Founded in 1945, by Reuben Wallace McCollum, the R.W. McCollum Company began serving North Carolina and southern Virginia, primarily in the petroleum transportation industry. The company began operating out of a small facility on Elm Street in Greensboro, NC. After eighteen years at that location, the company moved to a much larger location at 107 West Meadowview Road, also in Greensboro, which is where the company is presently located.
In 1963, a four-man team purchased the R.W. McCollum Company from “Mr. Mac”. Clyde Sudderth, Richard Saunders, Ed Stanley, and Carl Robertson successfully operated R.W. McCollum for many years. In 1990, the two remaining owners of R.W. McCollum, Mr. Sudderth and Mr. Saunders, sold the company to a group of three investors headed by David Cooke and Larry Tysinger. In 1991 Mr. Cooke purchased the interest of the minority shareholder, giving Mr. Cooke majority control of R.W. McCollum Company. This ownership structure remained in place until 2008, when Mr. Cooke’s two sons, Brian and Allen, purchased the ownership interest from Mr. Tysinger, thereby returning R.W. McCollum Company to a “family business” for the first time since 1963.
The R.W. McCollum Company is one of the longest running and largest Heil petroleum trailer dealers in the United States. We are also one of the longest running Liquid Controls meter distributors in the country. For many years General Steel truck tanks were a mainstay of business for R.W. McCollum. After General Steel closed their doors Tech Weld and Isometrics were marketed by R.W. McCollum. Then in 1992 Amthor International and R.W. McCollum joined forces to market Amthor tank trucks. Today R.W. McCollum still markets Heil trailers, Liquid Controls meters and Amthor tank trucks. However, we have also expanded our equipment offerings to include J&L pneumatic (dry bulk) trailers, ST&E stainless steel trailers, and Countryside Tank LP trailers. In addition to expanded equipment offering, we have also broadened the area which we serve to include all of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Through the years, R.W. McCollum has maintained its highly regarded service department consisting of a fifteen (15) bay shop which is certified to perform all DOT required inspections, tank calibrations, North Carolina DAQ and Kentucky Inspections as well as meter inspections and repairs for North and South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. Also included in our 18,000 square foot facility is a complete parts department. Our parts department stocks most parts needed for repairing all of the equipment that we sell and service. Meters, pumps, hoses, fittings and other equipment used for the operation of these vehicles is also part of our inventory. Like the expansion of transport equipment and territory served, our parts department has expanded to meet the needs of expansion in these areas, as well.
