Preston Companies history

In September of 1975 this pattern of growth through the purchase of other shippers was continued when Preston agreed to merge with its largest takeover target yet, Shippers Dispatch, a South Bend, Indiana, trucking company.

In 1980 the company formed a subsidiary, Pioneer Transportation Systems, Inc., to haul full truckloads of freight, as opposed to the LTL lots carried by the main line.

With this growth, Preston's net earnings reached $6.3 million in 1981.

In December 1983 workers ratified another aspect of the company's shift in managerial emphasis and voted in the trucking industry's first system of pay bonuses to reward productivity.

The company kept its prices two to three percent higher than those of its rivals for the first half of 1985, before deciding that it was losing too much business and pronouncing its experiment a failure.

Preston's string of acquisitions continued in October 1986, when it acquired for $5 million Bowie Hall Trucking, a Maryland enterprise that specialized in carrying beverages and included among its customers Anheuser-Busch.

In 1987 Preston's carpet-hauling subsidiary, Reeves Transportation Company, bought Carpet Services, Inc., and four affiliated companies, consolidating Preston's holdings in this area.

Upon incorporation in 1988, she was responsible for bringing the company into the computer age, and transitioned into her current role as Office Manager and CFO.

In 1989 Preston took steps to ward off an unwanted merger or purchase of the company.

After many years of service, Dick Pierce, who was responsible for much of the company’s reputation of quality engineering and service, sold the company in 1990 to Roberta Spence, a long-time trusted employee.

In an effort to regain profitability, the company raised its rates by 5.5 percent at the start of 1992 and continued to concentrate heavily on making its overnight short-haul freight business efficient and profitable.

Roberta Spence directed the company until early 1994, at which time she approached her sales engineer, Maureen Pellegrini, a graduate of Mass.

In 1997 Gustavo Preston Service Company was formed to service pumping systems for commercial buildings and golf course irrigation systems.

In 2001, upon the death of the founder, Claudia and Richard joined forces to continue Preston Construction and expand the business.