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Our Founder, John Ruan

"John Ruan was a giant in the trucking industry who became a force for good the world over. A natural businessman and a dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Ruan is a model for all of us in the trucking industry, or any industry. He was an inspiration." Bill Graves President & CEO American Trucking Associations "John Ruan was a dreamer, but he was also a doer who believed in the big picture. With the World Food Prize, he spurred and encouraged research into agricultural science and its ability to respond to food security needs. Today, there are literally millions of people across the world whose lives have been affected by John Ruan's work." Thomas J. Vilsack United States Secretary of Agriculture

For a country that depends so heavily on trucks to keep its business moving, it is fitting that John Ruan moved his first load of gravel on July 4, 1932.

That first truck was purchased with money gained from the sale of his family's car. Within months, he'd turned that one truck into three, and just two years later, at the age of 19, he was running a fleet of a dozen trucks throughout the Midwest.

An Early Innovator

One opportunity that he identified very early on was safety. Ruan was the first transportation company in America to have a formal safety program. Four full-time supervisors were hired in the mid-1940s to develop and train drivers in safe practices. Not only did Mr. Ruan view safety as a moral imperative for the well-being of his employees, he viewed it as a competitive advantage over his competition.

Under his leadership, Ruan developed the first truck capable of driving 1 million miles without major repairs. They introduced programs to reduce emissions. And, they developed and championed programs that rewarded safe driving.

In 1997, for his contributions to the logistics industry, the American Trucking Associations' Ruan Transportation Center building was dedicated in Washington, D.C., honoring Mr. Ruan's more than 50 years of service to the transportation industry.

Beyond Transportation

As John Ruan saw his and his company's fortunes increase, his thoughts turned to how he could improve the world around him. He began first with his home city of Des Moines. Rather than build a new corporate headquarters in the more spacious suburbs, he believed Des Moines could and should be a vibrant, thriving, professional city. So he built the 36-story Ruan Center office complex in the middle of downtown Des Moines, the tallest building in Iowa at the time. He brought the Marriott Hotel into the city and later erected Two Ruan Center. The result was the beginning of a downtown resurgence that continues to this day.

Funding Research

Mr. Ruan's life was affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) when his wife and his daughter were stricken with the disease. He responded by forming the John Ruan MS Charity. Its golf tournament quickly became the largest one-day charity golf event in the United States, and it began funding research in an experimental MS regimen at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.

In the late 1980s, Mr. Ruan personally donated $2 million for the establishment of the Ruan Neurological Center at Des Moines' Mercy Medical Center, which cares for patients with MS as well as other neurological disorders, such as stroke and Parkinson's disease.

Feeding the World

Mr. Ruan held the belief that if people around the world could simply get enough food to eat, they would have the opportunity to improve their lives. Another accomplished Iowan, Dr. Norman Borlaug, had been working toward this goal his entire career. The father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Borlaug dreamed of a Nobel Prize-level award for achievement in agriculture.

When he could not persuade the Nobel Committee to add such a category, he started his own prize.

Mr. Ruan, unaware of Dr. Borlaug's ambition, had been thinking along the very same lines. So when Dr. Borlaug's sponsor backed out just three years after the formation of the World Food Prize, Mr. Ruan stepped in as its sponsor.

The World Food Prize became his passion. He worked with Dr. Borlaug to develop a symposium that would bring the brightest lights in agriculture to Des Moines every October. They developed programs to promote agricultural study in schools and universities. And, they succeeded in making the World Food Prize the most prestigious, important and richest award in agriculture.

Mr. Ruan ultimately endowed the World Food Prize with $10 million to ensure that the prize would carry on indefinitely. The World Food Prize Foundation will soon be located in the restored, century-old Des Moines Public Library as the Norman E. Borlaug World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Upon completion of the renovations, the library will be transformed into a global landmark for the World Food Prize and its many programs.

In Remembrance

John Ruan died on February 14, 2010, at the age of 96. He imbued our company with a respect for hard work, for integrity and for our customers. He treated his employees like an extension of his own family. His example—whether it was his positive attitude or the thousand little kindnesses he performed—will continue to enrich our lives in the years to come.

We at Ruan Transport Corporation will profoundly miss him.