Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/591462
2 4 | BULLDOG | 2 0 1 5 V 3 out there and get my hands dirty." "Most CEOs think taking care of customers is their number one priority," Barber says. "But if you take care of your drivers, they'll take care of your customers. They will be your best salesmen." Reliable and durable What matters the most to the bottom line of Superior is keeping the trucks out of the shop and the wheels rolling. The majority of Superior's freight is over-dimensional, over- weight and out-of-gauge with gross vehicle weights ranging from 80,000 pounds to 240,000 pounds, and there's no room for downtime. Macks are reliable, and that was a big selling point, Barber says. Barber knew he wanted to work with Mack Trucks because of his loyalty to the brand, but Mack sales representative Bill Peek knew that they would fit his needs perfectly. "He hauls these gigantic loads and needs a really durable, powerful truck," says Peek, who handles Barber's account at Hughes Motors Inc., in Charleston, S.C. "Mack's high-horsepower, high-torque trucks were the workhorses he needed to haul these super heavy, supersize products." Superior Transportation was the first car- rier in the state to use the Titan. With 605 horsepower and 2060 lb-ft maximum engine torque, it was "the beast he needed," Peek says. Superior Transportation has a fully equipped shop to handle their own mainte- nance and mechanic work, but they still ben- efit from GuardDog ® Connect. These days, though, they worry a lot less about breakdowns. "He had (another brand) that he couldn't keep out of the shop," Peek says. "They were breaking down all over the place. He needed the reliability of Macks as well as the durabil- ity to accommodate his customers' needs and delivery schedules." Barber has also equipped the trucks with the Eaton VORAD Collision Warning System. "He's big into safety and the latest innova- tions," Peek says. "He's well-versed in Mack specs and is technically proficient enough to tell you exactly what the specs are. Spec'ing out a truck for him is easy." They're also easy to spot. "He keeps them in immaculate condition," Peek says. "Those are some of the cleanest trucks you'll see on the road." AT WORK N orfolk Southern selected Superior Transportation for a special project — transporting a 1927 replica of the "Best Friend of Charleston," the nation's first steam loco- motive built for passenger and freight ser- vice. For Norfolk Southern's 175th anniversary, they hired Superior to bring the train from Charleston to New York and set it up for display on Wall Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange. A few years later, Superior carried the train to Atlanta and installed it in Norfolk Southern's David R. Goode Building. Later, Superior again moved the locomotive, bringing it from Atlanta back to its home in Charleston. The moves were challenging, Barber recalls, partially because of the train's size, partially because it was high-value cargo — but also because it was a unique part of history. The project was so important that Barber accompanied his crew, sitting in the locomotive's engineer chair to release the engine's handbrake and guide the movers as they inched the 8,000-pound train through the glass-paneled lobby, hoisted over a lamppost, between two trees and onto a trailer. "It was priceless," Barber says of the train. "Although it was a replica, it had sen- timental value to thousands and couldn't be rebuilt. All eyes were on us." And as always, they delivered. Full steam ahead Pat Barber, president and CEO of Superior Transportation, sits in the Best Friend's engineer's chair as his crew prepares to roll the locomotive onto a turntable in the Goode building lobby. Superior Transportation technician Merrick Diggers talks with Safety Director Drew Lemacks as a Mack Pinnacle undergoes routine maintenance. photo by Tommy Burkhalter