First Class

Winter 2014

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/445385

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 23

"You Matter!" Greg Hodgen is president of Groendyke, a 1,000-power-unit tank hauler head- quartered in Enid, Okla. With a fleet that size, the retention of quality drivers is high on Hodgen's list of priorities. But it's not just their availability that concerns Hodgen. He wants to know how his drivers perceive themselves. "A big part of our message to our driv- ers is how important they are, and I don't mean just as revenue generators," says Hodgen. "I mean as professionals, and how proud they should be of the work they do. It's essential to everyday living in the United States. I know this sounds corny, but these are people who sometimes just need to be told how much they matter to their communities, to the United States and its economy. They need to hear that." Hodgen clearly holds the driver in high esteem, and he calls the Groendyke company drivers "the best in the coun- try." And in the tank business, partic- ularly the fuel, asphalt, acids, chemical and liquid hazardous materials in which Groendyke engages, an even greater pre- mium is placed on retaining drivers who have the necessary advanced skill set. It's, in part, a big reason that Peterbilt Model 579s made their debut in the Groendyke fleet last spring. "It's not about recruiting for us — it's retention," says Hodgen. "You look at the driver we employ today. You lose that skill level, that experience level, and it's costly. So we are really interested in doing all the things we can do to make sure that driver has a satisfying work life. "As we looked more closely at it, we saw that Peterbilt trucks could play a major part in helping us achieve maximum retention." Beside helping him retain drivers, Hodgen is learning that Peterbilts also offer lower operating costs and higher profit- ability. And he's finding some interesting parallels in the Groendyke and Peterbilt story lines that link the companies as well. Recent milestones Like Peterbilt, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, Groendyke recently achieved the same milestone. Whereas Al Peterman started Peterbilt to build the trucks he designed for his logging operations, Harold Groendyke built his own tank trailers for his fledgling kerosene hauling operations. New Peterbilts help Groendyke deliver message to drivers 6 l FIRST CLASS GROENDYKE

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of First Class - Winter 2014