Riches in niches
Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By David A Kolman
Almost all of the company's 650 trailers are 53-foot multi-temperature trailers with movable bulkheads. Utility Trailer Manufacturing is the preferred provider. Trailers are equipped with air-ride and spring suspensions.
All but 20 of these trailers have Thermo King refrigeration units, which include SB III and Classic models. The 20 trailers have Carrier Transicold Ultra refrigeration units.
Dry van 53-ft trailers from Utility and Stoughton Trailers total 57 units. Ten of these are used in the truckload operation; the rest are in dedicated operations. On average, trailers are used for eight to 10 years before being sold.
Thirty-six owner operators lease their tractors to the company. Mostly all are in the company's truckload division.
“The bulk of these independent contractors have come from the company's lease purchase program,” says Shephard. “The original intent of the program was to retain drivers, and it has done that. It also has helped us recruit some drivers by bringing aboard those who want to become owner operators.”
All of the distribution drivers have Nextel radios. All truckload tractors have Qualcomm OmniTracs two-way satellite-based mobile communications systems. “These have helped increase efficiency and productivity by allowing us to be proactive instead of reactive when problems or situations occur,” Norris says.
Each terminal has a maintenance shop and mechanics. The main shop is in Roanoke, with six fulltime and two part-time mechanics. As with its drivers, Howell's Motor Freight has very low turnover of mechanics.
Long history
The roots for Howell's Motor Freight began in the early 1920s when Harry “Casey” Grubb and his brother, JP, bought a two-bus operation in Portsmouth, Ohio. They grew the business to 60 buses until the two had a falling out in 1928.
Casey then got into the trucking business, forming Grubb Motor Freight in Huntington, West Virginia. Later, along with his wife, Alpha, he formed Keystone Motor Express. Their formula for success in the trucking industry was: “Get a schedule and keep it. The fastest way to lose an account is to ease up on the service.”
Keystone Motor Express grew to three terminals. Alpha and Casey had three daughters, and each daughter's husband ran a terminal. The husband of one of the daughter's was CE Kai Norris, the father of Harry Norris.
Casey died in 1956, and his wife ran the business for another year before selling to Associated Transport. CE Kai Norris then bought Howell's Motor Freight, a small LTL cartage and meat delivery business from Randy Howell.
Harry Norris was seven years old at the time. “I truly did grow up in the trucking business,” he says.
