This year, West Motor Freight — a company that began by hauling wagon wheels and bedsprings in a single wagon in 1907 — recognizes a century of business. West Motor — a truckload and special services trucking division of The Evans Network of Companies — has come a long way in its century-long history to now operating a large fleet of tractors in the eastern United States.
Of the roughly 360,000 trucking companies in the United States., West Motor is one of the oldest, says Albert L. Evans Jr., president and chief executive officer of The Evans Network. “The company’s long-running history of top-quality service is one of the reasons we added West Motor to our growing network,” Evans says. “At the time of acquisition in 1988, the company’s revenue was $8 million. This year we are forecasting $40 million.”
Phillip Jesse West, born in England in 1884, established West Motor in 1907. West started his freight company with horses and a single wagon in West Chester, Pa., which eventually expanded to the Pottstown and Boyertown regions. West’s son, Winfield, purchased the company’s first two trucks in 1930, expanding service from the East Coast to the West. Evans bought West Motor in the late 1980s, changing the company’s focus from a transcontinental service provider to a regional carrier, allowing West Motor to build on its growing retail customer base.
“The secret to West’s success is abiding by our core value of always doing the right thing,” says Bob Petruzzi, West Motor president.
