weeds for you to cut, holes to fill up with rock, plenty of shops and docks to sweep.” His brother, Pat, said, “When our other
high school buddies were out running around doing things, we were going down to the dock to work, so I think he was kind of setting the tone, kind of training us for the future.” As executive vice president in the
1960s and ‘70s, Pete Sr. was running Sioux Transportation, but he was an outsider in a family-owned business, and he wanted to do more and start his own business. So he left the company in 1977 and the next year started Hill Truck Line with LaRue and Pete Jr. At first, it was a small LTL carrier running between Omaha, Falls City and Kansas City, Kansas. After deregulation, it became a truckload carrier and began to grow. Te brothers who grew up among the
trucking industry never really left it, even when they went off to college. Starting at age 18, Al drove a truck between Omaha and Kansas. After graduating high school, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln before transferring to the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. “I was driving a truck at day and going to
night school, and my dad just taught me the trucking industry; then I just decided to stay with it,” he said. In 1986, the brothers took over the
company and changed the name to Hill Bros. Transportation. Al was 26 years old. Te company had about 50 trucks and a strong customer base in Omaha with meat-packing and dry foods shippers. Te company was built on the values with which Pete Sr. had run the business: that a person’s word is their bond. “He used to say, ‘We work until the work gets done. Ten we go home. And we get up and do it again tomorrow,’” Pete Jr. remembers. Pat added, “Most decisions make themselves: Do the right thing; treat people right; cutting corners, normally it’s going to cost you in the long run.” Each person settled into a role. Al became
the president. Pete Jr. ran the terminal in Kansas City, where he was living and didn’t want to leave; Pat is in operations; and Jim ran the shop and maintenance and is no longer
COMING TO LINCOLN! Peterbilt’s “Innovation & Class” Mobile Exhibit
with the company. Te sisters also have been involved in the business in the past. “We used to always say that we wished my
dad would have made one of us be an attorney, one be an accountant, one an MBA, or one a sales professional because we all just grew up in operations,” Pete Jr. said. “When you have a bunch of brothers that are all in management, that makes it tougher. Fortunately … each one of us kind of gravitated toward our strengths, which made for a great partnership.” While Al concedes with a laugh that “there
have been a few arguments down the road,” the relationships are healthy. In fact, the entire family still celebrates Christmas each Dec. 23 in a local pub in Omaha, where more than 50 relatives fill up a party room. “It takes effort,” Pat said. “It really does.
It’s easy to step on each other’s toes, so we’ve really been in the recent years really specific on organizational structure and who’s responsible for what and what decisions you can make in your effort.” According to Pete Jr., Al excels in sales because he spends time with customers
FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 10 A.M. – 3 P.M.
FEATURING: Innovations, Powertrain Solutions,
Cab Simulator, Parts Vendors,
Barbecue Lunch (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) Facility Tours, Door Prizes
Peterbilt of Lincoln invites its customers, fleets and the entire trucking community to tour the technology trailer and see the latest fuel-efficient highway tractors.
More details at
www.pbtruck.com/PBLincoln.aspx 6262 Arbor Rd., (I-80 Exit 405), Lincoln, Neb., 402-868-8400 or 877-499-7383
Lincoln 16 NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 4, 2016 —
www.nebtrucking.com
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