"If you're not going to do it right the first time, don't do it at all. That's what I tell everybody in here." --2024 Small Fleet Champ Paul Rissler
Paul Rissler Transportation is based in California, Missouri, building on the trucking legacy of the owner's father and mother -- the headquarters sits on the property where small fleet owner Rissler grew up, in fact. The quote up top comes from a moment of levity between Rissler and his son, Josh, who in his late 20s now manages the Risslerbilt, LLC, custom truck and paint shop also on the property.
Yet Rissler could easily have been making reference to his own tour through trucking, which saw him drive under the tutelage of his father, starting out with his wife, Michelle, at his side in a 1979 Marmon cabover in which their first child, Justin, learned to walk.
The 1979 Marmon cabover in which Justin Rissler took his first steps and Paul got his start driving for his father. One of these days, Paul said, he and his team will give it the restoration it deserves.
He then bought his own first truck, a 1994 Peterbilt 379, from his father, also shown in pictures below, before going on to start his own Paul Rissler Transportation business alongside his dad's Paul Rissler Trucking in the late 1990s.
Mailboxes for each business were more or less right next to each other, and confusion of the checks coming in from mail carriers was legion back in those days, before the elder Rissler moved toward retirement. The younger Paul, with Michelle, would buy his father out, bringing the fleet to eight trucks. The Risslers tried to do it right ever since, always with a focus on satisfying drivers as best they can with top-shelf equipment, predictable freight and a true sense of being a part of the family.
Paul Rissler Transportation driver Wes Martin and his wife, Bev, standing with the 2019 Kenworth W9 Paul purchased this Spring to replace Wes's former truck after Bev expressed interest in traveling with her husband again. Wes had previously been trucking in an older Pete flattop with a 46-inch bunk that left little space for a couple's home on the road.
In this week's edition of Overdrive Radio, listen into a tour around the headquarters of Paul Rissler Transportation, current Small Fleet Champ, on the old home place for the big Rissler trucking family. I was there in early May just ahead of Paul’s older brother John and younger brother Delton Rissler’s Crossroads Truck Meet show at the junction of U.S. 50 and Missouri state route 87 in California. Paul Rissler’s one of five Rissler brothers all with some tie to trucking -- in this family, it’s clear the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. In the podcast Paul details his father and mother’s small fleet history right from the spot where it all started for a young Paul, following in his father’s footsteps as a small fleet owner.
The first truck Paul Rissler purchased from his father -- Paul is pictured here with two of his sons at the time, among a myriad of memorable moments from the owner's history that pepper the office walls at company headquarters.
The fleet’s ranged over more than a couple decades now from just a few to eight trucks. Paul and Michelle Rissler were right at six units when they brought home the Small Fleet Champ title belt from the NASTC conference last fall.
[Related: Customer service, keen business sense drive Paul Rissler Transportation's longevity]
Paul and Michelle Rissler, seated at the office's main desk.
When I visited in May, things were in a brief moment of flux with one longtime driver moving toward retirement to local work, and another leaving as well. In search of the right drivers to fill those spots, the all-reefer fleet was well-positioned still with steady LTL lanes out of Pennsylvania from consolidator Dutchland Refrigerated, and other customers back toward Missouri from Colorado. Paul and Michelle (with all three sons Justin, Josh, and Jordan involved in various aspects of the business) have clearly built a small business that's sustainable, no matter what comes.
The five Risslers who run Paul Rissler Transportation and the affiliated Risslerbilt custom truck business, in the Risslerbilt shop also on the fleet premises. From left (and with pictures of each name above them custom cut into floor drains in the shop): Justin, Jordan, Michelle, Paul and Josh.
We start in the company office, then get a look at the main shop and warehouse area for Paul Rissler Transportation, then at the Risslerbilt, LLC, custom truck shop operated now by Josh and outfitted with what might just be the biggest paint booth in the entire state of Missouri. All of it was built by the hands of, and the close bonds between, the Rissler family and close-knit trucking community they’ve brought along with them on their long run of success.
Jordan Rissler, currently overseeing maintenance for the fleet's trucks, enjoys a moment with company mascot, Kenny.
As mentioned in the podcast, one of Josh Rissler's custom overhead consoles for Peterbilts shown in this rig:
This one features four watermelons, but Josh has also done a couple with custom cutouts for six-inch speakers for the stereo system as well, among other adornments and functional additions.
[Related: Small Fleet Champ assesses growing pains, on location at new company headquarters]
