Johnny Walker left home for Texas A&M in the fall of 1972 with the dream of becoming a rancher. However, upon graduating in 1976 with a degree in Animal Science he had the option of choosing a career as a ranch hand earning $600 a month or forging his own path. He quickly realized that if he ever dreamed to own land and a herd of his own that he would have to find another route to success. He took his first job out of school driving a truck for Barnett Services out of Houston to earn money while he decided what he wanted to do. There he first found his passion for the transportation industry.
He was able to save $10,000 in his first year working there, and used those savings to start Superior Delivery Service in 1978. The money was used to rent a small space and hire his first employee. Johnny’s mother helped answer phones while he and one other driver would deliver small packages around Houston.
In 1981 Johnny bought his first two 18-wheeler tractors at an auction and created J.H. Walker Trucking –one of the two divisions of J.H. Walker Inc., along with Superior Delivery. The companies had to be separate because intrastate trucking was still regulated, and the company had to obtain specific hauling authority for clients. J.H. Walker first obtained authority to haul building materials for a truss company along with fertilizer.
J.H. Walker first purchased a limited oilfield authority at an auction to haul oilfied equipment in East Texas. Then in 1989 Johnny acquired Knox Trucklines out of Grand Prairie, Texas along with their full authority to haul oilfield equipment and steel throughout the state. This allowed the company to expand their footprint statewide in the oilfield as well as open J.H. Walker’s second terminal out of Grand Prairie. In 1994 the terminal was moved to its current location on East Jefferson Street.
In 1996 J.H. Walker had outgrown their Houston office on Hollister Rd and moved their corporate office to its current 10 acre location off of Hempstead Highway to meet the expanding company’s needs.
J.H. Walker’s business continued to expand and in 1997 they purchased Patterson Trucklines out of Louisiana. This lengthened their territory further along the Gulf Coast as well as established three more terminals in Houma, Morgan City and Lafayette Louisiana. This acquisition also first introduced the company to the liquid and dry bulk market.
In 2003, J.H. Walker further expanded with the purchase of Stewart and Stevenson Transportation division. This allowed the company to continue to grow their fleet along with expand into the heavy-haul industry.
The corporation has continued to expand, with Superior Delivery Service adding its second terminal in 2016. They have opened up an office servicing the Dallas-Fort Worth area, sharing space with the J.H. Walker Grand Prairie yard.