18 Wheels of Justice Proudly Presents…
75 Years of Family Tradition – Kottke Trucking
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Celebrating 75 Years - Kottke Trucking – A Family Tradition
Kottke Trucking was born on a cold night in 1938 in Buffalo Lake, MN. The Kottke family patriarch, Mr. Elmer Kottke, started hauling milk, feed and fertilizer for the local creamery.
In 1961 Donald and Duane took over, called it the aptly named Kottke Brothers and started hauling gravel and dry freight to help grow the business.
Kottke has had its ups and downs over the years, but in 1983 it lost one of its largest customers and this forced them to change the face of the business. The Kottke Family is a tough lot and they stuck together and triumphed over these challenges. They traded in the hoppers for reefers and never looked back. The Kottke family went after, and was awarded a new ICC authority that gave them the ability to pursue customers and freight in all 48 states. This was a tough period for the company, but family pulls together and finds a way to make things work.
Kottke has had its ups and downs over the years, but in 1983 it lost one of its largest customers and this forced them to change the face of the business. The Kottke Family is a tough lot and they stuck together and triumphed over these challenges. They traded in the hoppers for reefers and never looked back. The Kottke family went after, and was awarded a new ICC authority that gave them the ability to pursue customers and freight in all 48 states. This was a tough period for the company, but family pulls together and finds a way to make things work.
Connie and Duane Kottke have dedicated their lives to the continued success of Kottke Trucking, Inc. Duane started out driving a mail route truck, then moved to hauling grain. He soon found himself in the position of a dispatcher, and at times, both a driver and dispatcher. Connie’s involvement in the company’s success included buying and selling grain, bookkeeping and occasional dispatching. She and Duane also devoted much of their time to raising their three sons; Kurt, Kory and Kyle. We thank them for creating the strong foundation of Kottke Trucking and with pride; we will carry those traditions into the future.
The Kottke Family, not just the relatives, but every driver, owner operator, dispatcher, office worker and mechanic all work together to make this one of the best reefer companies to work for in Minnesota.
The Staff at 18 Wheels of Justice HQ was fortunate enough to speak with Kyle Kottke, General Manger, to ask him a few more questions about Kottke…
Thanks for joining us, Kyle. 75 years of trucking, that’s a lot of experience and a lot of responsibility. Why do drivers and owner operators like working for Kottke?
We like to believe we treat them as part of our family. They have become an extended part of our family and the foundation of our success. I believe we work as hard as anyone at keeping the quality of life for a driver high. Most of our drivers are home every 4-6 days. Some of the routes go 6-10 days.
We work hard to make sure that our offerings are in line with the big guys but their quality of work atmosphere is far superior with us.
We like the family owned and operated tradition at Kottke. As Kottke has grown over the years, how have you kept this tradition alive?
We are deep into the roots of our company. Kurt, Kory and I are very involved in the day to day operations of the business and are proud of the team we have assembled. No question, our heritage is very important to us but we don’t rest on yesterday’s success. We know that we need to be in front of the industry, working with our drivers and customers to continue to be successful going forward.
Our tradition is our drivers, not our family. The most important Christmas Card exchange we have is with many of our retired drivers who have spent their career with us. I love to hear what they are doing in retirement and glad that we had a small role in their success and their lives.
What are your hiring areas?
We are very heavy in the Upper Midwest(MN,WI,IL, and IA) but we hire from the Midwest, South and Southeastern part of the US. If you go to our website(click here) and find the lanes serviced page, we will hire a candidate from any of our territories.
How much reefer experience do you require? A large portion of our audience has expressed interest in switching from to reefers…
I require one year of over the road experience. Reefer experience is optional and we can train on the reefer technologies.
Who should drivers and operators call? ME! I personally recruit all of my drivers. I promise no bull! 800-248-2623 ext 2422.
Very nice touch, call one of the owners, Kyle, the hands on approach is the best way to go in our business. 18 Wheels of Justice likes that and likes Kottke. Thanks for your time today, Kyle, enjoy your Thanksgiving…
Click on Logo above or call 800-248-2623 Ask for Kyle
