Our Story

High Quality
In 1992, Gary Ruby was a young military veteran working part-time as a delivery driver for King Soopers when he noticed something that didn’t sit right with him. The company’s vehicles were receiving poor service at high prices, and Gary believed there was a better way. Taking a leap of faith, he approached his store manager and offered to handle the fleet maintenance himself. She gave him his first opportunity by connecting him with a contact at corporate headquarters—and the rest is FMS history.
With just $1,200, Gary purchased his first service truck and recruited his eldest son, Steve, to help him get started. Working out of the back of that truck, they performed oil changes and preventative maintenance on King Soopers delivery vehicles—often late into the night after business hours, onsite at company facilities. Their hard work and commitment to quality quickly gained attention. The King Soopers facilities department soon became their second customer, and before long, word of mouth brought in their first non–King Soopers client, Guy’s Floor Service. From there, the company continued to grow.
Gary didn’t come from a traditional business background, but he built FMS on a straightforward philosophy: be a one-stop shop, maximize convenience with onsite and roadside service, deliver quality work without shortcuts, charge fair prices, and focus on long-term relationships rather than quick profits. He believed that if he took care of his customers, they would take care of him—and that principle continues to guide Fleet Management Services today.
While Mr. Ruby was turning wrenches late into the night, his wife, Barbara Ruby, was building the foundation behind the scenes. She managed all non-service aspects of the business—from bookkeeping and IT to human resources and operations. Early on, she championed the use of digitized forms and electronic records, helping FMS stay ahead of the curve.
However, she quickly discovered a major challenge: most off-the-shelf software for vehicle maintenance facilities wasn’t built to handle the complexity of FMS’s operations. Standard systems couldn’t manage multiple service categories such as towing, paint and body, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, oil changes, and transports. They also weren’t designed to support different vehicle classes—light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty—or accommodate business clients with multiple departments, drivers, hundreds of vehicles, and unique invoicing needs, including third-party payers like leasing companies, fleet management firms, and insurance providers.
So, Barbara did what true entrepreneurs do—she created a custom solution. By developing a system tailored to FMS’s unique service model, she ensured the company could operate efficiently while continuing to deliver exceptional customer service.
Built on a foundation of innovation, hard work, and unwavering commitment to customers, FMS continued to grow. In 1994, the Rubys established their first fixed facility by co-locating with one of their customers, Ferrellgas, to perform more complex repairs. As demand increased, they moved into a shared shop space in Wheat Ridge, quickly outgrowing it. In 2000, FMS relocated to its first independently operated facility in Denver—but growth soon required another move. After several expansions throughout Commerce City, nearly twenty years after starting out of the back of a service truck, FMS purchased its first and current facility in Commerce City in 2015.
The Rubys redesigned the office space to feel like home and even removed the shop’s second story to accommodate taller bay doors and larger vehicles—creating the fully equipped facility FMS operates in today.
Along the way, the Rubys experienced the many highs and lows that come with building a family-owned business. Mr. Ruby led all service operations—managing the shop, responding to late-night roadside calls, and building personal relationships with customers. He knew fleet managers and drivers by name and took pride in being hands-on. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ruby worked tirelessly behind the scenes, often enlisting neighbors to help input data, process billing, and manage vendor payments late into the night. Like many entrepreneurs, they faced demanding customers, slow payments, and the ongoing challenge of finding skilled technicians capable of performing the wide range of services FMS offered. The technicians they did find, however, valued the company culture—and turnover remained low.
In the early 2000s, their younger son, Jason Ruby, joined the business. He worked his way up from office manager to Vice President of Operations and later Chief Operating Officer, helping guide FMS through continued growth while maintaining the strong family atmosphere the Rubys valued.
Today, FMS is owned by Tammy and Kelly Ruddick, who are committed to preserving Mr. and Mrs. Ruby’s legacy. Their focus remains rooted in entrepreneurship, constant innovation, close customer relationships, premium service, word-of-mouth referrals, and steady, thoughtful growth. Longstanding customers such as King Soopers, Braconier, and FedEx continue to trust FMS with their fleet needs. Jason Ruby also remains involved, supporting the company’s information technology systems.
With our dedicated GM Tracy, and our wonderful Office Assistant Kayla, we are committed to providing a welcoming, professional experience while your vehicle is being serviced by our skilled, ASE-certified technicians.
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