Mawson & Mawson, 2751 Pawnee Rd, Birmingham, AL 35217, US

In 1958, at the age of 31, Ross Neely, Jr. bought an old 1947 gasoline powered one and a half ton International Harvester for $240 and drove it himself between Birmingham and Gadsden, Ala., starting the truck line that bears his name, Ross Neely Systems. Following interstate deregulation in 1980, the focus of the company turned mainly to intrastate truckload freight. Its interstate operations began in 1982, linking Alabama with several southeastern states. Ross Neely Systems operates approximately 90 power units and more than 450 trailers with terminals in Birmingham, Gadsden, and Selma, Ala., and drop yards in Mobile, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery, Ala.