Salvatore Stile II founded Wheels Up International in 1994 with the vision of leveraging the new ideas and technologies of the time to quickly surpass the traditional capabilities of peers in the industry – Customs could quickly find the shipment files submitted by Wheels Up International since the company delivered paperwork in blue folders that stood out against the sea of manila.
Damien joined Sal at Wheels Up in 1998.
The internet and mobile phones were still not commonly used in business, but Sal and his brother Damien embraced the fad and used it to their advantage: five o’clock no longer meant the office was closed as Sal took calls and emails from Asia on his Blackberry.
The company focused on trade-sensitive industries and products, knowing peers traditionally shied away from this business. The strategy worked and Wheels Up International quickly grew and made its first acquisition, a company called Universal Freight, in 1996 which expanded the company’s capabilities within customs brokerage and logistics.
Recognizing partnerships and acquisitions could quickly expand the company’s core competencies, Wheels Up International began to seek out organizations with a strong culture of trade-sensitive experience, long-tenured employees, and an opportunity to benefit from new technologies.
Even though Alba was more than 5 times the size of Wheels Up International, Sal and Damien acquired the company and formed Alba Wheels Up in 1998 based on the values of: Integrity, Honesty, Transparency, Proactivity, Perseverance, Trustworthiness, and Credibility.
