Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/328701
Model 579 is newest arrival at the Fundis Company Ed Meyer (right) runs a family operation that includes son Brad and daughter Jodi, whose young son Luke is often on-site. 6 l FIRST CLASS Family First THE FUNDIS COMPANY/NEVCAL TRUCKING "Peterbilt is always innovating, always pushing the envelope." F amily is a recurring theme at the Fundis Company, the ocean- container hauler based out of Sparks, Nevada. At one end of the hallway is Ed Meyer, the family patriarch and the president of the company, which also does business as NevCal Trucking. Around the corner is the desk of Operations Manager Brad Meyer, Ed's son. And just another door or two down is the office of Jodi Folen, Ed's daughter and the company control- ler. Don't knock on the conference room door, however – that's where you might find Luke, Jodi's 8-month old son, taking a nap, or one of her other kids playing with model trucks. Additionally, many husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons make up the driver pool at Fundis. "Having a family environment is very important to us," says Brad. "When we hire drivers we tell them that it's family first around here. When they go home at night — and our drivers do go home almost every night — they go home. We leave work here." Treating drivers like family includes putting them in equipment they are proud to operate, according to the Meyers. As a result, Ed Meyer has been buying Peterbilts exclusively since the 1980s. The fleet now features 87 Model 386s, most of which are powered by PACCAR MX engines. But the latest member of the equipment family is getting perhaps the most attention. It's an MX-powered Model 579, the new truck from Peterbilt. Says Brad, "Peterbilt is always inno- vating, always pushing the envelope, like they've done with the Model 579." Brad cites Model 579 features such as its distinctive aerodynamic styling, a comfortable and productive driver envi- ronment, minimized operating noise and vibration, robust electrical system architecture and optimized powertrain configurations as some of the innova- tions Peterbilt has designed into its newest truck. "There's a clear benefit to being in a partnership with an innovator like Peterbilt," he says. Long history Pete Fundis founded the firm in the late 1940's and it remains one of the longest continu- ously operating businesses in northern Nevada today. Ed Meyer joined the company in the early 1980s, devel- oped its presence locally and took ownership of the firm in 1988. By that time it was already a major player in ser- vicing the local warehous- ing industry with regular runs to the Port of