The Star Carrier, one of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association communications, featured Jack Khudikyan, the founder of AJR Trucking, on the October 2021 Issue.
The October 2021 Issue of the Star Carrier features AJR Trucking on the first pages of the publication and attributes to it the section called AJR Trucking: Innovation, Environmentalism, and the American Dream. They note that by just looking at the office location of the trucking company, it becomes clear that something overly remarkable is happening in there. It all stems back to 1984, when AJR Trucking, the trucking company of Jack Khudikyan and his father Chris Khudikyan, first began. At that time, even the name was different – it used to be called A&J Trucking.
Since 1984
“Truck driving was in his blood” is the fundament of such a marvelous success. In 1984, Jack’s uncle, Chris’s brother, established A&J Trucking. Through the 1990s, A&J Trucking diversified and had its peak of success when large contractors shut down, and the Postal Service approached A&J Trucking. Considering the flow of events, Jack’s uncle became one of the best and most trustworthy contractors in NSRMCA (National Star Route Mail Contractors Association). The trucking background behind Jack’s family has given Jack the determination and professional inclination towards the trucking industry. It had a massive impact on the path to success for AJR Trucking – the best trucking company in the US.
The Success Path
After graduating from the USC Marshall Business School with a goal to become highly successful, Jack joined the family business. He said, “These are going to be my most crucial years; I could give them to a big corporation or I could give them to my own family business.” And all started with only eight trucks and $940,000 revenue.
Since 2008, Jack joined NSRMCA in Las Vegas, which set a beginning to AJR Trucking’s success path. Jack mentions, “NSRMCA is a place to collaborate with [fellow] members and vendors that are solving the problems facing the industry.” With NSRMCA, AJR managed to make the business profitable and sophisticated with an emphasis on truck driver welfare, health, recruitment practices, operational costs, and environmental sustainability. Jack and Chris contributed to AJR’s success with their data-driven personalities and strong decision-making capabilities.
How Did NSRMCA Contribute to AJR Success?
AJR Trucking admits that the contribution of NSRMCA is massive in its prosperity. Thanks to the support from NSRMCA, this trucking company managed to accommodate the new California Air Resource Board regulations. Alongside, it worked to better comprehend the standards of the Postal Service. Moreover, due to the relationship with NSRMCA, AJR Trucking has a clear understanding of how vital parcel delivery and data analytics are in the trucking industry. Thanks to the knowledge that Jack and Chris had about Postal Service as a result of the NSRMCA partnership, they had a clear picture of what customers need from the trucking business and knew which investments would cut the success path short. Because of such a detailed and attentive approach towards the business initiative, Chris and Jack managed to win their first Eagle Spirit Award in 2014. Later, they repeated it three times in a row. Such an achievement helped them gain support from industry-leading trucking contractors. Plus, they bid for the largest contract for that period – a huge step forward for AJR Trucking.
AJR Trucking Today
All the ups and downs that AJR had throughout its path to success contributed to being where it is today. The family values of Chris and Jack are entirely mirrored in the company culture of AJR Trucking and its sister company MDB Transportation. One of the primary ones is the commitment to excellence which brought the trucking company to recognize the importance of environmental sustainability. Due to their ambitious character, they recently had the opportunity to open a CNG fueling station and be an attendee of the ACT Expo in Long Beach, California. Today, AJR Trucking is motivated towards becoming the market-leading trucking company by its determination towards environmental sustainability, excellence in trucking services, and employee appraisal practices. AJR Trucking is confident that the development and nurturing of a great company culture alongside sound finances for employees will yield the result they are looking for.
AJR Trucking Future Goal
The year ahead is dedicated to improving the work-life balance of truck drivers. The AJR Trucking team aims to have the safest and healthiest drivers in the region. In the words of Chris, “It is getting fun…when you work for humanity, your life is going to be easy.” That’s the main driving force of the trucking company for the year ahead. What the trucking company has emphasized since the establishment is making employees feel that they are important and appreciated within the company. That’s the core value of the trucking company up until now and goes after the goal of maintaining its status of being the best trucking company for new drivers.
Final Note
AJR Trucking currently has:
- 79 CNG-fueled trucks
- 2.2 million gallons of displaced diesel with CNG
- 320 trucks with environmentally-friendly fuels
- 355 healthy and safe truck drivers
- 400 appreciated and respected employees
- $95 million worth of contracts
The future is brighter than everything AJR Trucking has now. The determination of Jack and Chris won’t let the company become the standard trucking company that reaches some point of success and stops looking forward to new challenges and opportunities. As long as the world develops and people thrive to a quality life, AJR Trucking works for humanity and walks towards growth.
The National Executive Director and Editor in Chief, Gregory R. Reed, mentions, “The story of AJR Trucking, led by Chris and Jack Khudikyan, is a story of ambition, perseverance, humanity, and the pursuit of the American Dream.” His words mirror reality. However, Jack Khudikyan claims, “If the Association was not there, I probably would not be as successful or as knowledgeable about the industry, our customers, and how to serve the customer better.”
*The National State Route Mail Contractors Association (NSRMCA) is the representative of the United States Postal Service transportation company contractors that move the mail locally, regionally, and nationally. Being recognized by the United States Postal Service and the United States Congress for decades of advocacy, NSRMCA is the only national association representing the interests of transportation company contractors.
