Mar 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By Foss Farrar

A turn-key transportation vendor providing everything from leased tractors and trailers to vehicle maintenance to drivers once appealed to Continental Floral Greens in San Antonio, Texas. After unsuccessfully trying such a program, however, Continental decided to return to running its own fleet while continuing to lease the equipment.

“Neither we nor our former vendor fully understood the other's business,” says Scott Jewett, Continental's transportation director since 1996 when the company decided to quit the turn-key program. “Our business is so immediate and so changeable from day to day, that it is difficult for an outside transportation provider to learn. We don't go to the same customers every week. Our daily runs are determined by changeable customer demand.”

In 1996, Continental opened up for bids from several leasing companies. It ended up choosing Rush Truck Leasing, Texas, a family-owned PacLease franchise in San Antonio. Rush Truck Leasing is a subsidiary of Rush Enterprises, a leading distributor of Peterbilt tractors with dealer locations throughout the country, says Jim Smith, general manager of Rush Truck Leasing, Texas. Rush also is a dealer for John Deere construction equipment.

“We chose Rush because it is a local company providing us customized service,” Jewett says. “Price was not the determining factor.”

Continental leases 12 Peterbilt 387 conventional medium length tractors from PacLease. The 387 Petes were chosen for their aerodynamic design and for maneuverability. Previously, Continental had run longnose Peterbilt 379s. A reliable tractor that is great for long hauls and popular with drivers, the 379s ultimately proved impractical for Continental, Jewett says.

“It has a long wheelbase that makes for a difficult turning radius in city delivery,” he says. “If we were doing dock-to-dock hauls from San Antonio to Los Angeles, it would be a great truck. We go to Los Angeles all right, but we do a lot of peddle stops between here and there and after we get there.”

New Petes for Drivers

The 387 Petes, on the other hand, provide better turning radius for delivery down side streets and into small driveways. These types of stops are not untypical for floral wholesalers, Jewett says.

The tractors were specified for driver comfort as well as maneuverability. Sleepers are roomy, with 30 inches of walk-through space between the seats. Driver and passenger sit in high-back air-suspension seats. Continental uses driver teams and equips the high-roof sleepers with two bunks.

Driver turnover used to be a problem at Continental, but no longer. One reason is the new tractors. Another is a bonus program implemented by Jewett. “We employ 30 drivers, but about six years ago the company went through 80 in just one year,” he says. “Driver turnover now is less than 30%.”

Besides providing drivers an incentive to perform better, the bonus program is aimed at reducing fuel costs, improving safety, and eliminating log violations.

Though the Continental fleet has run the new Peterbilts less than a year, they already are providing good fuel economy, Jewett says. Powered by Caterpillar C12 engines producing 430 horsepower at 2100 rpm, tractor fuel economy approaches 7 miles per gallon.

“The fleet average is about 6.9 mpg,” he says. “Our best result is 7.42 mpg. Tractors log about 240,000 miles a year, on average. The entire fleet logs 2.8 million annually. If the whole fleet could get 7.42 mpg, we would easily save $45,000 in annual fuel costs,” Jewett says.

Driver Retention Factors

Drivers can earn up to $2,000 a year from the bonus program. They are rewarded each quarter according to a point system based on fuel economy, customer service, log-keeping, and safety. “If a driver gets better than 6.5 mpg, he accumulates points,” Jewett says. “We have an outside service to audit driver logs regularly, and we note customer comments on driver performance.”

Continental has 12 drivers who serve as trainers. These lead drivers work in teams with new drivers serving as mentors to driver candidates. New drivers must go through a 90-day probationary period. They must spend time in the maintenance shop, the warehouse, and viewing safety training videos before taking a road test and starting work as the second driver in a team.

Besides on-the-job training, new tractors, and the bonus program, Continental attracts and keeps drivers by seeking their input on equipment and keeping them well informed on company plans. Before purchasing the new Peterbilts, for example, Continental rented one Model 387 for a few months to give drivers hands-on experience.

“We try to treat drivers fairly,” he says. “We pay them a weekly salary and rotate their runs. No driver gets to monopolize a high-mileage run and receive a lot of extra pay. All drivers get to know all customers.”

Another factor in retaining drivers is getting them home for weekends, although that “weekend” may not always be Saturday and Sunday. Drivers average 9.48 days off per month. “For an over-the-road driver, that's very good,” Jewett says. “That means drivers are home with their family, not just taking time off in a truck stop.

“We provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service. The floral wholesalers we serve provide keys to their lock-box coolers, allowing us to deliver day or night. That's how we can run so many miles. We don't have to wait until 7 am for them to get there to let us in.”

1,000 Customers Nationwide

Working in teams, Continental's 30 drivers serve 1,000 customers spread throughout the United States. Except for a tractor and trailer based in Glenwood, Florida, the rest of the fleet is based in San Antonio. In addition to the Glenwood branch, Continental has others in Coos Bay, Oregon; Belfair, Washington; Unionville, Tennessee; and Baltimore, Maryland. The company operates a mix of new 48- and 53-ft refrigerated trailers equipped with Thermo King SB-II, Super II, SB-III, and Whisper units. Besides these company-owned trailers, Continental rents additional trailers as needed from XTRA.

Continental uses acronyms to describe its runs. For instance, the NAPTBA run departs from San Antonio for stops in Nashville, Pittsburgh, and then Baltimore. BARONA goes to Baltimore, Rochester, and then Nashville. From there, it becomes NATSAF, continuing to Atlanta, returning to San Antonio and then departing for Florida.

“In Florida, we receive container loads of floral greens from Guatemala,” Jewett says. “We also get trailer loads of product from Mexico, trucked in through Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio. We operate farms in Mexico, Texas, Florida, and Washington state.”

All sales are conducted from the San Antonio headquarters, which also serves as a consolidation point. The longest run takes seven and a half days. Routes depart from headquarters on Friday, stop in Belfair on Monday to load more product, and then head east, making peddle stops in Cleveland, Minneapolis or Detroit, and on to Baltimore before returning to San Antonio.

The average run is five and a half to six days and typically requires 30 to 50 stops. Trailers have two curbside doors in addition to rear swing doors for convenient unloading.

Continental handles floral greens ranging from Comador to Leatherleaf and other assorted types of foliage. The company also grows western greens such as solal. In addition, Continental transports specialty greens such as holly during the Christmas season. Of course, Continental delivers its biggest volume around the holidays — Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and so on.

On-Site Maintenance

PacLease provides tractor maintenance for Continental at a three-bay shop at Continental's headquarters. The facility also has an outdoor wash bay.

PacLease mechanic Joe Riley works full-time at the shop. Besides day-to-day service on trucks, Riley does 10-point maintenance checks and lubrication on tractors at 12,500-mile intervals, and changes oil and filters at 25,000 miles. Riley received an excellence award from Rush Truck Leasing/PacLease in 2000 for positive attitude and customer service as well as exemplary performance.

Trailer service is handled by Continental. Thermo King dispatches Uptime mobile service trucks daily to Continental headquarters to check refrigeration units and perform regularly scheduled maintenance.

“Drivers don't have to worry about maintenance,” Jewett says. “If they have a problem on the road, they can use their cell phone to call an 800 number to PacCentral, and PacLease will provide emergency road service.

“Our drivers work hard, and we go the extra mile to please them.”