Estes Express Lines history

In 1938 Estes opened terminals in Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia.

Then, in 1946, he saw a great opportunity to further grow the company as the United States experienced the biggest post-war economic boom the nation had ever seen.

In 1957 Estes posted it first $1 million year.

In 1965 Estes expanded beyond the borders of Virginia to engage in interstate trucking for the first time by acquiring Coastal Freight Lines.

W. W. Estes remained president but his health began to fail in 1970.

When W.W. Estes died in 1971, Estes Express Lines was generating about $10 million in annual revenue; his son Rob Estes Sr. took over.

In 1972 Estes added A.C. Express and Johnson Express, acquisitions that not only took the company into western North Carolina but also into South Carolina.

As Estes Express learned to compete in a deregulated world and operate in a wider swath of territory, Robey Estes, Sr., was being assisted by his son, Robey Estes, Jr., who had been working his way up through the organization ever since graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1974.

Estes then began doing business in Maryland and Washington, D.C., through the 1975 purchase of Pollard Delivery Service.

After stints in South Carolina and North Carolina, he joined his father in Richmond in 1980.

A major step in this direction was the 1990 opening of an office in Jacksonville, Florida, allowing the company to do business in Orlando, Tampa, and Miami.

The increased business allowed Estes to post its first $100 million year in 1991.

Just three years later, the company doubled that amount, topping $200 million in annual revenues in 1994.

In 2001 Estes became involved in the warehouse and expedited less-than-truckload business, a fast-growing segment of the market, through the acquisition of Augusta, Maine-based Allen Expedited.

Jones, Chip, “Estes Express Owners Stay Committed to Independence in Merger-Driven Industry,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 10, 2006.