Forty years after going into business and expanding to five states with more than 70 employees, Johanson Transportation Service was named the Family Business of the Year by the Central Valley Institute for Family Business on Jan. 20.

In 1971, Richard Johanson started his own business after quitting his job as manager for a brokerage company. Experience, gratitude, integrity and respect are the four core values Johanson built the foundation of his company on. In the beginning, the company had only one office and four employees.

“Our office was so small that two people couldn’t back out of their desk at the same time,” Johanson said.

In 1989, Richard Johanson’s son, Larry, was promoted to company president.

“How we do business has changed, but the way we try to uphold good family values hasn’t,” Larry Johanson said. “I’m proud and appreciative of our staff.”

Johanson is a graduate from Fresno State and has a degree in Business Administration. Johanson started at his father’s company in 1972 as a bookkeeper and assisting in administrative tasks.

Johanson took over Johanson Transportation Services when his father retired in 1989.

Richard Johanson is now Chairman of the Board and is still involved in overseeing the company. He also accepted the award for Family Business of the Year after Larry Johanson was unable to attend the gala, but is ecstatic of the win.

“Just to be considered a finalist for the award, in my mind, is a huge honor,” Larry Johanson said.

Eligibility for the award starts with an outside party nominating the family business. The outside party fills out an application describing why they feel the business deserves recognition.

If the family accepts the nomination, they fill out a five-page application and provide documents of their success.

“It was an application about how we were founded, our background, our growth over the years, our information technology capabilities and succession planning,” Larry Johanson said.

Dr. George Vozikis, director of The Institute for Family Business at Fresno State, said the applications are then passed to three outside judges and are reviewed. Only 10 family businesses make it to the finals.

The final 10 applicants are honored at The Annual California Family Business Award Gala and receive plaques. The winner of the 10 nominees receives a trophy and is named California Family Business of the Year.

The Institute for Family Business hosts the awards each year along with The Business Journal. Vozikis said the award is meant to demonstrate how important it is to have a plan and showcases the success of the family.

“Family businesses are difficult because most of the time you don’t know where family stops and where business starts,” Vozikis said. “Family business doesn’t stop at 5 p.m. like a regular business, it continues at home too.”

The Johanson family believes that their business won the award not only because they met the criteria, but also because the staff works together like a family.

“I think that speaks to the values of the company and why our staff chooses to stay with us,” Larry Johanson said.