RICHMOND, Va.—Estes Express Lines has announced the promotion of two Estes leaders in operations and sales. Al Bucher has been named corporate vice president of operations, and Pat Martin is now corporate vice president of sales.
Prior to this promotion, Al Bucher served as Estes’ regional vice president of the Great Plains, a position he held since joining the company in 2010. His history with Estes started in 2002 when he joined Lakeville Motor Express (LME) as director of operations. Both companies were part of ExpressLINK, a regional carrier network formed to cover the United States and Canada. Bucher went on to become president and executive vice president of LME. He started his freight transportation career in 1981, holding various operations and sales positions with Hyman Freightways, American Freight Lines and Dayton Freight Lines. Over the coming months, Bucher will transition into his new role and will be located in Richmond, VA, at the Estes corporate office.
He is taking over for J.T. “Junior” Johnson who has been in operations with Estes for 47 years. Johnson will spend the next several months working with his successor to affect a seamless transition. Once the transition is complete, Estes will continue to benefit from Johnson’s leadership as a field resource for employee development and new operational process implementation until his final retirement.
In his new position as corporate vice president of sales, Pat Martin is responsible for revenue growth management for the LTL division specifically, as well as the coordination of sales strategies enterprise-wide. Martin joined Estes in 2001 in Richmond terminal sales and has served Estes in numerous posts, including regional vice president of Estes West and vice president of field sales and strategic planning. He will be located at the Estes corporate office.
Martin replaces Chuck Parker, who is retiring in the coming months after 44 years in the freight transportation industry. Parker joined Estes in 1995 as vice president of national accounts and was promoted to vice president of sales in 2002.
“Fundamental to Estes’ success is the breadth of our leadership experience and expertise that enables us to provide the highest quality freight transportation services and outstanding customer service,” said Billy Hupp, Estes’ COO and executive vice president. “We extend our deepest gratitude to Junior and Chuck for their contributions throughout their careers, and congratulate Al and Pat in their well-deserved promotions.”
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About Estes
Richmond, VA-based Estes is a full-service freight transportation provider offering a full range of shipping solutions including LTL, Time Critical, Volume & Truckload, Global and Custom Solutions. Founded in 1931 by W.W. Estes and still owned by the Estes family, the company has grown from a small, local carrier into one of the most respected total-solutions providers in the industry.