Hackney Bros. branches away from family tree.

• Position: Hackney Brothers Inc.

For the first time since it was founded in 1854, Hackney Bros. Inc. won't have a Hackney in charge come January.

President Robert Hackney, who took the job five years ago and turned 65 in June, is passing the reins to chief operating officer Kenneth R. Hyde Jr. Started as a buggy builder by Willis Hackney 139 years ago, the 175-employee company is now the nation's largest maker of custom refrigerated-truck bodies.

Hyde says the ground has been well-laid for the change to nonfamily management: "Over the years, we've run the company as if we were public." Well, almost. Hyde declines to give sales figures.

Hyde, 49, hitched on in 1987 as chief financial officer. A Virginian whose father ran the historic Hotel Roanoke for 34 years, he graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1967 with a degree in economics and political science. After serving in Vietnam as an Army lieutenant, he spent 17 years as a Wachovia Bank and Trust executive.

Like Wachovia, Hackney Bros. values fiscal conservatism. With a net worth of $6 million, Hackney has no long-term debt. Hyde...