Tri-State Motor Transit acquires Wilcox Truck Line

Wilcox Truck Line, founded 45 years ago by Charles Wilcox, holds numerous contracts to transport mail for the U.S. Postal Service throughout the Midwest.

Wilcox Truck Line operates 55 tractors, owns more than 40 trailers and operates several trailers owned by the Postal Service. The company employs 65 daily drivers, 40 part-time and 30 seasonal drivers.

“They have a great group of seasoned drivers and a great safety record,” said Dave Bennett, Tri-State Motor’s executive vice president.

Bennett said the company will retain the Wilcox name and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tri-State Motor.

Wilcox Truck Line services mail routes in Missouri, Colorado, Iowa and Tennessee, and the company operates hubs in Springfield, Kansas City and Des Moines, Iowa, with a smaller hub in Denver. Wilcox Truck Line runs several truckload routes a day from those points to Kansas City. Company drivers also are responsible for three routes a day between Joplin and Springfield and several runs a day between the Kansas City bulk-mail facility and Kansas City International Airport.

Family business

Wilcox’s daughter, Patti Dusel, of Sacramento, Calif., served as the company’s vice chairwoman and assisted with the transaction. Dusel said her father found fulfillment in the business.

“I saw my father have his dream come true,” Dusel said in a telephone interview. “He considered doing something in the trucking business, and when I was in college he had the opportunity to start the company. He worked hard in every aspect of the business. He drove, repaired the trucks, did the bidding, and made the contacts and communication that kept the business growing. I think he enjoyed it all.”

The company’s first office was a converted screened-in porch at Wilcox’s house, Dusel said.

“Over the years, it grew and he remained very involved,” she said. “Both of our parents were very hard workers. My mother is a registered nurse, and they worked along side each other in the business. I remember them sitting at the kitchen table doing paperwork at night.”

Wilcox, also the former owner of Kimberling Hills Country Club in Kimberling City, retired after selling the business.

“He turned 93 in March and maybe it was time to retire,” said Joe Carmichael, Wilcox’s attorney. “He had lots of long-time employees that kept the business going. Part of the negotiations with Tri-State was to allow all of his employees to become Tri-State employees.”

Inside the deal

Wilcox let his advisers, including Carmichael, know he was interested in selling, and that’s how Tri-State Motor learned of the opportunity, Bennett said.

“Tri-State contacted us and said, ‘We do some government contracting with the post office, but we would like to get in the mail-hauling business,’” Carmichael said. Conversations about the deal started in January, but the purchase required Postal Service approval.

Bennett said that Wilcox Truck Line will use Tri-State Motor’s over-the-road experience to improve the efficiency of those routes without changing the service. Tri-State also will seek to grow Wilcox’s business by submitting bids for additional contracts in the region, he said.

Tri-State Motor has worked for the Postal Service for 20 years and was considering long haul city-to-city routes, Bennett said. Tri-State Motor transported mail in the Washington, D.C., area during the anthrax scare in late 2001.

Bennett said the specialized nature of Wilcox Truck Line’s business fits well with Tri-State Motor’s concentration on specialized work for the departments of Defense and Energy.

One of the key differences between the companies is Wilcox operates shorter routes with a single driver whereas most of Tri-State’s work is longer distances by team drivers, Bennett said.

Tri-State operates 400 tractors and 1,600 trailers and employs approximately 425 drivers.[[In-content Ad]]