History
Shelba D. Johnson Trucking, Inc. began in the late 1970’s servicing the office furniture industry. Alexander "Red" Johnson started delivering full loads of furniture into the Northeastern US, including New York City for Myrtle Desk, Hayworth and other prominent High Point office furniture manufacturers. Red Johnson would source the loads and make the deliveries while his wife, Shelba Johnson, would provide the ‘back office’ support of billing, cash collection and payments to vendors.
The company continued to grow slowly until in 1985, they decided to incorporate with Red Johnson as vice president and Shelba Johnson as president, with both sharing duties. Red and Shelba then acquired a terminal location on Surrett Drive in High Point, NC. In 1995, the company acquired Blue Ridge Transport, providing them with a state-of-the-art terminal location, as well as shop facilities on Blair Street (Old Thomasville Road) in Thomasville, NC. By that time, the company had diversified into deliveries of new residential furniture in addition to office furniture with a pick-up fleet now visiting furniture shippers in southern Virginia and Hickory, NC for daily pick-ups.
In 1999, the company was bursting at the seams and Red Johnson acquired a fleet of new trucks and trailers to support the additional business. Annual revenues had grown significantly and the company needed administrative support in order to handle it. Late in 1999, Joe Wade came to the company as a consultant to help manage receivables and cash flows, while also providing a higher level of internal controls. Over the following year, Joe worked with Red and Shelba to make back office improvements. Also in 2000, Shelba D. Johnson Trucking, Inc. acquired the assets and business interests of another trucking company that serviced the southeastern US. Unfortunately, that November, Shelba became ill. She passed away in December 2000.
Joe Wade, Red Johnson and other company managers such as Mike Marsh continued to work together into 2001, making sure the company's financial obligations were met. In September of 2001, Red and Joe made an agreement in which Joe could purchase the stock owned by Shelba Johnson's estate, becoming 50% owner of the company. That transaction was finalized in October, 2001. Red and Joe also made an agreement to ensure the company would stay in friendly hands should something happen to Red. Red Johnson would pass away in April of 2002. As per their agreement, Joe acquired the other 50% of the company the following August.
The company continued to grow, putting good managers in place: Mike Marsh as General Manager; Wade Perry as CFO; Greg Myers as Company Accountant; Scott Denmark as Operations Manager; Duwayne Simpson as Warehouse Manager; and Carol Agee as Human Resource Director. Now, over a decade after Joe Wade’s acquisition of the company, Shelba D. Johnson Trucking, Inc. continues to prosper, providing jobs for 370 employees, mostly in Davidson County, NC.
