About Us

Northland CDL Training, a family owned, Iowa company based in Mason City, has been providing a variety of training for individuals seeking a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), thus enabling their legal operation of vehicles defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV). Northland CDL Training was founded by and is still privately owned by Randy and Janet Grey, in Mason City.  Randy and Janet, both "farm-kids" with family ties to the trucking industry sought to use some of that old fashion work ethic they were taught growing up, to provide quality training.  They were able to effectively use their backgrounds in education, safety training, business, trucking and interpersonal relationships to develop a program that has proven itself effective.

In 2008, Northland CDL branched out to offer a second location as an "affiliate company" opened by a long time business associate, Ryan Sharp. In 2010 Northland designed a "Train & Test in One Day" program in Sheldon, Iowa through a partnership with Northwest Iowa Community College (NCC).  That partnership spanned 10 very successful years.

In addition to private training, as educational contractors, Northland CDL Training provides all the instruction for North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), Professional Driver Prep. Programs.  The education provided by these courses was seen as so successful that multiple colleges around the state partnered with Northland CDL. 

Starting with one training tractor/trailer, taken from their former wholesale business fleet, the Greys and Northland CDL Training have grown to having the right equipment to meet the training needs and requirements of the industry. Pictured below is just some of the fleet.

This also includes the use of "high-tech" L-3 Truck Driving Simulators.

Through the use of this technology, our Professional Driver Prep. Program students are able to learn, develop the skills needed and become comfortable with the next steps in driving a "big-rig" before they climb aboard.  This is especially true when shifting multiple types of manual transmissions.  Then they can hit the road driving with much more confidence in one of our rigs as seen below.

Students in the NIACC Professional Driver Prep. Program roll in for a stop at an Iowa D.O.T. Scale.  As part of the over the road training, a scale stop is a valuable learning tool to prepare for the new career ahead.

Northland CDL Training is today looked upon as a leader in the industry.  This reputation has come from putting the student's interest first and striving for excellence in training programs OF EVERY LEVEL.  No one at Northland CDL work on commission.  Thus, our only goal is the student's success and to that we base our instructional efforts.

FINAL CDL TESTING IS PERFORMED ON SITE, BY DOT CERTIFIED COMMERCIAL EXAMINERS** AS PART OF EVERY CLASS!!!  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TESTED AT A DOT STATION. 

** At our Home Base in Mason City, the Third Party CDL Skills Testing is performed on site by North Iowa Area Community College.