10 Kentucky Trucker Tyler Kivi is the vice president and chief operating officer at Kivi Brothers Trucking, a thirdgeneration family business with headquarters in Duluth, Minnesota, and terminals in Blaine, Minnesota, and Harrodsburg, Kentucky, as well as a logging yard in Kimball, Wisconsin. Tyler’s grandfather, Henry Kivi, founded the company with Robert Anderson in 1953 and bought Robert out in 1967. Henry’s sons, Mark, Jeff and Robert, formed Kivi Brothers Trucking in 1995. Jeff’s sons, Derek, Tyler,and Dakota, bought the company in 2017. KTA recently interviewed Tyler about his life, the family business, why KTA membership is important and his thoughts on the trucking industry. Please tell us a little about yourself. I am 32 years old and the entirety of my work experience has been with the company. At 15, I started working summers as a mechanic in the shop. At 16, I received my license, drove myself to work and washed trucks, and at 18, I earned a class A license and drove locally in Minnesota. When I was 21, I could leave the state and truck across the country to places like Washington, Alaska and Florida. I explored what transportation is about for two or three years and then transitioned into dispatch. It was very hands-on: wrenching, working as a mechanic, washing, driving and working with customers. My brothers and I started leading the company A Family Legacy in 2017. Derek became the chief executive officer, and I became the chief operating officer. Dakota manages and runs our Heavy-Haul department, which consists of upwards of 60 specialty trailers. Mark recently received his last check from the company and is enjoying full retirement, but that doesn’t mean he won’t jump back in the truck once in a while. My dad, Jeff, works in dispatch and is our LTL specialist. He always finds a way to cover the most difficult trucks. Robbie runs our end dump division and still jumps into a truck every day. What about your family? My wife Kaitlyn and I moved to Kentucky about five years ago, and it is the perfect place to raise our three children: Austen (5), Jack (2) and Blake (10 months). Kaitlyn is currently working for the company as the director of operations. We still try to take as many trips possible to visit the rest of our family in Michigan and Minnesota. How did the company get started? Henry and Robert started Anderson & Kivi Trucking in 1953. In 1967, Robert started a new company called Garith R Anderson Trucking, Inc. My grandfather stuck with what is now Kivi Brothers Trucking. Please tell us about Henry Kivi. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to learn as much as I would have liked from
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