In 1962, Robert and his wife Carole Matheson, founded R.B. Matheson Trucking, Inc. This business was located in Clayton, California and began with a single water truck. The Matheson fleet expanded with the purchase of additional water trucks.
In 1964, the Mathesons purchased a company called Cuffman, which included two highway contract routes for the United States Postal Service (USPS). During that year, R.B. Matheson Postal Services, Inc. was officially established. In 1966, the USPS awarded Matheson with its first mail contract, transporting mail from Sacramento to Vacaville. A year later, the USPS awarded Matheson with two more California contracts.
In 1968, R.B. Matheson Trucking established a Low-Bed Division. This division hauled low-bed construction equipment rigs and water trucks to construction sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. During this same year, the Mathesons purchased Flight Extenders, Inc., a company specializing in airplane tip tanks. This new company became a subsidiary of R.B. Matheson Postal Services.
Matheson Trucking moved its facilities in 1970 to a yard in Concord, California. The company opened its first full-service truck repair shop servicing Matheson water trucks and low beds, as well as outside customer-owned trucks. In 1976, the Mathesons embarked upon a Forklift Sales and Service Division, as well as a firewood business.
In 1983, Matheson Trucking purchased Flowers Fast Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation carrier. A year later, Matheson Fast Freight, Inc. opened, with a main office in Lodi and a service center in Sacramento. In 1988, R.B. Matheson Postal Services bought Whitmore Transportation, Inc. This purchase included six mail contracts in the Boise, Idaho area.
In 1996, Flight Extenders began providing terminal handling and mail sort operations for the USPS in Phoenix, Arizona. The following year it expanded to provide aircraft ground support operations for the USPS, by managing their local CNET operations. In 1999, a regional sort hub was established for the USPS in Phoenix. During this same year, R.B. Matheson Postal Services acquired Joe Garrett, Inc. and its subsidiary Razor TakeOut, Inc. This acquisition included nine USPS mail contracts in the San Bernardino, California region.
Many restructuring changes took place within the company in 2001. First, R.B. Matheson Trucking, Inc. was renamed to Matheson Trucking, Inc. At the same time, Flight Extenders, Inc. was renamed to Matheson Postal Services, Inc. Next, Razor TakeOut, Inc. was renamed to Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc. Then, R.B. Matheson Postal Services, Inc. was renamed to a newly created company called Matheson Mail Transportation, Inc.
Also in 2001, the USPS awarded Matheson Flight Extenders with a terminal handling services contract in thirteen cities across the Western United States. In 2003, Matheson became the only private contractor to FedEx providing aircraft ground support services in Billings, Montana. In addition, the Seattle operation began providing aircraft support to Northern Air Cargo. By 2004, Alaska Airlines contracted with Matheson Flight Extenders to provide terminal handling services in Seattle, Washington.
Between 2004 and 2006, Matheson Flight Extenders acquired more contracts with Airborne Express, DHL, and UPS in support of aircraft ground support services and terminal handling services in several cities across the Western United States. Expansion continued in Colorado Springs, Colorado to support DHL aircraft operations and in Tucson, Arizona to support USPS terminal handling operations.
Today, Robert and Carole are still very much involved in the company. Their son Mark is now CEO and President of Matheson Trucking, holding true to his parents’ values, mission statement, and guiding principles. Mark’s children are also employed in this family owned business, which has successfully grown to a workforce of more than 2,000 dedicated employees.