WESTMINSTER, Vt. – Third generation co-owners of BDR Transport since 2003, cousins Greg and Doug Gay recently sold the trucking company to American West Worldwide Express, Inc. With a terminal based in Westminster, BDR Transport is a full-service, contract carrier trucking company that provides expedited cross-country services in both directions, between points in New England and California. Yes, the history of this local company runs deep.
“We are the fourth generation in the transportation business, and third generation of trucking company owners,” Greg Gay stated in a recent interview. “We are also the fourth owners of BDR. Our great grandfather was a veterinarian, with a side business of freight delivery via horse and buggy, and that’s how it all started.”
Greg and Doug’s grandfather took over that business, and bought the first trucks for the business, which was originally called RL Gay Transportation. However, he lost the business during the depression, when the banks shut down and he had no access to his money to register his trucks. Thankfully, he had good operating authority (transportation was regulated at the time), and a good business reputation, so the company was able to continue under several different owners, while retaining the business name. Eventually, that company ended up being owned by the Holmes family and operated under the name “Gay’s Express.”
“Our grandfather continued to drive for other trucking companies,” Greg continued. “There was a company based in Massachusetts, with a terminal based here in Westminster, called ‘Dairy Transport.’ Our grandfather, as well as my father and his two brothers, all worked for Dairy Transport at one time or another.”
Gay’s Express eventually built the terminal the company currently operates out of, with the grand opening in 1959. The company was still owned by the Holmes family at the time, and they eventually consolidated their multiple trucking companies under the Holmes umbrella in 1967.
Gilbert and Richard Gay bought BDR Transport in the early 1990s, and then Greg and Doug purchased the business from their fathers in 2003. The cousins continued to successfully grow the business until, in 2022, they made the decision to sell the business to American West Worldwide Express, as Doug retired mostly due to health reasons, and Greg stayed onboard to run the daily operations for American West. The cousins still own the terminal that was originally built by Gay’s Express.
However, in late May of this year, and after the transaction was already complete, American West informed Greg and BDR’s 28 employees that they were shutting down the Westminster operations and to deliver all remaining freight, but not to pick up anything further.
This did not sit well with Greg and Doug, as some of their loyal BDR employees go back more than 20 or 30 years with the company. But after some fast thinking and even faster negotiations with Gordon Eglintine, owner of GMH Transportation (also located in Westminster), and American West Worldwide, a deal was struck so that GMH would take over BDR’s routes and continue the terminal’s normal operations. This also ensured that BDR’s faithful employees did not miss even one day of work.
“I’m so glad that our employees’ jobs were saved,” Doug said in a recent interview. “They are simply the best at what they do, and will continue to be great assets to GMH moving forward. We will always appreciate what they did for our company throughout the years.”
Currently, Greg continues to oversee certain aspects of the company. “When GMH took over BDR, they had extra trucks and trailers available, therefore, they did not purchase the American West trucks and trailers,” Greg concluded.
“Therefore, I am still an employee of American West, tasked with selling off the remaining equipment and completing their operations. I continue to operate from the same office, as ‘BDR/GMH,’ and stay close to and advising their operations and customers.”
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