Chris Schwanke: Building More Than a Fleet

Chris Schwanke didn’t come into trucking with a polished plan.

He came into it looking for a fresh start.

Before Chris became a Mercer owner operator, before the fleet, before the Guardian Riders and the charitable work, he spent 15 years running a construction company in northwest Indiana. That kind of work shapes a person. It teaches long days, tight margins, hard decisions and the responsibility that comes when other people are counting on you.

In a lot of ways, construction prepared Chris for trucking before he ever made a living behind the wheel.

When he moved to Arkansas and entered the trucking industry in 2018, he wasn’t chasing some big idea of fleet ownership. He was looking for a way forward. His father had been a driver, so trucking wasn’t completely unfamiliar, but Chris still had to learn the business the way most drivers do: one mile, one load and one lesson at a time.

“I came into trucking looking for a fresh start,” Chris said. “I found a lot more than that.”

Chris started at Prime Inc., earned his CDL and eventually bought his first truck. It wasn’t easy, but it gave him a beginning. By the time he came to Mercer in September 2023, he had already started building a small fleet and had a clear understanding of what it takes to survive in this business.

Today, Chris has grown that operation to six trucks with Mercer Transportation.

That’s worth noting, but it’s not the whole story.

Chris doesn’t talk about his success like a man who believes he did it all by himself. He knows better than that.

“I can’t be successful all by myself,” he said.

Any owner operator who has tried to build something in this industry knows how true that is. A truck may have one name on the door, but there are usually a lot of people helping keep it moving.

For Chris, that support starts at home.

His wife plays an important role in the business, helping manage fuel costs, payroll and dispatch. Those may not be the parts of trucking people see in photos or truck show lineups, but they are the parts that help keep a business steady. Watching fuel, handling payroll and helping with dispatch takes patience, discipline and trust.

In trucking, family often carries the weight right along with the driver. Sometimes that weight is paperwork. Sometimes it’s stress. Sometimes it’s a late-night phone call. Sometimes it’s believing in the business when the week has been long and the numbers are tight.

Chris’ story belongs to him, but it also belongs to the people who have helped him build it.

At Mercer, one of those people has been Sarah Newton, his coordinator.

Chris describes Sarah as “an integral part” of his business. For an owner operator, that kind of relationship matters. A good coordinator isn’t just moving paperwork or helping find freight. They help create rhythm, trust and stability in a business where every decision carries weight.

That’s where Mercer fits into Chris’ story.

Not as some magic answer. Not as a company taking credit for what Chris already had inside him. Chris brought the work ethic. He brought the experience. He brought the willingness to learn, adapt and keep going. Mercer gave him a place where those things could take root.

“At Mercer, I found a home,” Chris said.

For a Mercer owner operator, that word means something. Home isn’t about everything being perfect. No trucking company can promise that. Home is about fit. It’s about being known. It’s about finding people who understand the business and still see the person behind the truck.

That part of Chris’ story shows up in the way he treats others.

One of his first students, and Mercer owner operator, Jamar Mincy, credits Chris with helping him stay in trucking when he was close to walking away.

“I was ready to quit trucking,” Jamar said.

A lot of drivers understand that feeling more than they might admit. Trucking can test a person. It can stretch confidence, patience and pride. For Jamar, Chris became the kind of voice that helped him keep going.

“Chris believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Jamar said. “He’s more than a trainer. He’s a role model.”

That says a lot about Chris. His success isn’t only measured in trucks. It’s measured in the people he’s helped along the way. It’s measured in the driver who stayed in the business because someone took the time to teach him, encourage him and remind him he could do it.

That same influence reaches into Chris’ family.

His nephew, Zachary Schwanke and Mercer owner operator, is now a fleet owner himself. Before that, he was a young man watching Chris, learning from him and being shaped by his example.

Zachary called Chris “a father figure who helped raise me.”

When asked what lesson stuck with him most, Zachary’s answer was simple: “Be a man of your word.”

That idea seems to sit at the center of Chris Schwanke’s life. In business. In family. In mentorship. In service.

Do what you say you’re going to do.

That belief is part of what led Chris into charitable work.

Chris is a member of the Guardian Riders, a nonprofit motorcycle group that supports veterans and their families. He isn’t a veteran himself, and he doesn’t pretend to be. His service comes from respect. It comes from recognizing what others have given and choosing to do something useful with what he has been blessed with.

Through the Guardian Riders, Chris has helped raise funds for veterans and their families, supporting practical needs like roofs and ramps. One of the most meaningful moments came when he hauled veterans’ grave markers from Georgia to Michigan City, Indiana.

That wasn’t just another load.

Every driver understands that some freight carries more than weight. Some freight carries memory. Some freight carries responsibility. Some freight asks you to understand what is really riding behind you.

“How do you not give back?” Chris said. “Look at what we’ve been blessed with. It’s just the right thing to do.”

That’s the thread running through the whole story.

Chris Schwanke is a fleet owner, but he’s also a husband, a mentor, an uncle, a former city council president, a member of the Guardian Riders and a man who believes your word should mean something.

He has run a construction company. He has served his community. He has started over. He has built a fleet. He has helped other drivers keep going. And through all of it, he still comes across as a regular guy who understands that success means more when it gives you something to offer others.

That’s why stories like Chris’ matter at Mercer.

They remind us that owner operators are not just unit numbers. They are people with families, histories, causes, responsibilities and lives that reach far beyond the road.

Chris’ story isn’t about a man who had everything handed to him. It’s about someone who worked, learned, leaned on the right people and kept building.

One truck became a fleet.

A fresh start became a home.

And somewhere along the way, Chris Schwanke built something bigger than a business.

To read more stories about the people, purpose and community behind Mercer, explore the other articles on our website.