Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/52908
Fleet Insider Profile Piece of a puzzle Paramount Freight Systems jumps into the small carrier scene in award-winning fashion by JAMES JAILLET It's pretty simple, really. You will never truly succeed if you never try. We understand that there is hesitation when changing your career. Why not pursue your best option? John Christner Trucking can make your dream a reality! A trucking company with no trucks is an apt descrip- tion of the former inter- mediary, now nearly completely independent-contractor Para- mount Freight Systems. Its situation hasn't held it back, though, and the all-owner- operator model has allowed it to make bids and acquire new cus- tomers, says company director Trent Dye, who's been develop- ing the small carrier since its 2008 start. Its structure also hasn't $.90$.02 (Loaded or Empty Miles) Saves Operators $10 - $12K of Out-of Pocket Expenses www.johnchristner.com 866-782-5414 Circle 366 on Reader Service Card or visit truckersnews.hotims.com 68 | TRUCKERS NEWS | FEBRUARY 2012 stopped the firm from meeting driver needs and expectations — the Truckload Carriers Associa- tion named Paramount the Best Fleet to Drive For in the owner- operator category. R+L Carriers spawned Para- mount as a means to run termi- nal to terminal, Dye says, but the upstart grew, started looking for teams and eventually "just splin- tered off and started finding our own customers," he says. "There was a niche for us with some other customers and with their needs," Dye says, referring to full truckload needs rather than R+L's less-than-truckload freight. Paramount has 90 tractors leased to it and more than 130 operators, 38 of which run team. All of its drivers are double hazmat certified and the carrier pulls many hazmat loads, Dye says. The carrier hauls mostly dry freight and an occasional load of refrigerated goods in the U.S. and into Ontario and Quebec in Canada. "We started small," Dye says. "We had a small office in Bloomington, Ohio, where R+L is based, and we started running ads and billboards for owner- operators. Now we've got over 20 office employees and over 130 drivers." Dye says the company's owner-