Happy Retirement, Mark Kuckler!
After 45 years in the transportation industry, Mark Kuckler retired on Dec. 23, 2021. Serving as an account manager for Stutsman Logistics (SLI), Mark’s experience in the transportation industry started well before he joined Stutsman’s in April 2018.
“I met a person who owned a trucking company around 1975 who said ‘give it a try because you’ll meet a lot of interesting people’,” said Mark. “So I gave it a try and here I am.”
Mark started as a traffic clerk at a steel mill in St. Paul, Minnesota then spent 17 years at Cargill, first as an assistant traffic manager before getting transferred to Cedar Rapids to serve as the traffic manager for the corn milling division. He then spent a year working for a food grade trucking company in St. Louis before returning to Cedar Rapids to work for a freight broker. He served as their vice president of operations for 23 years before joining the Stutsman Logistics team.
With years of experience in transportation, Mark has been an asset to the logistics team.
“Questions outside of the daily routine or different challenges we face daily in trucking are the times Mark shines with a solution or recommendation to get the job done,” said Ben Dombroski, logistics customer service manager. “Mark’s knowledge from the transportation side of trucking to the shipper/receiver perspective have been extremely valuable during his time with SLI and are greatly appreciated by our team.”
The person who encouraged Mark to pursue a career in transportation wasn’t wrong. Mark has developed relationships within the industry that can attest to his success as an account manager and team member.
“His customers are always extremely happy and enjoy working with him based on the reviews and cards of thanks he receives,” said Dombroski. “He’s always willing to lend an ear to help team members out when it comes to industry-related advice or life advice.”
Mark is going to miss the people and opportunities that go with transportation after he retires. However, he is looking forward to the downtime.
“I’m going to take it easy and do more hunting, fishing and golfing with some travel,” said Mark. “And spend quality time with the wife and grandkids.”