Mission Statement
Cassens Transport Company is dedicated to successfully providing premier automotive logistics services by utilizing the best people, best methods, and best technology.
We shall accomplish these high standards of quality performance through the active participation of the organization's most important resource, our employee team members and partner-suppliers.
Early History
The tradition of hauling valuable cargo from one place to another can be traced deep in the Cassens bloodline. When Napoleon's army was defeated in the unsuccessful invasion of Russia in 1812, German farmers such as 20-year-old Hans H. Wilkening were employed by the French government to help carry wounded soldiers across Germany and back to France.
More Recent History
Between 1987 and 1990, Cassens Transport expanded its influence by hauling for various other automobile manufacturers, including American Motors in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Hyundai in Naperville, Illinois, and Muncie, Kansas; Mitsubishi and Chrysler in Normal, Illinois and General Motors in Chicago Heights, Illinois.
In 1991, Cassens started moving automobiles for Subaru from Lafayette, Indiana to Newark, Delaware. Since the trucks were ending up on the East Coast and coming back empty, Cassens contacted Chrysler about getting some backhauls from Newark. Chrysler assigned some traffic back towards the Detroit, Michigan area. This enabled Cassens to keep the trucks from coming back empty, and helped to expand the business even further.
Cassens Transport had already cemented a good working relationship with Nissan, and in April 1992, it began hauling inbound rail product at Sheffield Village, Ohio, for Ford. It had been five years, but Cassens was once again a carrier for Ford. When the plant started producing new vehicles, Cassens increased its responsibilities and service to both of the Ford/Nissan joint venture partners.
In 1994, Cassens was selected as the carrier from the Chrysler Sterling Heights, Michigan, assembly plant. This required the addition of 150 new trucks to service the business.
In 1999, Cassens continues its growth by adding two new shippers to its customer base by hauling for both Toyota from a terminal in Princeton, Indiana, and for Saturn from Wilmington, Delaware.
From its humble beginnings, Cassens Transport has achieved business prominence through a blend of energy, curiosity, determination, and honesty. However, the dominant attribute that has led the Cassens team from hauling milk in Hamel to transporting vehicles from automotive giants has been persistent hard work.
Most of this history is excerted from "Humble Beginnings - The History of Cassens Transport'' recounted by Albert Cassens in 1996.