Robey W. Estes, Sr.
Born: 1921 Died: 2006President from 1971–1990
Robey joined the company in 1946 after serving in WW II. His father saw that Robey worked in many capacities—driver, office clerk, shop foreman and terminal manager—before becoming general manager in 1953.
In the early 1950s, Robey found many opportunities to dramatically improve the company's safety and claims records, customer service and financial stability. As a result, in 1957, Estes celebrated its first million-dollar year. Soon after, Robey began buying trucking companies to expand territory, signaling the beginning of a growth period that ran steadily through 1978.
Robey became president after his father died in 1971. W.W. was greatly missed, but his legacy lived on, and Robey was adamant about continuing to provide the same level of top-quality customer care. He knew how important that first-rate service was—especially as the company grew. Opportunities for growth dramatically increased with deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980. Robey immediately applied for operating authority that would cover everything east of the Mississippi River.
By the time he turned over the presidency to his son in 1990, Robey had tripled the number of Estes' employees and increased company revenue tenfold to almost $100 million. He died peacefully at age 85 in 2006.