Photo by Ike Wilson Richard Greenwood, owner of the Isuzu division of Grimes Truck Center, discusses his business experiences in his Reich’s Ford Road office.

Immaturity would have interfered with his progress had he gotten into business at a younger age, he said.

Greenwood owns the Isuzu division of Grimes Truck Center in Frederick . The business sells Isuzus and services all makes of commercial trucks. The company boasts a half-million parts inventory.

Operating a trucking business amid high fuel prices is challenging, Greenwood said.

"We survive by offering superior customer service, by getting on the road and talking to more people and by advertising," Greenwood said. "We have a good reputation and we do what we have to do to keep it. When people call you, you got to call them back. You and your staff have to have enthusiasm, and I'm an easy guy to work for."

Greenwood has owned his company for two years. He operates in the black some months and other months in the red, he said.

It will take three to four years to put the company on an even keel, he said, but with the building industry and its affiliates getting hit by this economy that may be an optimistic prognosis.

A slow construction industry is forcing people to find other uses for their trucks, including converting them for other operations and finding different cargo to haul, Greenwood said.

"One customer who catered mostly to builders is now catering to homeowners -- landscaping," Greenwood said. "People are changing focus on what they are doing to find other avenues to survive."

But tough times are no excuse to look for short cuts or give up in business, Greenwood said.

"You got to learn to stick with it, be honest and straightforward," he said.

Greenwood's rise to ownership comes after years of working in the trucking industry.

He began in 1973 as a parts clerk for local businessman Jim Grimes' truck company and was promoted to parts manager in 1977.

Greenwood left Grimes Truck Center for a while to work as assistant manager for a trash company, he said. Grimes asked him to be parts manager again in 1983, and in 1989, was promoted to parts and service director.

Greenwood became manager of Grimes Truck Center's Hagerstown operation in 1993. He left the trucking industry once to sell real estate in 1997. That lasted for about a year when he realized that was not what he wanted to do, Greenwood said.

In 1999, he got another call from Grimes to manage the company's tow and roll-off truck division.

"When (Grimes) split the company up in 2006, I bought the Isuzu franchise off him, and just by co-incidence, this place (8016 Reichs Ford Road) became available and I bought it from John Bare," Greenwood said.

Grimes said he called Greenwood twice to work with him because Greenwood exhibited the kind of entrepreneurial potential it takes to succeed in business.

Running marathons as a youngster taught Greenwood perseverance -- a lesson that is applicable to a harsh business environment, he said.

"It teaches you to hang in there and don't give up. I think it's called courage," Greenwood said.

Greenwood has been married to Carol Ann Greenwood for 371Ú2 years. "I don't know how she's put up with me for so long," he said.

The couple has two grandchildren and two adult children -- a daughter who operates a horse ferrier business in Myersville and a son who is a property manager in Texas.