In 1907, Jim Casey and Claude Ryan started American Messenger Company in a Seattle, Wash., basement office space. The two young entrepreneurs and their employees delivered messages to people throughout the day and night.  Early on, the company strived to distinguish itself through customer service and team work.

That company eventually became UPS. On August 28, UPSers around the world celebrate Founders’ Day to remember what we have accomplished and what we have still to achieve. UPS has survived 21 recessions, a great depression, world wars and natural disasters. Our goal has never been to simply endure these challenging times, but to learn from the lessons of adversity and to thrive. For all that we have accomplished, we owe our success to the trust of our customers and the dedication of our employees.

The following quote from Jim Casey reflects this belief:

 ”You cannot be successful entirely through your own efforts. All of us, if we are to accomplish anything worthwhile, will do it largely through the help and cooperation of the people who work with us. We must help others to help us.“

Despite the economic hardships UPS has encountered during its history, we’ve continued to invest in our business to fulfill the promises we make.  Promises to serve our customers’ business needs and help fuel their growth — whether that promise is to deliver a package across town, help a customer connect to new markets through exporting and importing or provide a range of logistics support that results in cost-savings and faster transit times to their customers.

As a company committed to serving its customers, UPS cannot fulfill its promises without the partnership of its employees. The passion, curiosity, ingenuity and constructive dissatisfaction that our founders’ instilled in all UPSers fuels our collective efforts to deliver the best.

Our success is not measured by industry accolades or milestones … it’s measured by the achievements of our customers and the accomplishments of our employees. It’s their success that we celebrate during Founders’ Day.

UPS’s services have expanded greatly since those two young entrepreneurs founded the company in 1907. Yet despite these changes, it’s a company our founders would immediately recognize … a company focused on fulfilling its promises to customers and its 408,000 employees.