Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/319866
MAINTENANCE MATTERS R onnie Humphreys, director of maintenance for Reynolds Na- tionwide, headquartered in San Antonio, has been with the company for nearly 30 years and supervises 32 employ- ees, servicing 360 trucks and more than 1,000 trailers. Humphreys says he relies on the full range of Shell Rotella products to run his maintenance program. "We depend on the support and reliability of Shell. Our business is based on an on-time, effi cient and timely process, and we choose products that keep our trucks running," Humphreys says. The family owned company operates a fl eet of baby-blue colored trucks with spar- kling trailers hauling time sensitive products such as milk, liquids and chocolate. Jim Lincoln, general manager for Reynolds Nationwide, says they have recently ventured into the natural gas market with the purchase of 20 CNG trucks/engines to haul milk to the Houston area. "Our relationship with Shell has helped with the transition into the CNG driven trucks," Lincoln says. How does the Shell product-line fi t in with your new CNG trucks? We will use Rotella T3 NG 15W-40, a product engineered specifi cally for natural gas engines when we begin preventive maintenance on these trucks. According to Shell, the new oil uses a cus- tomized combination of high-performance additives to adapt and protect under the range of pressures and temperatures found in CNG/LNG fueled engines. How does the cargo impact your maintenance procedures? A lot of our business is "just-on- time" delivery. Without a proper maintenance program, we would not have such long time loyal customers. We pick up 85 to 110 loads of milk per day. Some of these loads are a 500-mile, one-way haul. Milk is a very temperature sensitive product, and you only have a 5-degree window. If delays cause you to pick up the milk late, they have to dump the milk. We can't afford breakdowns. How crucial is your maintenance program to the bottom-line? The electronics demand a higher level of skill from technicians, and we believe that preventive maintenance is the key to success. You can fix it in our shop or fix it on the road. The first option is more efficient, and we train technicians and drivers to anticipate problems before they get away from you. What Shell products do you use to run your maintenance operation? Rotella T3 15W-40 engine oil, Spirax S6 75W-90 gear lubricant, Spirax S6 GME 50 transmission fluid, Ga- dus S3 V220C 2, Rotella ELC 5050 cool- ant plus a smattering of HD PhosFree coolant. We recently took advantage of Shell's Lube VideoCheck Service to look at a couple of engines we had some difficulties with, and may start using Lube Analysis again in an effort to catch coolant leaks a little earlier. Sponsored information by Shell Rotella® Q&A WITH RONNIE HUMPHREYS, DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE FOR REYNOLDS NATIONWIDE, AND GENERAL MANAGER JIM LINCOLN