OVERLAND SYSTEMS INC.

Twenty years ago Rod Teel started what is now known as Overland Systems by installing field fence. He did it out of necessity after being laid off from his job at the time, working through the summer and fall of 1988. When winter came, he couldn’t install fence so he bought a dump truck and began hauling materials.

That began the diversification that led Teel and his wife, Jolene, into success at Overland Systems. Not long after the trucking part of the company started, Teel was called back to his old job and began working nearly around the clock at his full-time job as well as keeping Overland Systems going.

“By the end of the week, I’d generally be wiped out,” said Rod, who’s Vice President of the Blue Grass, Iowa-based company. Jolene is President. “But the business kept coming

Jolene and Rod Teel are President and Vice President respectively of Overland Systems. The Blue Grass, Iowa, company’s main focus is on bulk material handling.

and we began to take on even more. I worked two jobs for a few years, but eventually I had to either give up the business or quit my job. I knew that if I could devote myself full time to the business that I could make it grow, so we took a leap of faith.”

At the time, Overland Systems had begun unloading bulk materials off of railcars for a local company. Today, the Teels estimate that handling bulk materials makes up about 85 percent of Overland Systems’ business. Most of the work is done for area companies working along the Mississippi River, with Overland loading and unloading barges that carry everything from sand and gravel to large wire coils. Included in that 85 percent is trucking materials within a 75-mile radius of the Quad Cities area.

Diverse work handled by a great staff

The other 15 percent of the company’s business comes from a variety of sources, including clearing and site work for private individuals and residential subcontractors. Overland Systems also strips overburden at a nearby quarry during the winter months, does some contract material screening, has a tree farm and nursery and does minor landscaping projects.

“The diversity came as a result of my philosophy of providing good customer service and has helped us grow,” said Rod, who noted that the company no longer does fence installation. “I’ve always been willing to try different things, and at the same time have a hard time saying no when it comes to a customer. But the majority of our work comes in handling bulk materials. We’ve developed