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A
Brief History of the Antonini Companies
The origin of the Antonini Companies begins in 1891 with the birth of Virgilio Antonini in
Castiglione Chiavarese, a small town in northern Italy. With a dream of a better life,
Virgilio came to America in 1909 and made his way from the East Coast to San Francisco
before settling in Stockton, California, a burgeoning agricultural community in the San
Joaquin Valley. After working on a farm for a short period of time, he soon managed to
purchase his own farm.
Realizing the importance of getting his and other farmers products to market and
recognizing an opportunity to provide a necessary service to the community, Virgilio
started Antonini Fruit Express in 1926, the foundation of what has become the Antonini
Companies today.
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As the agricultural industry grew and developed, so too did the Antonini trucking
business. Vic, as Virgilio was known to his friends and associates, forged strong
relationships throughout the community and the agricultural industry.
Establishing a reputation for reliable transportation enabled Vic to
secure contracts with several tomato and peach processors, which spurred
further growth of the budding trucking company.
While the trucking business flourished, Vic and his wife Rose, raised a
family of five and continued to manage their farm.
"Prompt
and Efficient Service"
was more than a slogan, it was his way of doing business,
and he passed along to his sons,
Louis, Jack and Rudy, that ideal of commitment to service as they matured and came into
the business.
The family and the company were stunned by Vics death from pneumonia in 1951, but
the values instilled in them by their father enabled them to persevere. Carrying on in
their fathers tradition, Antonini Bros. Trucking continued to grow by primarily
focusing on hauling agricultural commodities, with special emphasis on cannery tomatoes
and peaches. They also were involved extensively in selling fertilizer and seed.
The deaths of Louis and Jack left Rudy at the helm of the blooming
trucking company. Through his persistence and hard work, he guided the
company through another period
of strong growth and continued to nurture business relationships with
old customers and develop new ones along the way.
In
the mid 1980’s two of Rudy’s children came to work in the business. His sons
Joe and Mark who had worked in the business as youngsters during summer
vacation were now college graduates and eager to
grow the business. Both of them worked their way through various maintenance
and operational roles to
sharpen their saws in the trucking industry. The scope of the overall
operation changed dramatically in 1990 when the freight hauling division was
officially formed. The business was no longer a seasonal operation and since
1990 has grown at an annual rate of 14%.
Joe and Mark’s sister Karen
would enter the
business in
1995. As a
certified public accountant, Karen
complimented
her two brothers by bringing
in
her knowledge
and practical experience in the financial side of the business.
In July 2005 with
business moving forward,
Mark Antonini decided to switch careers. After 20 plus years in
the
business Mark ultimately was
looking for a change of pace
and took a leap of faith to try
something
new. That left Joe and Karen to continue running an
organization that has grown into a model of a progressive corporation.
Today, the company operates two distinct divisions - agricultural hauling
and general freight hauling. Two separate
trucking entities operate out
of five terminals
utilizing
150 company owned tractors and over 400 sets of trailers. The combined
resources of Antonini
Enterprises LLC, Antonini Freight
Express, Inc. and Antonini Fruit
Express,
are integrated into an
efficient, multi-functional
organization to provide
a broad
range of services.
There
is a great deal
of
excitement at the
Antonini Companies today.
Every day,
every call, every haul represents a new
opportunity to continue
to
strive to improve,
to succeed, to
be a premier carrier.
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