Matheson Celebrates 50 Years of Serving the United States Postal System

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., March 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of R. B. Matheson Postal Services, Inc., the beginning of Robert ("Brownie") and Carole Matheson's commercial mail and package shipment business that would become one of the largest contract carriers for the United States Postal System (USPS).   

Matheson, privately owned and operated and now in its third generation, was among the top 10 percent of suppliers to USPS in 2013 based on the dollar volume of business for all 150 firms in this category, according to a report conducted by Husch Blackwell LLP, a law firm with a government contract practice in Washington, D.C.

"It has been our pleasure to serve the United States Postal system for half a century and we look forward to the next 50 years as we continue to expand our service and maintenance capabilities coast to coast," said Mark Matheson, president, CEO and son of the founder.

The family's entry into the transport industry began in 1962 when the Matheson's founded R.B. Matheson Trucking, Inc. in Clayton, California, dedicated to delivering water in a single truck to construction sites around the San Francisco Bay Area. The fleet quickly expanded with the purchase of additional water trucks and Robert began looking for other acquisitions.

In 1964, Mr. and Mrs. Matheson purchased the Cuffman Company with assets that included two highway contract routes for the USPS -- and R.B. Matheson Postal Services, Inc. was officially established.  In 1966, the USPS awarded Matheson with its first mail contract, transporting mail from Sacramento to Vacaville. A year later, the USPS awarded Matheson with two additional California contracts.

Matheson Postal Services (MPS) provides local, intermediate, long-haul, and trans-continental services throughout the year.

Along with transporting mail, Matheson also manages special projects for the USPS, such as truck terminal operations, roller-bed transportation, mail sorting, material handling, and labor contracts. MPS is one of three mail and package shipping and handling divisions of Matheson Trucking, Inc.

Matheson Mail Transportation (MLT) handles mail shipments for the USPS in Northern California. "Since this company unit was founded, it also has been our privilege to provide distinctive quality and outstanding service to other well respected and loyal customers, including FedEx, DHL, UPS, and Airborne Express," Mr. Matheson said.

Matheson Flight Extenders (MFE) specializes in terminal handling and ground support services for the USPS and other commercial cargo carriers. The company has 560 employees and an on-time performance record of over 99 percent.  MFE has secure on-airport operations in 18  U.S.  cities, including Albuquerque, Anchorage, Billings, Boise, Cincinnati, Denver, Great Falls, Las Vegas, Louisville, Phoenix, Portland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Sioux Falls, Spokane and Tucson. Last year, Matheson Flight Extenders handled over 700 million pounds of mail through its terminals.

Whether it's local, long distance, or a continuation of air movement, MFE provides its customer with a wide range of services customized to fit their specific needs.  MFE's terminal handling and cargo acceptance services incorporate all the daily functions of terminal operations, providing a full range of services including, package sort, scan, weigh, consolidate, deconsolidate, bed load, forklifts, tugs, dollies, scales, secure storage, ramp access and oversize cargo handling experience.

Services include receiving and shipping activities, loading and unloading trailers, and dispatching outbound loads. Other services include, cargo build up, break-build, cartage, cool chain and short-term warehousing. The company loads and unloads narrow body, wide body and passenger/cargo combination aircraft and also provides load planning, as well as weight and balance calculations when required.

As a division of Matheson Trucking, Inc., MFE is able to offer ancillary trucking services, both long haul and short haul, in a dry van or roller-bed style of operation as well as specialized hauling, time sensitive material handling and transportation, ramp and underwing airport operations. MFE's valued customers include the USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Northern Air Cargo, Kalitta Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Active Aero, IFL Airlines, Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines, Air Italy, Air Transport International, C&M Airways, Cargolux and Ameristar.

"MFE provides safe, on-time and on-budget quality aircraft, ramp and terminal handling services throughout the U.S.," said Glen Gates, president of Matheson Flight Extenders. "Whether it's local, long distance, or a continuation of air movement, we provide our customers with a wide range of services customized to fit their specific needs."

Matheson Trucking, Inc.'s headquarters is located at 9785 Goethe Road in Sacramento, CA 95827. The company's 1,200 employees operate a fleet of over 2,700 tractors, trailers, and aircraft ground support equipment, as well as 11 maintenance facilities across the Western United States. For additional information, call 916-504-4770 or go to the website: www.mathesoninc.com.

[Visit Matheson's exhibit booth #1710 at the National Postal Forum, March 16-19, 2014]

SOURCE R. B. Matheson Postal Services, Inc.