How One Missouri Operator Went from Bankruptcy to Hauling for the AI Boom

He Went Bankrupt at 18, Laid Off Every Driver, and Now Runs a $625K-Per-Rig Heavy Haul Fleet | Kendal Mast Kendal Mast started KM Wood Products in November 2012 with one truck — his dad's beat-up rig. By 18, he was nearly bankrupt. In 2019, one of his biggest contracts walked away without paying, and he made the call no fleet owner wants to make: lay off every owner operator, every driver, and go back to just him and one truck. He loaded his wife and kids in the cab and hauled through all of 2020. By August of that year, every driver was back and the fleet had grown. Today, Kendal runs 50 trucks, a fleet of specialty heavy haul trailers worth $625,000 per setup, and 65% of his work is fueling the AI data center boom. We got a full shop tour, talked rates, liability, equipment, and what it actually takes to survive and scale in heavy haul. In this episode: