About Us

Corporate History Timeline

Jan. 1982: Glen Walker, formally an LTL freight-marketing manager, establishes a franchise office in Springfield, MO known as Terminal Consolidation of Springfield. The original Terminal Consolidation Company was founded in Memphis, TN in 1973 and relocated its offices to Kansas City in the mid 1970’s. The main focus of the business at that time was Intermodal (piggyback) rail hauling of truckload freight on about ten rail networks throughout the U.S.

Glen started out with one tractor and two drivers and his son Mike Walker, who is now President & COO. With that tractor various Import and Export loads were hauled between Kansas City Ramps and Springfield, MO as well as domestic Intermodal loads in 40’ and 45’ Rail Dry Vans. The Company’s first customer was Zenith Electronics who at that time manufactured TV’s in Springfield but later moved operations to Mexico.

1983: The business venture known as Terminal Consolidation of Springfield had become a success and by 1983 Glen was operating 4 tractors and moved to a larger office on East Kearney in Springfield. Intermodal Rail Consolidation and Container Drayage continued to be the primary focus of the operation.

1984: The trucking side of the operation kept growing and through the course of 1984 the company operated ten tractors running throughout Missouri and its adjoining states.

1985,1986,1987: In early 1985-Mike Walker who had been serving as General Manager of the Company left to start up his own trucking venture. During that period of time Glen Walker managed the company and employed 4 in the office and operated 12 tractors. The business relocated a second time to a leased truck terminal on Jean Street in Springfield. During this era there was an evolution away from intermodal trucking to more of a short haul over-the-road brand of trucking. At that time Glen Walker leased approximately 20-48- Dry Vans to run short haul freight over-the-road.

1988,1989,1990: Late in 1987 Mike Walker sold his trucking concern and went back to work for Glen as his General Sales Manager. Mike undertook an aggressive program to grow the company and quickly brought back Intermodal Rail Consolidation as a product and established a Truck Brokerage business unit to capture more business and profit. By 1990 the Company operated approximately 40 power units and served all of the states in the Midwest and generated gross revenue of approximately 8 million per year.

1991,1992,1993: Growth of 10% to 15% per year continued through the early 1990’s, as the Company became well known for consistent multimodal truckload service. The company moved to a computerized environment and selected an operating system known
as “Keypoint” to help run its business. The company started purchasing 53’ Dry Vans which had become an industry standard and started, in 1991, running long haul freight to the East and West Coast. In 1993 Glen Walker founded the Transland Division with the objective of running long haul freight while the older Terminal Consolidation would continue to haul regional freight.

Another significant event in 1993 was the hiring of Krystal Pitts who started out as a sales manager with the task of further growing the company. She later was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 1996 when Mike Walker was promoted to President.

1994: Several events occurred that year that helped develop the Company into what it is today. The Company experienced a record sales year with 40% growth over 1993. Tammy Campbell joined that year as a part time accountant with Transland and later evolved as the Controller overseeing the financial and accounting matters for the entire corporation. Larry Neukirch, another long-term staffer, joined the company and was eventually promoted to Director of Maintenance in 1997. The previous Director of Maintenance, Jerry Vanarsdall, was promoted to MIS Director at that time and has been with the Company since 1989.

1995,1996,1997: In late 1995 a deal was cut with Stone Container in Springfield to provide Dedicated Contract Carriage to deliver boxes to their clients. 5 tractors were taken over initially and over the years the division, known as TCSI-Stone, has grown to 20 Tractors and 60 Trailers. In 1996 Mike Walker was promoted to President and remains in that capacity today. Krystal Pitts (now Krystal Smith) was promoted to Vice President-Sales and Marketing that year and later in 2003 promoted to Executive Vice President-Sales Administration.

In 1997 the Company went through some restructuring and officially became known as TCSI/Transland and RayCore Carriers. Under the TCSI umbrella is the Dedicated TCSI-Stone Container Division, Truck Brokerage, Intermodal, and the Flatbed Division that was founded in 1999. The Transland Division, which currently runs 135 Tractors, is responsible for hauling all over-the-road freight to all 48 states with an average length of haul being 650 miles. The Transland Service Center concept also evolved in 1997. TSC is our shop responsible for repairs to all Tractors, Trailers, and Steamship Containers.

As part of the restructuring RayCore Carriers was established in January of 1997 with the primary mission of handling all Steam Ship container and Intermodal Drayage business for the Corporation. RayCore currently operates 22 tractors under the direction of Terry Kolaks, a 15 year veteran with the company.

1998,1999,2000: The growth of the Company continued through the late 1990’s and a new player, Scott Chastain, emerged in May of 1998 to become the Director of Logistics (Truck Brokerage Unit). Scott would later be promoted to the Director of Operations effectively overseeing the entire fleet of tractors .

The continued growth brought about three important events. In 1999 the Company implemented a new computer operating system known as “Highway Master Platinum” to handle all of the Corporations Business Units and President Walker saw the need to develop and own a new Truck Terminal that would have the capacity to facilitate up to 250 tractors and 600 trailers.

In October of 1999 Glen and Mike Walker formed a Terminal Construction and Management Partnership and purchased 33 acres near Strafford, MO. Ground was broken in May of 2000 and the Company moved its operations into the new facility on March 17th 2001. The fairly expensive terminal construction project was made possible by tight budget control and very strong freight volume and profits in the year 2000.

Another example of growth in 1999 was the development of an over-the-road Flatbed Division that was placed in the TCSI Business Unit. The Division is managed by Dave McCormack.

2001,2002,2003: Year 2001 brought transition as the Company moved all Business Units except TCSI-Stone (located on premise at Stone) to the new truck facility in Strafford, MO. Though the total expense of the project was significant (2.5 million) the overall efficiency that the new design and spacious grounds offered far outweighed the added expense and served as a platform for continued growth and expansion.

In 2002 two key players joined the Organization: In July Chris Anderson was named Director of Recruiting and Driver Retention and Al Mobley was appointed Director of Safety in October. Both individuals brought great depth and talent to their respective Departments.

In 2003, to help position the Company for the future, Scott Chastain was promoted to Director of Operations-overseeing all Fleet Operations and Trish Esther was promoted to Director of Logistics effectively replacing Chastain in his former capacity.

2004: Early in the year, seeing market opportunities, President Walker set forth to his staff a goal of 15% Revenue growth for 2004. Larger Truck Lines were not increasing capacity because of the driver shortage and smaller truck lines were suffering from fuel and insurance increases as well as the lack of drivers.

To help facilitate the aggressive growth plan the Company established, under the Transland Business unit, a Short haul Division in March of 2004. The Unit is headed by Randy Schroeder who is a 15-year veteran at TCSI/Transland. The concept of this Division is to pickup and deliver freight within a 350-mile radius of Springfield, MO and offer the Customer premium overnight service while guaranteeing to the Driver that he/she will be home every weekend. This concept has been very successful in recruiting new drivers and has proven to be very profitable as well.

As Year 2004 draws to a close the Corporation known as TCSI/Transland will have 215 Tractors and approximately 500 Trailers in its fleet. Revenue will exceed $40 million for the first time ever.