North Carolina’s largest privately owned trucking company will celebrate its 75th anniversary on Oct. 8. Epes Transport System plans to recognize the event during the Quarterly Driver’s Safety Dinners, and the company also plans to have an anniversary party in October for all employees.
Epes started out delivering tobacco and manufactured goods from North Carolina and southern Virginia during the Great Depression. Thanks to the leadership of founder Wilfred G. Epes Jr., the company survived not only that era of economic hardship, but also World War II and deregulation.
A.M. Bodford purchased the company in 1988, moving the corporate offices from Blackstone, Va., to Greensboro. Epes was transformed from a small regional carrier into one of the most competitive transport companies east of the Mississippi. They now haul in truckload lots a vast array of products used by industry and individual consumers.
Today, Epes employs 951 men and women systemwide, with 557 in Greensboro. Epes has a total fleet of 700 trucks and continues to grow. Epes Transport System is a subsidiary of Epes Carriers, a transportation holding company with additional subsidiaries in North Carolina and Texas.
