From the beginning, Ergon’s Founder Leslie Lampton Sr. set out to build a company centered on a simple but powerful idea: Identify a need, then build the capability to meet it with top-tier customer service. As a family-owned company with a diverse portfolio of businesses, Ergon’s strength lies in how our operations work together to provide end-to-end solutions to customers worldwide.
Ergon Trucking, part of Ergon’s Integrated Services & Logistics (ISL) segment, plays a critical role in that mission. As a key link in Ergon’s supply and logistics network, the people at Ergon Trucking ensure products move safely, efficiently and on time — from production to customer delivery.
Ergon Trucking’s reach is as vast as it is diverse. Whether picking up crude from remote oil fields in the Ohio River Valley or delivering product to terminals in Washington state, it’s the drivers who make it all possible, representing Ergon at every stop.
“Our drivers are the face of Ergon,” said Russ Maroney, President of Ergon Trucking. “Mr. Lampton said it for years: our drivers are the best salesmen we have. Most people don’t drive to a terminal or a refinery. They just see the truck. That truck — and in turn, the driver — represents Ergon to a lot of people.”
From our earliest days in 1973, Ergon Trucking’s story has been shaped as much by our culture as our operations. The mission that guided those first deliveries — meeting needs, supporting families and serving customers — has remained constant. Over several decades, that consistency has fostered lasting relationships, long tenures and a legacy of trust sustained by the people behind the wheel.
Rooted in Relationships
“In trucking, we call it having the heart of a servant.” – Russ Maroney
In 1955, crude oil was discovered in Bolton, Mississippi, sparking a wave of drilling activity. Mr. Lampton recognized the opportunity and began supplying rigs with fuel and chain oil, initially pulling a small trailer behind his car. Even in those early days, the focus was not only on meeting demand, but on personally delivering exceptional service.
As production increased, Mr. Lampton leased more trucks and trailers to haul crude oil, marking the beginning of his first independent business and laying the foundation for what would become Ergon Trucking.
“There were a couple points in time where we had those leap-forward moments,” said Maroney. “I’d say the ‘70s and ‘80s were critical. Crude oil was a major growth area during that time. Before that, Mr. Lampton was only hauling and selling Number 6 oil. Getting into the crude market was a big deal.”
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as the U.S. navigated oil shortages, increased fuel demand and the continued expansion of the interstate highway system, crude oil hauling became increasingly critical for maintaining a high level of customer service. It enabled us to meet growing and shifting needs in a rapidly changing energy landscape. Alongside this demand, Ergon Trucking expanded in step with Ergon’s refining capabilities. By the early 1980s, we expanded into asphalt transportation, adding specialized trailers and further increasing our ability to meet customer needs.
By the mid-to-late 1980s, completion of Ergon’s hydroprocessing unit in Vicksburg further expanded operations to lubricants — all part of our commitment to continued innovation in search of new ways to serve customers. In the early 1990s, Ergon Trucking entered the pulp mill liquor market, supporting paper companies and adding dozens of drivers as the business continued to methodically scale.
A key turning point came in 1997, when Ergon acquired the remaining Quaker State assets in the Ohio River basin. With this acquisition, Ergon Trucking gained considerable capacity, especially in support of refining operations.
Throughout the years, Ergon Trucking’s growth has been steady and strategic — growth built not only on internal expansion, but on strengthening outside customer relationships as well. Today, approximately 55% of Ergon Trucking’s work supports Ergon operations, while about 45% serves external customers.
“We’ve constantly looked for opportunities to grow,” said Maroney. “It’s knowing your customer base, knowing where you need trucks and knowing how you can respond to customer needs.”
Since the beginning, a single through line has connected all these major moments: that meeting needs, supporting families and serving customers would be Ergon’s mission. Dedication to service is built upon the culture everyone at Ergon Trucking is committed to upholding — no matter their role.
The People Behind the Wheel — Embodying Consistency and Integrity
“There’s a lot of tenure, and that tells you something.” – Russ Maroney
As Ergon expanded, our trucking business evolved into a nationwide network capable of servicing customers across multiple industries. But at our core, the work still comes down to people.
A typical driver’s week is carefully coordinated to balance safety, efficiency and service. Dispatch teams work to minimize empty miles and maximize productive loads. Drivers are trained not only in operational procedures, but in representing the Ergon name wherever they go.
“To set our drivers up for success, first, we lead by example,” said Maroney. “We also make sure they don’t feel like a number. Our managers care about the individual. That’s a trait of our culture — caring about people first.”
