its Director of Strategic Advancement, had the honor of presenting the cards to Yuriy Ostapyak, Logistics Plus COO (who is from Ukraine). Logistics Plus will arrange air delivery of the cards to Poland and personally deliver them to refugee centers in Poland, Ukraine, and surrounding areas. Children and families in Ukraine will be comforted to know they have such strong support. Some of the kids even wrote their cards in Ukrainian! Special thank you to Erie News Now reporter Ethan Kibbe for being on hand to chronicle this fabulous gift of the heart.
The United States and Britain have ended a four-year dispute over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. The two countries have pledged to work together to counter China in a deal that also removes British tariffs on U.S. exports including motorcycles, whiskey, and other products. Additionally, Chinese-owned steel companies in Britain must undergo annual audits to ensure that Chinese steel can’t enter the United States tariff-free.
Logistics Plus Receives RIO Plastic Neutrality Certification for a Second Year
20 tons of plastic collected in 2021 is credited to Logistics Plus and will be used to build homes in Indonesia.
ERIE, PA (March 10, 2022) – Logistics Plus Inc., a leading worldwide provider of transportation, logistics, and supply chain solutions, is proud to announce that it has received the official Restoring Integrity To The Oceans (RIO) Plastic Neutrality Certification for 2021 – a second straight year. In 2020, Logistics Plus reduced its plastics footprint by supporting RIO’s collection of 19 tons of marine plastic and waste. Last year, it supported the collection of another 20 tons of plastic waste.
The RIO Plastic Neutral Program allows companies the opportunity to establish their plastic footprint and reduce it by joining RIO to collect marine plastic and waste. Logistics Plus formally partnered with RIO in February 2020 to support its ongoing ocean cleanup initiatives, including the purchase of 1,200 recycled pallets from RIO made from 13,200 pounds of plastic waste in March 2021.
“Through our partnership with RIO, Logistics Plus continues to lead by example by maintaining its plastic neutrality certification,” said Yuriy Ostapyak, COO for Logistics Plus. “Logistics Plus has had operations in Indonesia for over 20 years, so knowing that the plastic waste collected on our behalf is going to build new homes in that region is extremely gratifying.”
Yuriy Ostapyak, COO, comments 1
Yuriy Ostapyak, COO, comments 2
A photograph of homes being built in Indonesia using plastic waste collected on behalf of Logistics Plus.
About Restoring Integrity To The Oceans, Inc.
Restoring Integrity To The Oceans (RIO) primary objective is to mitigate the amount of plastic going into the World’s oceans and significantly reduce and remove the plastic waste in the significant waste collection areas in the World’s oceans. RIO’s primary effort is to prevent the introduction of and reclaim plastic materials from the sea accomplished through innovative techniques that vary based on the size and concentration of the plastic waste material encountered. Furthermore, RIO has long-term plans to develop products directly to help recycle plastic waste material and promote recognition and education for reducing plastic waste in the oceans. Learn more about RIO online at oceansintegrity.org.
Watch this video of plastic being collected from the ocean.
About Logistics Plus Inc. Logistics Plus Inc. is a 21st-century logistics company that provides freight transportation, Warehousing, fulfillment, global logistics, business intelligence, and supply chain management solutions through a worldwide network of talented and caring professionals. The company was founded 25 years ago in Erie, PA, by Jim Berlin. Today, Logistics Plus is a highly regarded, fast-growing, and award-winning transportation and logistics company. With its trademark Passion For Excellence™, Logistics Plus employees put the ‘plus’ in logistics by doing the big things properly, plus the countless little things that ensure complete customer satisfaction and success.
The Logistics Plus® network includes offices, warehouses, and agents located in Erie, PA; Aurora, CO; Buffalo, NY; Chicago, IL; Chino, CA; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Dayton, NJ; Des Moines, IA; Haslet TX; Houston, TX; Laredo, TX; Lexington, NC; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Olean, NY; San Francisco, CA; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; China; Colombia; Czech Republic; Egypt; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Libya; Mexico; Netherlands; Poland; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Taiwan; Turkey; UAE; Uganda; and Ukraine; with additional agents around the world. For more information, visit www.logisticsplus.com or follow @LogisticsPlus on Twitter.
Today, the two new leaders of The Erie Community Foundation and United Way of Erie County announced the #ErieUnitedForUkraine campaign. This campaign supports the international effort by United Way Worldwide, a multinational effort to direct much-needed donations to United Way organizations in the countries welcoming Ukrainians fleeing the horrors of war.
The Logistics Plus 
