In 1898, Freeman Osborn began his own hauling business after working for someone else and knowing he could do it better. This is something that still holds true today. Osborn & Son Trucking feels they can do it better.

 

Freeman delivered anything to anyone in the Fond du Lac area. He and his horse hauled trunks from the railroad station, made runs from feed mills and bakeries, removed ashes from residential homes, and hauled produce. Whatever someone needed moved, Freeman could move it. Things got a bit easier when a used motorized “truck” was purchased. Upon Freeman’s death in 1928, his son, Charles, who was working with him, took over the business. Sometime in the 1930’s, Charles began hauling for Giddings & Lewis. This consisted mostly of local hauling but they did make some trips outside Wisconsin. In 1936, Charles’ son Gilbert joined the business. By this time, they had added “refrigerated” trucking, hauling ice cut from Lake Winnebago to customers in the Fond du Lac area. Charles and Gilbert were also known for furniture moving.

 

In 1942, Gilbert took leave to serve in the U.S. Navy. When he returned in 1948, Osborn & Son Trucking was incorporated. At this point, they added another dimension to the already thriving company – warehousing. A warehouse was built on West Johnson Street, storing furniture and renting space to companies such as Giddings & Lewis. In the early 1950’s, Charles and Gilbert bought a truck to haul beer for a Schlitz distributor. They established a route hauling beer from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac. About this same time, Charles’ son, Donald, joined the team. In 1954, another warehouse was built on Sibley Street and rented by the Schlitz distributor.

 

With Charles passing in 1972, Gilbert and Donald carried on. The moving business was phased out and a garbage disposal service was pursued and later sold in 1989. In 1974, Donald’s son Dennis started driving. In 1977, his second son Dean began. A year later, Gilbert retired and Don’s wife, Kathy, took over office duties. In 1984, Dean’s wife Sandy started dispatching and later moved into the bookkeeping aspect.

 

Because of the company’s growth and due to the need for asset protection, the mid-eighties found Osborn & Son Trucking splitting and forming another corporation, Osborn & Associates of Fond du Lac, Inc. Osborn & Son continued the long distance trucking, while Osborn & Associates did local trucking and warehousing. In 1986, another corporation, Three-D Brokers, Ltd., was formed, enabling freight to be brokered to other trucking companies. Excess loads could then be given to trucking companies registered with Three-D. Again, because of rapid growth, a small warehouse was rented in New Jersey for freight consolidating. In 1991, Dean and Sandy purchased Osborn & Son Trucking and Three-D Brokers from Don, Kathy, and Dennis. Later that year, Osborn & Son moved to a new warehouse alongside Highway 41 in Fond du Lac.

Osborn & Son Trucking has 20 tractors and 70 trailers hauling cheese, spice, and liquor between Wisconsin and New York/New Jersey. Dean and Sandy Osborn oversee the company while their three kids have stepped into roles of their own. Charley handles day to day operations, along with dispatching the east coast. Kristina has taken over HR/Safety along with most of the bookkeeping and Samantha handles both dispatching and quality control. Sarah is as close to family as it gets, she has been with the company(family) for 28 years! She handles all the billing, permitting and reporting.

Osborn & Son and Three-D have earned very positive reputations in the trucking industry. We believe in quality service at a fair price. We believe in keeping our equipment in top shape and looking good. We also believe Freeman would be proud.