TDR Trucking
From his first real job to founding TDR Trucking, it was a giant step that needed no steps at all.
On March 17, 2009, at 18 years old, Mario Reyes started TDR Trucking. It wasn’t just his first business—it was his first real job. Unlike most founders’ first miles, this foray into independent trucking wasn’t built on years of experience or with the hard knocks of big company experience behind him.
“I was young, hungry, and willing to work,” says Reyes. “I had a vision of building something of my own, and I knew that if I was willing to put in the hours, learn from my mistakes, and keep moving forward, I could create something special.”
Those first years, he says, taught him lessons that still guide him today. “I learned that in trucking, your word matters. Customers remember who shows up when things get difficult. Drivers and employees want to know that the person leading the company is willing to work just as hard as they are. And growth only means something if you never forget the people who helped you get there.”
What Reyes started when he was 18 has grown into TDR Trucking, a nationwide food-grade liquid bulk carrier with a fleet of approximately 150 trucks and a team of more than 100 employees. It specializes in hauling products such as liquid eggs, dairy, juice, oils, wine, and other food-grade liquids throughout the country.
Reyes well remembers when TDR was a single truck and a gleam in his eye – but he knows that if you want to stay successful in this business, you live or die on the strength of your latest play, not your past glories.
“When I look at TDR today,” he says, “I don’t just think about the trucks, terminals, or how much the company has grown. I think about that 18-year-old kid who decided to take a chance on himself.”
March 17, 2009, was TDR’s first mile. Untold miles and many years later, the company keeps thriving because its founder still feels like he’s just getting started.
