Roger Marten began his company in 1946 after getting a $400 loan from his mother.

Our first truck

Roger Marten

Mondovi Terminal in 1981

Randy Marten named President & CEO in 1993

Marten acquires its

Wilsonville terminal in 1995

Roger Marten Community Center dedicated in 1996

Video conferencing

installed in 2001

Randy Marten named VFW Citizen of the Year in 2004

Corporate headquarters expanded in 2004

Intermodal and Brokerage divisions take off in 2006

Marten's corporate headquarters in Mondovi, WI

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Our Story

Roger Marten founded Marten Transport in 1946 at the age of 17, delivering milk and other dairy products. His routes were primarily in the Modena, Wisconsin area where he was born and raised. Driving for the Modena Co-op Creamery, Roger purchased his first truck route with a $400 loan from his mother.

In the 1950's he expanded his milk delivery routes, purchased and drove school buses, and hauled petroleum products with his first tractor-trailer.

In 1956 the first tractor-trailer combination was purchased, and Marten began hauling petroleum for Bauer Built of Durand, Wis. Marten's volume doubled after the acquisition of Mondovi Trucking Co. in 1959. The following year Marten added a tandem axle tractor to its fleet.

In 1962, the Land O' Lakes drying operation in Mondovi closed, creating a need for a milk transporter. Marten secured a contract to haul the products, purchased two tractor-trailer units and began what would become a long-term, profitable relationship with this dairy cooperative.
 

Having experienced some regional success in the early 1960s, Roger began to develop his interstate carrier business. His initial focus was on serving customers in the Midwest and on the West Coast. Roger made a decision to secure his company's roots by planning a small office complex and service terminal on the property that now houses the current corporate headquarters in Mondovi, Wis.  

In 1965 a one-bay garage (in Mondovi) became Marten's first terminal. That same year Roger's son, Randy, joined the company, initially assisting with equipment maintenance and dispatch. Dry vans were also added to the fleet to expand Marten's service to include dry milk products. 

By 1972, six new trucks had been added to the fleet and Marten began hauling milk to Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, expanding the company's long-haul milk transport business. In 1976 Marten purchased Hiawatha Produce of Winona, Minnesota. This acquisition was the start of Marten's long-distance hauling of perishable foods in refrigerated trailers.

Marten opened its Ontario, California terminal in 1985 to better serve customers on the West Coast. In 1986 Marten began trading on the NASDAQ National Market. That same year Marten named Randy Marten President, the company exceeded $50 million in revenue for the first time, and built a major expansion to its Mondovi headquarters. 

Electronic Data Interchange (or EDI) was implemented in 1987, allowing for more efficient flow of information between Marten and its high volume customers. In 1989, temperature-sensitive transportation service became the company's primary focus and the Aurora, Oregon service center was opened. 

In 1993 Marten surpassed $100 million in annual revenue, but it also suffered the tragic loss of company-founder Roger Marten. After his father's passing Randy Marten assumed the primary leadership role for the company. During that year Randy oversaw the completion of a 15,000-square foot corporate office expansion, the addition of a new terminal in Jonesboro, Georgia and the implementation of a satellite tracking system.

The company made a strategic decision to begin hauling 53-foot trailers in 1995. The new equipment allowed Marten  to position itself for maximum market flexibility. It also purchased a maintenance facility in Wilsonville, Oregon, near Portland and grew its fleet to more than 1,000 tractors.

In 1996, Marten reached three historical milestones; it opened the Roger Marten Community Center in Mondovi, celebrated 50 years in business, and 10 years as a publicly traded company. 
 

In March of 2000 Marten moved from the Jonesboro, Georgia terminal to a new facility in the town of Forest Park (in the Atlanta metro area). A new state-of-the art video conferencing platform was added in 2001. The new technology allowed Marten to extend training, driver seminars and orientation classes to its terminal locations. 

In 2002, Marten introduced its own in-house video production department. Using state-of-the-art digital equipment and computer-based non-linear editing, Marten began to produce customized training materials, radio ads and video productions to address specific needs. The department has further evolved into New Media Development, where it now supports the company's efforts through the creation of technological, promotional and instructional resources.  

An 11,000 square foot expansion was added to the corporate headquarters in 2004 and a new terminal opened in Indianapolis, Ind. A plan was set in place to add more then 160 jobs during the next three years. Randy Marten was named Mondovi VFW Citizen of the Year and earned a Lifetime Achievement award from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. And company revenue and net income rose to all-time highs.

In the past two years, Marten has been recognized for its ongoing commitment to be the best. The company has twice been named one of the 200 best small business in America by Forbes magazine ('05 and '06). Company President, Randy Marten earned the distinction as a regional winner of Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year award for Transportation in the Wisconsin Region ('05).

Marten was selected as "The Best Place to Work" in the area by Chippewa Valley B2B magazine and also earned the Grand Prize for Safety from the Truckload Carriers Association. But beyond the awards, Marten continued its push forward, by introducing Intermodal and Logistics divisions to diversify its offerings to customers.

During the past four years, Marten’s operating revenue, net of fuel surcharge, has grown 37.8%, and its earnings per diluted share have grown 64.7%. This represents compounded annual growth of 8.3% in operating revenue, before fuel surcharge, and 13.3% in earnings per share. For 2007, the company expects to remain consistent with its long-term plan, which is for approximately 10% annual growth in operating revenue, before fuel surcharge, and earnings per share.

With more than 60 years of experience Marten Transport continues to push forward. The company has grown from a small, regional carrier into one of today's leading national protective service transportation companies. With terminals in Wisconsin, Georgia, California, Oregon, and Indiana, Marten serves customers across 48 states and Canada. Today, the company that started out as one young man's dream, employs more than 2,600 people and works with nearly 400 contractors as it carries on its founder's philosophy of "Expecting the Best."

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