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Refrigerated Trucking Company

About Us

Tri-State Thermo King locations are Thermo King authorized sales, service, and parts dealerships servicing the Mid-South.

Thermo King is the world leader in transport temperature control systems for trucks, trailers, buses, and rail cars.

Thermo King also manufactures auxiliary power units, which dramatically reduce engine idling. As part of Thermo King’s unmatched nationwide dealer network, we provide expert factory-trained service when and where you need it, and a complete line of genuine and competitive parts.

Trust us to get you back on the road quickly and keep you up and running.

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Leadership Team

Mike Rivalto

CEO/Owner

Memphis, TN

Jody Bailey

President

Based in MemphisJody started with Tri-State Thermo King in 2008 as a salesperson and eventually moved into the role as president in 2015. Jody brings an ample background in sales and business management before moving into the world of transport refrigeration. He brings a dedication to his leadership role by staying up to date with company information and insight while guiding our company with special attention paid to our customers' experience and satisfaction. Our president prides himself on ensuring all of our dealer locations have knowledgeable and helpful technicians and managers to serve our customers. Jody is also responsible for making sure each of our dealerships gets the necessary and appropriate equipment and current information, and ensure proper maintenance of our facilities.

Memphis, TN

Tim Riggs

Vice President

Tim started with Thermo King of Nashville as a refrigeration technician in 1995 prior to the dealership being purchased by Tri-State Thermo King in 1997. Tim brings a military background, having joined the Air Force as an aircraft fuel specialist right out of high school in 1983 and was honorably discharged in 1992. After the military, Tim worked for Fleming Foods/Malone and Hyde as a refrigeration technician until he was hired at TK. Tim took on the Service Manager job in 2002 and eventually moved into the role of Maintenance Director for all 4 Tri-State Thermo King locations in 2011. In July of 2022, Tim was promoted to Vice President of Operations while also performing in the role of Sales Manager. Tim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our company and has an ability to communicate clearly and concisely to our employees and customers alike.

Nashville, TN
Temperature Control System

Sales Managers

Kelly Lewis

Sales Manager

Kelly brings a career background built on customer service, marketing, and sales. Before moving into the transportation industry in 2016, he opened and managed several different restaurants and bars around the Memphis area over a12 year span for a restaurant management group, focused on building staffs and environments that cater to customers' wants and needs. He also worked in real estate as a sales rep working with both buyers and sellers, setting up model homes, and building a marketing platform. After leaving food and beverage, he spent a brief time in trailers before eventually moving over to transport refrigeration. His commitment to learning products and building customer relationship is apparent, as he is focused on serving in his role by providing quick response times and keeping customers up to date on the latest technology. With the every changing landscape of transportation and evolving regulations, Kelly is focused on helping customers stay ahead and stay profitable with Thermo King equipment and solutions.

Memphis, TN

Tim Riggs

Sales Manager

Tim started with Thermo King of Nashville as a refrigeration technician in 1995 prior to the dealership being purchased by Tri-State Thermo King in 1997. Tim brings a military background, having joined the Air Force as an aircraft fuel specialist right out of high school in 1983 and was honorably discharged in 1992. After the military, Tim worked for Fleming Foods/Malone and Hyde as a refrigeration technician until he was hired at TK. Tim took on the Service Manager job in 2002 and eventually moved into the role of Maintenance Director for all 4 Tri-State Thermo King locations in 2011. In July of 2022, Tim was promoted to Vice President of Operations while also performing in the role of Sales Manager. Tim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our company and has an ability to communicate clearly and concisely to our employees and customers alike.

Nashville, TN

Ricky Duncan

Sales Manager

Ricky started with Tri-State Thermo King in 2017 and brings over 30 years of experience in the transport refrigeration industry. Ricky worked for Carrier for over 20 years and has ample historical knowledge of both Carrier and Thermo King's units and service. Ricky is able to communicate with customers very concisely and accurately, helping his customer base reach and maintain peak performance with the use of Thermo King products and services. He is a dedicated father, grandfather, and husband while being a Godly man and loving his Arkansas Razorbacks.

