Elburn, Ill.-Elburn Cooperative Co. didn’t want to risk losing part of the family when Stover Brothers Trucking was put up for sale after 65 years in the business. After all, Stover Brothers had been a key part of Elburn Co-op as the primary hauler of fertilizer and grain for 40 of those 65 years. So Elburn jumped at the chance to buy Stover Brothers. “Trucks are trucks, but employees make the company,” Elburn General Manager John Husk offered. “Our customers have come to rely on Stover Brothers, so it was natural for us to purchase their assets and take on their drivers as our employees.” Husk said he was sure Elburn customers would be pleased about the development since “they will still get the same service with the change of ownership “right down to the drivers they are used to seeing week after week. The only difference will be the name on the side of the truck.” Stover Brothers Trucking started in 1946 with only a semi and a straight truck. Since then, the company has grown into a full-fledged operation with 13 trucks and drivers. But it was that rapid growth and the constantly changing marketplace that led the Stover family to consider selling. “Everything has a life cycle,” said Roger Stover, Stover president. “We knew we didn’t have another generation to keep the business going, and we wanted to make sure we could continue to take care of our loyal customers and our drivers.” His brother, Rick, commented that the Stover family could not be more pleased with the end result. “It is a perfect fit for us,” he added. “We’ve grown with Elburn Cooperative, and our guys are who the farmers see as the face of their company.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain