About Us

The idea for Ralph Moyle, Inc. began during the later days off World War II when Ralph was just 13 years old. While most of the men, including oldest brother Norman, were overseas fighting, someone was needed to haul grapes from local farms into the Welch's processing plant in Mattawan. Due to the war, local authorities weren't concerned with ensuring that the proper driving age was being enforced, and Ralph began driving his father's flatbed pickup truck during the grape harvest season.

A dream was born, and after serving in the US Army for 2 years right out of high school at the end of the Korean war, Ralph returned to Mattawan and began driving again, still specializing in local produce hauling while he also attended Western Michigan University to pursue a degree in business.



During his time at Western, Ralph wrote a paper outlining his ambition to own a larger trucking company, and predicting that he would one day turn the business over to his two sons—quite a prediction, considering that he was still single at the time! The demands of business slowly grew until the late 1950's, when Ralph decided to quit going to school, just two classes short of his degree. Operating three trucks through most of the late ‘50's until incorporating in 1966, he expanded to 5 trucks in the mid-1970's, still serving the agriculture industry hauling grapes, flowers, pickles, and Christmas trees to make ends meet.

In 1979 a local canning plant formerly owned by J.M. Smuckers was sold to Coca Cola Foods, which produced Hi-C on a co-manufacturing basis at the site. Coca Cola quickly expanded production there, eventually producing chilled orange juice and a variety of other drink products. Ralph's record of superior service to the former owners gave him an instant market into which he was invited to expand, and by the late 1980's the company consisted of 30+ tractors and had expanded into services such as refrigerated transportation and food grade liquid bulk transportation.

In 1989, Ralph purchased the 25,000 square foot plant and property of a bankrupt winery in Paw Paw, MI, and under the direction of his oldest son Mike, began operating the building as a public warehouse in1991. The combination of high service regional trucking, local trucking, and warehousing proved to be a winning combination for our customers, and at one time or another each of the company's current top 5 customers have all taken advantage of our warehouse and distribution services. Mike poured similar effort into the new business as Ralph had into the trucking in the early years, managing expansion of that part of the business to its current incarnation, consisting of over 240,000 square feet and 60 employees. As Ralph began to phase out of the day-to-day operation of the business, Mike assumed responsibility for all company operations, and is currently COO.

In 1991, Ralph's youngest son Jon, who hoped to pursue a career in banking, joined the company following graduation from Western Michigan with a degree in finance. With the nation in a recession at the time, the job market for an aspiring banker was lean, and so he began working as a dispatcher while continuing his career search. It didn't take long for Jon to realize the opportunity he had within the family business, and by 1993, Ralph's dream of turning his company over to his two sons appeared to be a real possibility. Jon then pursued his Masters degree in distribution management from the University of Wisconsin in 1994, and settled into his current role of CFO in 1995.

From humble roots, Ralph Moyle, Inc. has expanded to over 150 employees, 80 tractors, 290 trailers, 240,000 square feet of dry goods warehouse, and services ranging from local transportation to distribution management for clients like Coca Cola, Pfizer, Welch's, and Gordon Foods.

While much has changed since Ralph predicted passing the company to his sons in the early 1950's, some things haven't: RMI's commitment to providing superior service, treating employees with fairness and dignity, and conducting business with integrity.

Transportation 269-668-4531

23599 Freedom Lane PO Box 248 Mattawan, MI 49071

Warehousing & Logistics 269-657-2591

39269 W. Red Arrow Highway Paw Paw, MI 49079