Little Rock, AR

Service Managers

Sam Caviness

Service Manager

Sam started with Tri-State Thermo King in 1983 right out of high school at 18 years old. Sam learned auto mechanics by attending Vo-Tech and applied for a job at Thermo King at the suggestion of the Service Manager there at the time. He came on as a refrigeration technician with the philosophy in mind that "anyone can work on a unit, we FIX them". Sam moved into the role of Service Manager in 1990. Sam teamed up with our service manager in Russellville, Tom Sheppard, and won the Thermo King Diagnostic contest in 2001 at the TK Service Manager Conference. Sam has been with the company as a dedicated employee for over 40 years and continues to lead with a focus on customer satisfaction and most importantly, quality work that fixes the problem the first time.

Little Rock, AR

Jeff Ziegemeier

Service Manager

Nashville, TN

Keith Winn

Service Manager

Keith brings a wealth of expertise and dedication to his role with a strong background in refrigeration and over fifteen years of experience in the transportation industry. With a team of skilled technicians at his back, his in-depth knowledge of commercial refrigeration systems makes him an invaluable leader in our organization. Keith is passionate about providing tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of our clients, and places a strong emphasis on rapid response times for our emergency repairs to minimize downtime and reduce disruptions to business. Outside of work, as a longtime resident of Southaven, MS Keith enjoys spending time with his family; he enjoys time in the woods deer hunting and watching sports cheering on his beloved hometown Memphis Tigers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis, TN

Tom Sheppard

Service Manager

Tom has been with the Tri-State Thermo King in Russellville since it was first purchased in 1996. Tom had previously worked at the same location under the name Russellville Transport Refrigeration since 1980, right after graduating diesel mechanics school. His history with Thermo King products and services provide and invaluable wealth of knowledge for customers and technicians alike. Tom is dedicated to staying up to date on the latest product and service offerings from Thermo King to keep our customers abreast of the latest information. He keeps our service location in Russellville in shape while providing rapid response and quality service work for our customers to keep them up and going.

Russellville, AR

Josh DaCosta

Service Writer

Nashville, TN

Krystol Johnson

Service Writer

Little Rock

Trey Jones

Service Writer

Memphis, TN

Store Managers

Jody Bailey

President and Dealership Manager

Memphis, TN

Tim Riggs

VP and Dealership Manager

Nashville, TN

Sam Caviness

Service Manager and Dealership Manager

Little Rock, AR

Tom Sheppard

Service Manager and Dealership Manager

Russellville, AR

Account Managers

Sarah Murphy

Accounts Receivable

Memphis, TN

Tara Walter

Accounts Payable

Memphis, TN

Jan Whitworth

Accounts Receivable

Nashville, TN

Parts

Dave Eleogram

Parts Manager

Dave has 30+ years experience in the transport refrigeration industry. With a long history managing the parts department, Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and historical context for Thermo King's long and successful line of products. His focus is on providing customer service and knowledge to help his customers find and acquire what is needed to keep their equipment up and going. He is also focused on keeping inventory to meet the demands of our customer base and having parts available for repairs when the emergent situations arise.

Memphis, TN

Ken Sherrill

Parts Manager

Ken has nearly 50 years experience in the transport refrigeration industry. He started at Thermo King of Nashville in 1975. With a long history managing the parts department, Ken brings a wealth of knowledge and historical context for Thermo King's long and successful line of products. His focus is on providing customer service and knowledge to help his customers find and acquire what is needed to keep their equipment up and going. He is also focused on keeping inventory to meet the demands of our customer base and having parts available for repairs when emergency situations arise.

Nashville, TN

Cody Tullos

Parts Manager

Little Rock, AR

Ken Still

Parts

Nashville, TN

Sean Ruth

Parts

Nashville, TN

Technicians

Carney Brown

Technician

Nashville, TN

Derick Wilson

Technician

Nashville, TN

Wes Welker

Technician

Nashville, TN

Brad Coleman

Technician

Memphis, TN

Steven Rodriguez

Technician

Memphis, TN

Roberto Rivera

Technician

Memphis, TN

Patrick McBride

Technician

Memphis, TN

Neil Townsend

Technician

Memphis, TN

Michael Martin

Technician

Memphis, TN

Jose Castor

Technician

Memphis, TN

Jesus Rodriguez

Technician

Memphis, TN