Welcome to
Palletized Trucking
Houston, Texas Trucking & Logistics
PALLETIZED TRUCKING
BACKGROUND
Rex and Marillyn King Story
In 1963, a colleague approached Rex King about becoming partners in a trucking company. Rex and his wife, Marillyn decided it would be a good opportunity. They sold their farm in Kansas, liquidated their savings and college funds, and bought 33% of the business. Two years later they increased their investment to 49% of the company. After five years of corporate maneuvering, the Kings were “frozen out” of the company.
Discouraged and broke, Rex set out to find a job at the age of 45. The Kings fought back. Marillyn found a job as a secretary and Rex was offered another job at Continental Can – in Florida, where he stayed with friends. After six months of Rex in Florida and Marillyn in Houston with the boys, they realized they both belonged in Houston. At that time, their luck turned for the better. The first weekend he was home, Rex got a call from someone who needed freight moved. Rex rented a truck and trailer to do the job himself.
About the same time, Rex heard that another trucking company needed extra trucks. The Kings negotiated with this trucking company, borrowed $5,000.00 against an insurance policy, and got a small loan from a friend. They bought their first truck. Mr. Rose from J.H. Rose Trucking let them use one of their lots for free as long as the family kept the lot clean and mowed. Palletized Trucking was born!
Two years later, Rex and Marillyn purchased Palletized Trucking’s first terminal, an acre lot with an old filling station. There, Rex dispatched trucks from the un-air-conditioned station for a year until they could afford to remodel. By that time, there were three employees coming to work at their home every day. Rex and Marillyn both spent long hours each day at the terminal. Rex marketed the company while continuing to dispatch and often drove the trucks. Marillyn handled the billing, payroll, and accounting. Ron was working as a mechanic in the shop but soon was the Shop Foreman.
As Palletized began to grow, their fleet of vehicles outgrew the small lot. In 1978 they purchased 10 acres on Collingsworth Drive. In 1979, Marillyn, Rex, Michael, and Sally proudly supervised the groundbreaking of their new terminal. Ron moved back to Kansas to fulfill his dream of becoming a rancher but returned to Houston to assist with special projects as needed.
Since that time, Palletized has evolved into a multi-service company providing a spectrum of services to clients ranging from transportation to storage. We feel we have become leaders in our industry with a passion to provide superior transportation services, a commitment to safety and our loyal customers, and a love for our most important assets, our employees.
Palletized has benefited greatly over the years from Rex and Marillyn’s strong leadership and guidance. Mike King serves as president of Palletized and he is currently training the next generation so that they can carry forth the culture, understanding, and love for the transportation industry. Our family hopes to continue its legacy for many generations to come.