Ergon Trucking’s operations are largely ‘touch freight’. Drivers are directly involved in loading and unloading procedures, reinforcing accountability and customer service at every stop. As leadership often emphasizes, drivers are carrying our reputation as well as products.
Training reflects that expectation. Beyond technical instruction, new drivers learn our culture by observing other employees at all levels of the company — seeing firsthand what it means to meet needs with consistency and integrity.
The results are measurable. While industry turnover rates can range from 50% to 70%, Ergon Trucking’s driver turnover typically runs less than a third of that. “That turnover advantage translates into the same drivers going to the same customers,” said Maroney. “Relationships form, trust builds and customers are happier at the end of the delivery.”
Over time, that consistency translates into experience. Drivers get to know the facilities they’re servicing and the products they’re hauling. They grow more familiar with the unique safety procedures each job requires. For customers, that experience means fewer unknowns and service they can rely on.
In addition to company drivers, Ergon Trucking works with independent contractors who have their own trucks and contract their services. Many of those contractors have remained with Ergon Trucking for 25 to 30 years. “Those contractors staying around tells you something, because that group has plenty of opportunities to go elsewhere,” said Maroney. “Here, they realize they’re part of the family.”
Longevity like that is a product of a culture that proves itself not just in day-to-day operations, but in extraordinary moments as well. In even the most challenging times, Ergon Trucking’s leadership could rely on the character of our drivers.
When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, hospitals and radio stations were in dire need of diesel fuel to continue providing medical care and emergency communications. With part of our mission being ‘support families’, Ergon Trucking wanted to help however we could.
“I went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to talk to our drivers about how we could help,” said Maroney, “And we had more than enough volunteers. We had drivers volunteer to go down to these places where there were no amenities — no showers, no place to even buy something to eat — to make those deliveries. We were running trucks all around, getting product to places that needed it.”
Throughout a history measured by expansion into new industries and routes, moments like these offer an equally clear record of how we’ve grown. Ergon Trucking’s story is built on how our people have responded to challenges just as much as it’s built on where the work is done.
Scale, Service and the Culture That Holds It Together
“If you roll up understanding you’re there to serve the customer, everything goes better.” – Russ Maroney
What started as one truck serving Mississippi has grown into a vast network of logistics assets. Ergon Trucking operates hundreds of trucks and trailers, serving the 48 contiguous states and Canada.
Despite the scale, our culture remains personal. Leadership makes a point of visiting terminals, sitting down with drivers, sharing meals and listening to any issues they’re facing in day-to-day work.
“It’s an easy formula,” said Tim Peters, Operations Manager of Ergon Trucking. “Treat people right, do the right thing and do what you say you’re going to do. And that includes leadership. If you do that every day, and then do it again tomorrow, you’re going to be successful.”
Keeping this people-first formula in mind has been critical as Ergon Trucking navigates an ever-changing technological landscape.
“Technology growth is huge to us,” said Maroney. “We’re looking at how we can use AI with load management. That can become a positive for the driver and the company, because the driver can be more efficient if we ensure we’re giving him a week’s worth of loads. Efficiency means reducing deadhead miles, and that’s where AI can help. It’s not about replacing people’s jobs but making their day-to-day lives easier.”
As technology changes over the years, the standard set by Mr. Lampton over 70 years ago remains Ergon Trucking’s guiding principle. At Ergon Trucking, AI and other advanced developments aren’t a way to reduce headcount. They’re a way to make drivers’ routes and deliveries run more smoothly — which in turn allows for more time to serve customers.
“We say: be the one who picks up the piece of trash nobody else picks up,” says Maroney. “It’s that little extra step. If you can find it and do it, you can serve the customer better. No matter how things change, it always, always comes back to service. Ergon Trucking has grown in many ways over the years, but what’s never shifted is the belief that our people are really the ones making the difference.”
Driven by Family Values
“Drivers learn the culture through experience — what they see in leadership from their terminal all the way to the corporate headquarters.” – Russ Maroney
From hauling Number 6 oil behind a single car to coordinating hundreds of trucks across North America, Ergon Trucking’s history has been marked by methodical expansion into new markets and the development of new technology.
But the most consistent measure of growth has always been cultural rather than operational. The same mission that guided those early deliveries — meet needs, support families and serve customers — continues to shape decisions today and have through every era of Ergon Trucking. Over seven decades, that consistency has built more than a fleet. It has built relationships, long tenures and a reputation carried by drivers who represent the company every day.
Ergon Trucking’s history is still being written. And as it moves forward, its direction remains anchored in the same foundation that defined its start: service powered by people.
