THE HISTORY OF HEYL

1949

Humble Beginnings

Founder Don Heyl began his career in trucking in 1949 with a single gravel truck. He hauled gravel from local pits in Chatsworth, Akron, and Adaville, IA to the area county roads.

Not long after, Don decided to branch into the temperature controlled sector of transportation. He found himself hauling produce, primarily watermelons, out of Texas. In 1957, he hauled his first cross-border load from Texas into Canada.

The cross-border work really began to flourish not long after, and the business began to grow rapidly. This was the beginning of Don Heyl Co., which still operates today.

1963

Flourishing Business

In the 1960s, founder Don Heyl started expanding his operation. He continued running reefers South and then back North as far as Canada with the contacts he made throughout the years. By 1963, Heyl was operating roughly 35 trucks and 85 trailers.

The growth eventually led to Don coming off of the road to help manage the business. He will tell you to this day that this was one of the toughest decisions he has ever had to make, as he truly did love being on the road.

After managing all operations from his home, Don reached a point where he needed help running day to day operations and maintaining equipment, so he constructed a shop himself in the Southeast section of Akron and enrolled in a maintenance program at a nearby school. The shop he constructed was just large enough to fit two trucks, or one 38-40 foot trailer.

During the late 60s and 70s, 4 of Don’s children joined the company - sons Roger, Alan, Scott, and David. Roger and Scott have since retired, David works within our Operations department and Alan serves as our current CEO.

1987

Continued Growth

In 1987, Heyl opened a terminal in Edmonton, Alberta, which was later moved to Calgary and now resides in Okotoks, AB.

A year later, the company purchased Quasar out of Sioux Falls, SD. This location became our Sioux Falls terminal. At that time, we were operating 79 trucks.

Heyl underwent significant growth in the 90s and early 2000s. We opened terminals in Edinburg, TX and Zephyrhills, FL which allowed us to start regional fleets across the country. By 2009, we were operating about 350 trucks.

2024

Looking Toward the Future

Fast forward to today - Heyl Truck Lines is currently operating over 530 trucks and over 1,300 trailers. We continue to specialize in refrigerated and dry freight across the US and Canada.

We provide top of the line equipment to our drivers that comes equipped with all of the newest safety features and driver accommodations, and we have support staff in house around the clock.

Over the last few years, we have invested in a new operational software and have rebuilt and updated our terminals and state-of-the art shops. We acquired Holiday Express of Estherville, IA in 2021 which opened up a new terminal in the state and allowed us to expand our freight lanes. We also began to delve into food grade tanker operations.

Here at Heyl, it is our goal to remain an industry leader and uphold our remarkable reputation with our customers and for our drivers. It is the same values that we have held from the beginning that will allow us to continue to flourish in the years to come.

Heyl Truck Lines has provided Award-Winning service

for more than 75 years, and we plan to continue that into the future.

If you're interested in learning more about how you can become a part of the Heyl Family or interested in shipping freight with a Top Carrier in the industry, drop us a line. Our team is excited to speak with you.