The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently appointed J&M Tank Lines CEO Harold Sumerford Jr. and Brett Merritt, Cummins president of engine business, to its board of directors.
“These gentlemen bring a wealth of industry experience and expertise to our board,” Rebecca Brewster, ATRI president and COO, said in a news release. “ATRI benefits from a very engaged board of directors and we welcome the involvement of Brett and Harold.”
Sumerford, who joined J&M in 1976 and rose to CEO in 2002, boasts more than 45 years of experience in the trucking industry. His family-owned tank truck company ran 114 trucks hauling cement in Georgia and Alabama when he started. It now has 552 employees and a fleet of 415 tractors and 720 tank trailers moving both dry and liquid products from 11 terminals, including its Birmingham, Alabama headquarters.
Sumerford has been involved in various industry associations throughout his career, including National Tank Truck Carriers, the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, the Alabama Trucking Association, ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee, and the Truckload Carriers Association. He is a past chairman of NTTC, the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, and, most recently, the American Trucking Associations.
Sumerford received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University. He and his wife Shannon live in Birmingham and have five daughters and six grandchildren.
Merritt joined Cummins in 2009 as on-highway sales director for Cummins emissions solutions and later as general manager of CES North America. He joined the engine business in the global medium duty on-highway business in 2012 and soon after transitioned to overseeing the entire on-highway business.
Merritt has spent more than 26 years in the automotive and commercial vehicle industry and more than 15 at Cummins—the past 11 leading and growing the on-highway business from 800,000 engines in 2012 to 1.2 million last year.