A-P-A Transport Corp.
A-P-A Transport Corp. (also known as APA Transport) was a North Bergen, NJ based trucking and shipping company. At one point it was the nation's fourth largest interstate freight trucking company.[1]
Origins
Founded in 1947 by Arthur Edward Imperatore, Sr. and his brothers Eugene, Arnold, George and Harold in West New York, NJ, it started as a local trucking business with a single surplus US Army truck, originally called "Imperatore Bros. Moving and Trucking." Later that same year they bought a second surplus truck, and then the name and two trucks of A&P Trucking Corp. for $800 from Albert Amorino, also of West New York. In the 1950s, after a few years of legal wrangling over the name by the A&P grocery chain, they simply added a trailing A.[2]
Successful
In 1952 they built a new terminus at 88th Street and Tonnelle Ave in North Bergen and by 1958 the company surpassed $1 million in gross revenue.[2] Eventually Arthur bought out all the other brothers in the business. The company enjoyed great success, growing to more than 3,500 tractor-trailers and operating 31 freight terminals by 1991. [3]
Shutdown
By 2001 it had fallen to 38th place, and finally closed its doors in February 2001.[4]
References
- David Rounds, "Perfecting a Piece of the World: Arthur Imperatore and the Blue-Collar Aristocrats of A-P-A" Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1993
- Lucien Rhodes, "The Importance Of Being Arthur" Inc. Apr 1, 1982
- Jon Nordmire, "Trucker Who Rarely Backs Down" New York Times, May 16, 1992.
- Hugh R. Morley, "Trucking Firm A-P-A Transport in North Bergen, N.J., Closes." The Record (Newspaper, Hackensack, NJ) February 24, 2002