Overnite Express became an overnight success thanks to SBA loan

10/3/2011

Overnite Express founder Rob Ukropina was disheartened by the "inflexible schedules" of large overnight delivery companies in the early 1990s that charged too much and provided unreliable services for businesses.

Thanks to an SBA loan of $200,000 in working capital, Ukropina was able to grow his Irvine, California-based company from two to more than 300 employees, and expand to a plethora or states including Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico since the company's inception in 1992.

"We simplify our customers' lives by delivering to these states," Ukropina said in a statement, when asked about the secret to the company's success.

Overnite Express was recently named to the SBA 100 - a list of programs that create more than 100 jobs using SBA loan assistance, the SBA's website reports. Ukropina's business model was so successful that he was named California Small Business Person of the Year in 2007 by the Santa Ana District Office of the SBA.

In its first year of business, the company produced revenues of just over $11,000. By 2008, that number had exceeded $20 million annually, and was subsequently purchased by Southwest shipping company Norco Delivery Services.