Family Business Succession Planning Done Right

Caribbean Shipping Services cited in Families in Business magazine for their textbook approach to succession planning. Caribbean Shipping Services and Caribbean Cold Storage were founded by Paul and Julie Robbins and have twice been selected to Inc. Magazine's Top 100 List of fastest growing companies.

February 21, 2005 - Caribbean Shipping Services was cited in Families in Business magazine for their textbook approach to succession planning in a family business. Families in Business is a highly touted magazine published in London, England. The article, Succession Planning: Who Needs It And When Do You Start, details Caribbean Shipping Services' commitment to planning for the next generation. In the article Paul and Julie Robbins, founders and Co-CEO's of Caribbean Shipping Services and Caribbean Cold Storage, explain their strategies for preparing for the future and ensuring that the company can sustain when they retire.

The author, Don Schwerzler, founder of the Family Business Institute in Atlanta, GA, is an expert in the field of succession planning and family businesses. His article details the painstaking, and sometimes volatile, progression of planning for the future. "It is a difficult process, but we are committed to servicing our customers in the way that they are accustomed to with Caribbean Shipping Services, so we feel it is very important to be proactive with this matter," said Paul Robbins. "We have created a culture here but we have also created value. The company is operating at a level that I am comfortable with. I see bigger and better things for it but I am not the guy to take it to the next level."

Paul's entrepreneurial spirit is still going strong. Revolutionary Cold Technologies, another company he is deeply involved with, was also mentioned in the article. Always committed to new technology, Robbins has had a part in creating a new material that, when installed into the roof of reefer containers, will enable shippers to maintain a chilled or frozen temperature for up to six days without mechanical refrigeration. "We have been beta testing this new technology with Caribbean Shipping for 4 years and the results have been incredible" said Robbins.

Caribbean Shipping Services was founded in 1993 by Paul and Julie Robbins. Today they operate from their main offices in Jacksonville, FL and satellite offices in San Juan, PR, Charlotte, NC and Howell, NJ . The company has twice been named to INC Magazine's list of 100 Fastest Growing Inner City Companies. Since 1999 they have also been included in the First Coast 50, a listing of the top fifty companies in Northeast Florida. Caribbean Shipping Services and Caribbean Cold Storage offer ocean, air, inland transportation, warehousing and consolidation services.