Pub. 55 2014-2015 Issue 1

12 How did you and your family enter the truck business? I’m a third-generation truck dealer. My grandfather, B.M. “Bennie” Bruckner, Sr., started in 1932 and had an independent repair shop in Amarillo. This was before World War II; he had a Federal truck line and Divco truck line, both of which went out of business when they couldn’t secure government contracts, so in 1948, my grandfather started the Mack truck franchise. My grandfather was the kind of guy that wanted all his sons and grandsons working in the family business. I was 12 when I started working at the dealership. I worked all the way in the back, mowed weeds, worked in the service department, sorted used parts and scrap material, and eventually worked my way up to the front. When I graduated from college, I went into sales. I was fortunate to have father and grandfather that built a great business and created a good foundation for my brother and me to continue to expand and grow. As a third-generation dealer, it’s been a great business for our family and allowed us to enjoy a lot of success and enjoy a lot of things we wouldn’t have otherwise. Have you always lived in Texas? I’m a six-generation Texan. I grew up in Amarillo and went to college at South- western University in Georgetown, then worked in Fort Worth for a time. I’ve been back in Amarillo for 14 years. Do you have family members that work in the truck industry today? There are two of us. My brother Chris and I are partners in our dealership group and have worked together for many years. We both live and work here in Amarillo. Tell us a little about the importance of heavy truck dealers in moving freight in this country. Trucks are really vital to our economy. 75% of freight in the U.S. is moved by truck. Any of the goods and products we buy and use every day, like groceries, cars, or clothes at a department store, were all moved here by a truck. Trucks are funda- mental to our economy. If trucking stops, really, the whole economy stops. What industry trends have you experienced and what trends do you think we’ll see in the future? Over my career, I’ve seen that trucks have gone from a pretty basic industrial product to a very sophisticated product with aerodynamics, increased fuel econ- omy, increased safety, and so on. When I first started in truck sales, there were no trucks operated by computers. Now many of the heavy duty trucks we sell today have seven or more computers controlling the various systems on the truck. Now, for the first time, trucks are being regulated for fuel standards. Those new regulations will drive the way trucks are operated and the way they are designed to maximize fuel economy, which is a great benefit for our environment to use less fuel and create fewer greenhouse gases. Ben Bruckner, Sr. Ben Bruckner, Jr. Brian Bruckner Chris Bruckner Brian Bruckner Chairman of the Texas Truck Dealer’s Division of TADA An Interview with The old Bruckner’s Garage. Bruckner Truck Sales corporate office in Amarillo today