Howard Sheppard was always fascinated with trucks even as a young boy and in 1943 he bought his first truck to haul sand and gravel. In the mid-1940s he earned about $2.40 for a load. Mr. Sheppard hauled whatever needed to be hauled in the area. Soon he was able to purchase another truck. In 1950 he married Barbara Holmes, and with her help, the company began to grow. As the kaolin business has grown, so has Howard Sheppard, Inc. Diversified, the company also hauls for many other industries, including a large portion of paper, paint and rubber manufacturers as the familiar orange trucks can be seen in every state except Hawaii.