Transwest keeps truckin’ after 30 years with more road ahead

‘It’s the owner George Eidsness’ drive to be all service and full service in every aspect of the transportation industry,’ says Meredith Lyons, Transwest

Denver—Family-owned Transwest Inc. is marking its 30-year anniversary this year. It has grown over the years from one location in the Denver area to 23 across Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Ohio, Missouri, Texas and Canada, with more than 1,100 employees. The anniversary was recognized with a company celebration two weeks ago that included six employees of its original staff.

From left: Original employees include Diesel Tech Don Brodie, GMC Parts Manager Pete Herasimchuk, Parts Specialist Margo Jaros, President George Eidsness, Business Manager Barb Eidsness, GMC Sales Manager Michelle Cline and Diesel Tech Sonny Beisner. Not pictured: GMC Parts Manager Vern Mach and Maintenance Manager Fernando Serna.

“We started 30 years ago by purchasing Denver Freightliner,” said Meredith Lyons, who began her career with Transwest in December 1991 and is the company’s assistant business operations manager. “It’s the owner George Eidsness’ drive to be all service and full service in every aspect of the transportation industry.”

Transwest maintains a large inventory of parts in 350,000-square-feet of warehouse space, has 145 service bays and performs mechanical and collision repair. It offers retail and fleet sales and service with applications in nearly every industry, including car sales, light-, medium-, and heavy-duty truck sales, and specialty vehicle sales of school buses, fire trucks and recreational vehicles.

Powering through the pandemic

While its new-car dealerships bore the brunt of the pandemic’s effects, its RV sales have flourished, Lyons said. “They’ve been out of control. We’ve sold more RVs this month and last month than prior Mays and Aprils in the past. It appears the future of travel is people finding out what the RV life is like.”

All of Transwest’s technicians have been kept employed and working. “Getting work into bays has been steady with heavy-duty trucks,” said Lyons, who added that they sell and service everything from cars through the trucks and RVs. Transwest’s new-car dealerships and are full-service, as are its RV dealers.

“Our secret sauce is we have people who want to work and they care about the job they do,” she said. “Our leaders lead by example — they don’t just sit in the corner. Our owner is always looking for ways to expand and be all encompassing for the customer.”