John Groendyke

John D. Groendyke is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Groendyke Transport, Inc., the fifth-largest motor carrier of bulk commodities serving the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico.

It all began on July 12, 1932, when John’s father, Harold Groendyke, transported his first load of kerosene from Borger, Texas, to Beaver, Oklahoma. He drove a two-axle Ford truck equipped with a 3,000-gallon tank mounted on a homemade chassis. That was the start of the tank truck industry and Groendyke Transport Company.

John received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Oklahoma State University and his law degree from the University of Oklahoma. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, and after a two-year tour of duty, he returned to Enid, Oklahoma, to join the family trucking operation.

In 2024 John received a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Tank Truck Carriers.

In his oral history interview, John talks about his father building a truck, the effect of technology on the trucking industry, and his extensive car collection on the podcast and oral history website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.