Starting an American dream from scratch – Taking the Hire Road

Stefan Trifan, president of APL Cargo, sat down with Taking the Hire Road host Jeremy Reymer to share his story of immigrating to the U.S. from Moldova and fulfilling the American dream. 

With no experience in the industry, Trifan acquired his CDL and started a trucking company. With just one truck, Trifan grew APL Cargo into a successful carrier through years of hard work. 

“I still remember that truck. It had 490,000 miles and we bought it for $49,000 cash because we had no credit,” he said.

Trifan was born in Moldova and his background was in physical therapy, but when he arrived in the U.S., his credentials did not transfer and he had to start from scratch. 

After working in construction and the restaurant industry, Trifan connected with truck drivers and realized that logistics could give him the opportunity to build his own company. 

Because they had no access to credit and very few connections in trucking, Trifan and his close friends from the Eastern European country pooled their savings to found APL Cargo. 

“Within a year, we were able to buy three more trucks each, and we had a business with nine trucks, all paid for with cash,” Trifan recounted. 

For several years, Trifan and his business partners were involved in every part of the operation themselves. “We were still driving, managing everything, doing all of it – safety, accounting, payroll, dispatch. With all this work, we were able to hire more people and grow the fleet to about 40 trucks within a year or two.”

APL Cargo’s biggest expansion came when Trifan saw the opportunity to refurbish a derelict terminal in White County, Indiana. 

According to Trifan, “There was no water, no internet, and it had been unused for 10 years. We put a lot of blood, sweat and money into the terminal to make it operational, because it was in a good location and gave us space to grow.”

Moving to rural Indiana was not without its challenges. Trifan and his partners faced discrimination and suspicion in the small community. 

“When they heard our accent, people asked us, ‘Why did you decide to come here?’” Trifan said. The locals wanted to know where the catch was and who was financing the company. Since they saw people with foreign accents, they were concerned that Moldova or a foreign organization was funding an organization that would affect their rural county. 

Despite the roadblocks, APL Cargo soon grew to a top 50 logistics company in Indiana, with over 150 employees and more than 1,000 units. 

Amazingly, Trifan and his colleagues accomplished this without prior knowledge of the industry. 

“We had a fleet of 80 trucks and operated on a spreadsheet. We had no one to guide us or advise us on how to build a trucking company. We didn’t even have anyone tell us, ‘Don’t buy five types of tractors, because it’s harder to manage,’” Trifan said.

What does Trifan credit for his success? More than anything, he says, it’s vital for a leader to communicate with the team and lead by example. 

“It’s important that your employees see how you handle the struggle with them and that you always try to make things better for the team,” Trifan said. 

Click here to learn more about APL Cargo.

Book recommendation: “Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life”

Sponsors: The National Transportation Institute, Career Now Brands, Carrier Intelligence, Infinit-I Workforce Solutions, WorkHound, Asurint, Transportation Marketing Group, Seiza, Drive My Way, F|Staff, Trucksafe Consulting, Seated Social, Repowr