Quality Distribution, Inc. is a customized public warehouse and distribution business and is one of the largest service providers of storage/distribution/and delivery in the Intermountain West*. A company unique in its industry, Quality Distribution is known by customers and employees for its extraordinary business ethic, a passion for service, and the ability to execute flawlessly on tasks. This is the story of how Quality Distribution, under the energetic leadership of Sita Jasper, came to be a top name among storage/distribution and delivery services. It’s a rare person who possesses not just the ability but also the tenacity and courage to start a business of their own. In today’s volatile business climate, it’s even more rare when that person succeeds. Sita Jasper is just such an individual. Her unique abilities and vision have helped build a thriving company with limitless boundaries for growth and improvement. In the early 1990s, customers Sita was serving as a transportation manager were confident she could serve them better as the head of her own operations. Encouraged by these customers, Sita left her longtime employment to venture on her own. "I believed I had some ideas for how to best serve customers’ warehousing and delivery needs, but since I had never ventured out on my own, I wasn’t so sure how it would unfold. Taking that first step and just doing it was a bit frightening," she explained. "I started recruiting business from my own basement. Then I hired two employees to help me operate from a 20,000 square-foot facility in Salt Lake." She would often work 12-hour days, trying to ensure that all of their customers’ needs were met, from the storage to the handling to the final delivery. When asked how she chose her company’s name, Sita explained, "Quality connotes excellence, superior, first-rate, and high-class service. That was the standard I decided to live up to." Even with such limited resources, this small company was able to fulfill customer expectations and establish the beginnings of a strong customer base. Fueled by their confidence in her ability to deliver quality service, Sita’s customers started spreading the word. Before she knew it, Sita needed more warehouse space to accommodate all the new customers—a pattern that continues to this day. Her vision of earning loyal customers through top quality service has become reality. "I’m proud…and grateful…to say that we have never lost a customer to a competitor. The only way we lose them is if they relocate to another distribution area or their distribution patterns change," Sita said. Because of this, it’s no surprise that in just ten years, Quality Distribution has grown from three employees, 2 customers, and 20,000 square feet to over 40 employees, 150 customers, and 500,000 square feet. While admitting that she started the ball rolling, Sita attributes her company’s success to the employees. "I am very fortunate to have people who are loyal, dedicated, and forthright. I believe in working hard every day to give truly high-quality service and all that implies; but, I also trust and value my employees, and I feel that they respond by being as dedicated to our customers as I am." Indeed, Sita’s unique way of doing business makes customers and employees feel like partners. These traits are now deeply imbedded in the company culture, which is why, in the eyes of the customers, Quality Distribution stands heads and shoulders above the competition. The plaque on her office wall reminds Sita of her responsibility for making her company successful. It reads: "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it."