Betty Richards has faced hard times with Rich Logistics but faith and hard work have helped her succeed


By Eric Francis Contributing Writer


Rich Logistics was on quite a roll back in 2008. The company’s growth had


doubled over the previous year, despite rising fuel costs that had pushed some smaller carriers out of the business, and its drivers criss-crossed the country with trailers full of parts for the automobile industry. But there was a problem. The economic downturn that began in 2007 had


evolved into an economic nose-dive – and domestic car manufacturers were among the hardest-hit. Near the end of 2008, the increasingly dire problems in the auto industry and the impending bankruptcies and bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler threw the future of Rich Logistics into serious doubt. Betty Richards, who was helping her husband D.W. Richards run the


company back then, remembers how bad it all suddenly looked as good times became lean times and then became hard times. She spent a lot of her time seeking guidance from the one source she knew wouldn’t let her down. “I guess Jesus was my best friend for about three years there,” said Richards, who has led Rich Logistics since D.W. died in 2009. “They say when


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ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2013


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