Tank trucks are in Al Retherford’s blood. His dad, Guy Retherford, hauled fertilizer, and Al transitioned to transporting bulk chemicals early in his career. But, as an owner-operator at heart, he was happy to stay small—until his son, Brian Retherford, joined PAR Trucking, the family business Al founded in 1991.
“I had a different vision than my dad,” Brian recalled. “He wanted to keep it simple.”
Under the leadership of Brian and his wife, Janet Retherford—who purchased the company from Brian’s parents in 2010—PAR, which started with a handful of trucks, now runs a fleet of 46 tractors and over 100 tank trailers that helped the Cicero, Illinois-based carrier generate $20 million in revenue two years ago. And they’ve continued to expand despite internal and external challenges, including the 2008 recession, Covid-19 pandemic, and emission-controls complications; as well as the growing pains associated with upgrading systems and procedures while preserving a family atmosphere.
“I never imagined PAR would be where it is today,” said Al, who retired in 2011.
“I have to give Brian and Janet credit for the success—and I hope they continue to grow the business for another 35 years.”
Origins and operations
Guy, a veteran who previously worked for Greyhound, connected with Transport Service—a Chicago-area fuel hauler that’s now part of Kenan Advantage Group—when it started hauling fertilizers in 1963. Al soon joined him when Transport Service added interstate chemical transportation. Guy went on to open a Transport Service satellite terminal in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Al stayed in Chicago as a company driver until 1971, when he joined Richard’s Motor Service in Stickney, Illinois, to transport heating oil. He purchased his first tractor and set out as an owner-operator in 1976. “I wanted to keep pursuing the chemical business in the Chicago area, but Richard’s didn’t want to expand into chemicals any further,” Al recalled. “So I applied for intrastate chemical-hauling authority with the Illinois Commerce Commission and started PAR Trucking in 1991.”
Brian, who grew up in trucking, entered the industry as a diesel mechanic in 1987 and joined his father’s business in 1992, a year after Al incorporated PAR, an acronym formed from the first initials of Patricia (Al’s wife), Al, and Retherford. Then Janet, who previously worked for United Airlines, and her son, Kevin D’Ambrosio—Brian’s stepson and now fourth-generation member of the family business—came on during PAR’s first big boom in 2018.
“Between Brian, Kevin, and myself, we started growing the business very quickly,” Janet said.
Matrix Chemical, later acquired by Brenntag, sparked the surge by awarding PAR its growing acetone business. “We’re still really big with Brenntag,” Brian said. “They’re one of our largest customers.” Citgo is another key customer for PAR, which moves petrochemicals and solvents out of Citgo’s refinery in Lemont, Illinois. Today, PAR transports specialty chemicals and food-grade products to manufacturers and distributors across the country—with Al and Brian both pulling those tanks for years. Al, now 82, drove locally until 2008, and Brian—who still takes an occasional load—drove over the road full time until 2015.
PAR employs 46 drivers, including 37 owner-operators, and 18 shop and office personnel at its Cicero headquarters, less than 5 miles from Chicago Midway International Airport. PAR opened a small office in Addison in 2010, moved to a Dana Transport-owned facility in Summit in 2011, and their current 3-acre location in 2019. After remodeling, the 14,000-sq.-ft. leased facility boasts three bays for maintenance and repairs, two for trailer prepping, one for exterior equipment cleaning, and 2,800 sq. ft. of office space.
“Customer service is by far the key to our success, and for any business,” Al said. “Brian has continued that, along with being fair and honest with our owner-operators. They’re the heart of the trucking industry.”
PAR services chemical shippers from coast to coast in the U.S., and into Ontario and Quebec, Canada, with satellite operations in St. Louis, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Barberton, Ohio. The carrier looks for backhauls when more than 500 miles from home, typically by talking to customers, but occasionally using a specialized broker like TransChem Services in Ohio. “We’re not the cheapest carrier in the book, but we put our heart and soul into meeting our customers’ expectations every single day,” explained Matthew Janiak, PAR’s general manager.
Challenges and opportunities
Janiak came to PAR in January 2022 to spearhead the company’s transition to a much larger enterprise, starting with an evaluation of PAR’s people, finances, systems, and safety culture, which he calls the four pillars of a trucking business. “Within the first 15 days, I knew we could do a lot of great things here, and they were open to new ideas,” said Janiak, who previously led transport operations at R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Perishable Distribution Solutions before starting his own consulting business.
“They wanted help with the process of building things out and pushing the company forward. And we’ve had ups and downs as we grow into a larger company, with new fiduciary responsibilities, while managing the human element. As you grow, you want to stay a family, but you need to set boundaries.”
Letting go is the hardest part for D’Ambrosio—who is used to wearing many hats at work.
“When we’re busy, it’s easier to do it yourself,” he said. “I know how to do it, and I know it will get done right. But you only have so many hours in a day, so at some point, doing it all becomes impossible, and you must rely on somebody else. And it’s been a struggle for everybody here to give up some of that control.” To evolve successfully, it’s critical to document procedures, develop a trustworthy team, and empower everyone with advanced decision-making tools—all ongoing processes at PAR. “If you micromanage and keep things compartmentalized, it’s not going to work,” Janiak said.
“Teach people, give them wings, coach them up, and be there for them.”
Janiak’s goal is to optimize operations by using data, starting with PAR’s Prophesy dispatch software. PAR considered selecting a new transportation management system, but Janiak advised against it, so the team instead opted to maximize their current system with new customer and technology integrations, including PAR’s Samsara electronic logging devices (ELDs) and forward-facing cameras. “I’ve been through multiple system implementations, and you need time and resources, as well as training, which costs a lot of money,” he said. “So we decided to reevaluate the system we have, open it up, and see what it really offers. Come to find out, it works pretty well.”
