Carlile Transportation Systems is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of company events to thank customers, partners and friends.
In Tacoma, Carlile will serve lunch and offer tours of its terminal at 2301 Taylor Way on Aug. 19 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The owners, managers and sales staff will be on hand as well as Lisa Kelly, a driver who is featured in the History channel’s “Ice Road Truckers” series.
Carlile Enterprises was formed in 1980 by brothers Harry and John McDonald. The first contracts included hauling urea from the Anchorage Kenai Peninsula to the Matanuska Valley and delivering milk from the Matanuska Valley to Anchorage. Later, after a few moves, the name changed to Carlile Transportation Systems and Linda Leary and Karl Hoenack joined the team and became co-owners.
In 2008, Linda Leary became Carlile’s president. CEO Harry McDonald is still on board daily and John McDonald oversees all the activity with all the Carlile shops and equipment maintenance. Carlile has grown from two tractors to one of Alaska’s largest trucking companies. It is based in Anchorage, Alaska and employs almost 600 people, including 110 at the Tacoma location. Carlile terminals serve Alaska from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak, Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, Seward, Tacoma, Twin Cities (Minn.), Houston (Texas), and Edmonton (Alberta).
Services include truckload, LTL, heavy haul, haz-mat, freeze and chill, warehousing, logistics and more. Primary clients include energy, construction, retail, and government.
