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BROOKFIELD, Ohio — In 2026, Nick Strimbu Inc. will celebrate a milestone reached by only a small percentage of family-owned businesses: 100 years of continuous operation through four generations of family leadership.
What began in 1926 with a handful of trucks and a commitment to hard work has grown into one of the region’s most respected transportation companies. Through economic upheaval, industry shifts, recessions and changing markets, the company has remained guided by the same principles that shaped it from the beginning: faith, stewardship, service and an unwavering commitment to the people who make the business possible.
For Harrison Strimbu, director of marketing and a member of the fourth generation, the centennial is a testament to something larger than the business itself.
“There are a lot of things that the company has been through that we’ve survived that are only explainable by an act of God,” Harrison says. “It’s been passed down from generation to generation that we aren’t owners, we’re stewards of this place.”
The story of Nick Strimbu Inc. begins with founder Nick Strimbu Sr., who immigrated to the United States from Romania in the late 1890s. After working alongside his brothers in trucking, he launched his own company in 1926, hauling clay pipe, brick and other building materials throughout Ohio during a period of rapid industrial and residential growth.
His twin sons, Nick and Tom Strimbu, born in 1927, would become the company’s second generation of leadership. Both served in the European theater during World War II before returning home and assuming leadership of the business in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Their father retired in 1955, leaving the next generation to guide the growing company.
As operations expanded, the company moved to Masury, Ohio, in 1957 and later to its current Brookfield headquarters in the early 1960s, creating room for future growth and establishing roots that remain in place today.
The third generation arrived with Bill Strimbu, now president of Nick Strimbu Inc. Raised on a farm and immersed in the family business from an early age, Bill learned the values of hard work, humility and service long before entering leadership.
When he joined the company in 1974, he started at the bottom, performing yard work, handling collections and learning every aspect of the operation.
“We learned that stewardship is that everybody else gets paid first,” Bill says. “The customers get taken care of first, and whatever’s left is what you get.”
Those experiences would prepare him for the challenges ahead.
The trucking industry has never been easy, and Nick Strimbu Inc. has weathered fuel shortages, recessions, industry downturns and changing markets over the past century.
In 1989, Bill’s father, Nick Strimbu, died unexpectedly after battling a rare form of cancer. Just a few years later, in 1994, Tom Strimbu died suddenly of a heart attack. In 1997, Bill Strimbu and Nick Strimbu III purchased the remaining ownership interest in the company, allowing the business to move forward under unified ownership.
The late 1990s and early 2000s brought another major challenge. At the time, the company relied heavily on the steel industry and endured multiple steel-company bankruptcies that tested its resilience.
Then came the Great Recession of 2008.
Like many trucking companies across the country, Nick Strimbu Inc. faced one of the most difficult periods in its history. Freight demand collapsed, forcing difficult decisions and new thinking about the future.
Recognizing the need to diversify, Bill Strimbu expanded the company’s refrigerated transportation business, a move that transformed the organization and positioned it for long-term success.
“We could have cashed in like a lot of families do. We could have sold out, but we didn’t do that,” Bill says. “We wanted to create employment for people and our customers depended on us.”
Today, refrigerated freight accounts for the majority of the company’s business, while flatbed transportation continues its long connection to steel, pipe and industrial freight.
In 2014, Bill became sole owner of the company when his brother Nick Strimbu III retired. For the first time since the founder’s era, a single leader was responsible for carrying the company forward.
Today, the fourth generation is helping shape the next chapter.
Harrison Strimbu serves as vice president, while Spencer Strimbu serves as CEO. Together, they represent the future of a company that remains committed to family ownership and responsible growth.
Spencer often points to a lesson passed down by his father that continues to guide the company.
“If you focus on how you can help others, all the rest falls into place,” Spencer says.
The company’s success has always been tied to the people who make it work every day. Harrison says the founder’s experience behind the wheel continues to influence the culture of the business.
“The truck drivers are the most important part of this company,” he says. “They’re the revenue producers, and having that as the foundation of our family has really made an impact on how we lead this place.”
Today, Nick Strimbu Inc. employs roughly 175 people across its transportation and maintenance operations and serves customers throughout much of the eastern United States.
Looking ahead, Harrison says the objective is not simply growth, but responsible growth.
“We never want to be a mega fleet, but we want to maintain the same level of service and the same culture here while continuing to grow this company to serve more people and serve our communities,” he says.
Yet as company leaders reflect on the past century, they are quick to emphasize that the story is not solely about trucks, facilities or financial success.
It is about people.
It is about the thousands of employees, dispatchers, technicians, office personnel and support staff who dedicated their careers to the company.
It is about customers who placed their trust in Nick Strimbu Inc. year after year.
It is about vendors, business partners and community supporters who helped the organization grow.
And above all, it is about the professional drivers whose sacrifices made everything possible.
For 100 years, drivers have spent long days and nights away from home, delivering the products that keep America’s economy moving. Their commitment, professionalism and dedication remain the foundation of the company’s success.
As Nick Strimbu Inc. celebrates its centennial, the Strimbu family extends its sincere gratitude to everyone who has been part of the journey.
Thank you to every employee who devoted their talents to this company.
Thank you to every customer who trusted us with their business.
Thank you to every partner who supported our growth.
Thank you to every driver who spent time away from family to serve ours.
And thank you to God, whose guidance, provision and blessings have sustained this company through every challenge and opportunity over the last 100 years.
As Nick Strimbu Inc. begins its second century, the values that carried the company through the first remain unchanged.
“The principles that got us here will keep us here,” Bill Strimbu says. “That’s following God and stewardship of the company.”
Pictured at top: From left, Harrison Strimbu, vice president; Bill Strimbu, president; and Spencer Strimbu, CEO, represent the third and fourth generations of family leadership at Nick Strimbu Inc. Bill Strimbu will retire in 2026, the company’s 100th anniversary year.