Love’s Travel Stops is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014. Founder and executive chairman Tom Love announced the company would undergo a record year of building.

Love’s approximate growth rate is 20 new stores per year. However, the company will exceed the norm and open as many as 30 new stores this year. Love’s will also reach another milestone when it enters into its 40th state – Maryland. The travel stop in Cumberland, Md., is projected to open this fall.

Love’s is also in the midst of reinvesting in its current locations. Several stores will be remodeled and expanded and some will undergo complete raze and rebuilds. Love’s will also continue to expand its Truck Tire Care centers. Facilities will be expanded to accommodate more services. The company is also adding compressed natural gas to select fueling stations nationwide this year.

The Love’s story began in 1964 when Tom and Judy Love leased an abandoned filling station in Watonga, Okla. What started as a small operation in Oklahoma with a handful of employees has grown to a network of 312 stores and counting in 39 states with more than 10,000 employees. Love’s remains a family-owned company.