PAR also is in the process of purchasing previously leased equipment, securing California Air Resources Board credentials for emissions compliance testing, and growing its pool of company drivers—all with an award-winning eye on safety.
Drivers and training
In April 2024, PAR hired Charity Benevelli-Zaczek as its director of safety and compliance, a position PAR created three years ago in consultation with its insurance provider, Great West Casualty Company. “It’s nice having somebody who’s passionate about safety, and making sure we do things right, because when you’re in operations mode, it’s easy to let other things fall by the wayside,” D’Ambrosio said.
Benevelli says she walked into a good situation, with safety-focused leadership, highly trained drivers, and well-maintained equipment, and she’s only elevated their performance, helping PAR win its first Merit award with a 0.780 accident frequency in National Tank Truck Carriers’ 2024 Competitive Safety Contest in February. PAR also claimed a Grand award in NTTC’s 2023 Personnel Safety Contest, and Great West safety awards in nine of the last 10 years, including six Platinum honors. “It shows we take safety seriously,” she said. “And it’s nice to see operations and safety on the same page.
“That’s not always the case.”
Training typically takes less than a week because PAR only hires drivers with tank and hazmat endorsements, a TWIC card, and at least two years of tanker experience and three years of overall driving experience. Benevelli transmits paperwork via DocuSign before Day 1, which includes basic orientation, video courses, and staff meetings. Day 2 features a state-mandated road test. Under Benevelli’s direction, PAR recently adopted DriverReach for driver qualification files; and it’s in the process of implementing Infinit-I’s trackable training system.
PAR pays drivers by load percentage. It also offers matching 401K contributions for company drivers, and bonuses for clean inspections and referrals—and treats everyone like family, providing additional resources and assistance where possible. “Having been a driver, Brian gets it,” Janet said. “So a lot of drivers come to us through word of mouth.” But finding qualified long-haul drivers still isn’t easy, so PAR recently enlisted EmployBridge’s help. “The problem we’re having is most company-driver candidates want to run local,” Benevelli said. “They want to work dayshifts and stay home nights and weekends
“But we need drivers who are willing to be more regional.”
Recruiting challenges are another reason it’s critical to maintain elite vehicles—they’re rolling billboards for prospective drivers.
“We’ve always thrived on clean, reliable equipment,” Janet said.
Equipment and maintenance
PAR runs 106 stainless-steel and aluminum tankers. Most are single-compartment units from Brenner, now part of Wabash. “We’ve been buying tanks from Brenner since 1995,” Brian said. “We have a great relationship with those guys.” Multi-compartment trailers are Brenners and Heils. The trailing fleet includes insulated and non-insulated stainless-steel trailers, and aluminum trailers with payload capacities up to 50,000 lbs. PAR also runs five Kosher-certified, food-grade tank trailers and 10 drop-frame chassis with lift kits from Pratt Industries, Chassis King, and Dragon for transporting ISO tanks.
Tank trailers are equipped with valves from Betts Industries, venting and ground-level vapor recovery from Girard Equipment, and hoses in a variety of diameters and lengths. New trailers also are spec’d with Hendrickson air-ride suspensions and tire inflation systems, air disc brakes, pump-off lines, and Samsara tracking devices, further boosting driver safety and convenience. Tires are Michelin X Line Energy Ts and Bridgestone R123 Ecopias. “We used to run super singles, but we had too many problems with irregular wear and blown tires,” Brian relayed.
PAR regularly refurbishes and upgrades trailers, and the shop keeps them in tip-top condition. “Drivers appreciate nice equipment,” Brian said. “So if a trailer is dented, I want it repaired quickly, and looking how it should.”
Company tractors are primarily Kenworths and Peterbilts with APSCO Thermaflow hydraulic coolers, Blackmer sliding vane pumps, and Mouvex or Gardner Denver compressors with high CFM ratings for faster unloading. Every PAR truck is equipped with a forward-facing Samsara camera. “It isn’t negotiable,” Brian said.
PAR handles HM-183 trailer inspections, preventative maintenance, accessory installations, and minor vehicle repairs; and outsources major jobs to keep trucks on the road. But D’Ambrosio continues to weigh the cost of fixing trucks vs. buying new units as PAR grows its power fleet. “At some point, it isn’t worth it to keep repairing equipment,” he said. “And it’s tough when you’re trying to bring on new company drivers.
“A lot of them want to drive new trucks, so that’s a real selling point.”
Family and friends
Associations are assisting PAR’s expansion. The carrier is a long-time member of the Illinois Trucking Association, and Brian and Janet are increasing their participation with NTTC in search of networking, best practices, and market insights that accelerate growth amid what they see as improving conditions for chemical and intermodal transportation. “We want to keep growing, so we’re always looking for new opportunities,” Brian said.
Texas is one potential target for satellite expansion. PAR’s leaders also want to find a new, permanent headquarters, and enter new bulk-logistics verticals, like packaging, warehousing, or commercial tank cleaning. “We want to pursue steady, responsible growth,” D’Ambrosio said. “If we add drivers slowly, as we add trucks, it will work out better, because a lot of companies are constantly recruiting, and then drivers are sitting around unhappy. We want to make sure trucks are rolling and everybody’s happy.”
And they will be—as long as PAR sustains the small-company spirit Al inspired.
“We can’t lose sight of what we’re great at,” Janiak concluded. “So we must ensure our growth doesn’t outpace our vision.”
