Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 30 Y E L L O W S T O N E B R O K E R S P r e s e n t s I F SOMEONE WERE LOOKING FOR AN EARLY SIGN OF BRIAN KEMPISTY'S UNWAVERING DRIVE, they need look no further than the dairy farm outside of Buffalo, NY, where he came of age. "We raised Holstein dairy cows," he says. "In the summer we got to show our cows locally, regional- ly, and even at the state championship lev- el. Our farm did not have the most 'expen- sive' cows and I would have almost always been considered the underdog. Over the years I had a pretty good string of success and a track record of beating the big guys. My last year showing prior to college, the biggest achievement was realized. We took a run-of-the-mill calf from a county auction bought for $400 and turned her into the best three-year-old Holstein in NY state." It was a feat he'd repeat a few times in his life, taking something that might seem unlikely to be a big success and turning it into something truly impressive. Or, to put it another way, you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take that high-achieving farm boy out of the man. By the time he was thirty, Brian had already sold his first business, an international trucking and logistics company he had founded with an old boss. Some people might rest on their laurels after that, but those people probably wouldn't have managed to produce the best Holstein in New York, either. That's when Brian Kempisty and his family found Montana. "I loved the landscape and romance of Montana. In 2015 I re- ally had the itch to leave Western NY. My wife Dawn had a jew- elry business and had dreamed of her own boutique. This was my chance to get her there full-time. I was 39 going on 40 and said, if not now, when? We sold our house, all of our furnishings, and drove west." So Brian, faced with another crossroads, made another big decision. "I knew it was time," he says. On October 2, 2017, Brian launched Port X Logistics, founded, as he tells me, "on the foundational pillars of culture, service, tech, and trucks." Recognizing that "there was a better way to treat our people and our customers," they became a more than $100 million a year compa- ny, not to mention an industry leader in drayage, transloading, and trucking within four short years. But he wasn't done yet. Next, he would go in with his friend George on his company Timberbuilt, designing and selling beautiful homes across the USA and Canada. Even today, Brian consults with Timberbuilt to talk strategy, mar- keting and house plans. photos by NATALIE TAXIERA How Brian Kempisty and Port X Logistics are C H A N G I N G O U R V I S I O N O F S U C C E S S C H A N G I N G O U R V I S I O N O F S U C C E S S BRIAN KEMPISTY

• Cover