Truck Topics
It'a Win - Win Situation: Con-Way NOW's Open House
Con-Way NOW presented an expediting Open House this past Thursday, July 22, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the company's hometown, Ann Arbor, MI. The city was experiencing 91-degree temperatures along with oppressive humidity, so the cool of the banquet room was a welcome respite from the heat.
The late afternoon event was filled with expediting information for both the prospective expediter and the current owner-operator alike. Open House organizers Darlene Krohn, Recruiting Supervisor and Lori Blaney, HR and Business Development, scheduled an itinerary that covered many aspects of the business, with experts from different areas of expediting presenting the topics.
The Open House kicked off around 4 PM with a Con-Way NOW video that presented the opportunities available to the Professional Business Owner (PBO) with Con-Way NOW. This professionally-produced film also gave a basic overview of the owner-operator structure in expediting and included interviews with Con-Way NOW PBO's.
After Darlene Krohn welcomed the attendees, Don Fegtly, Vice President of Sales of Con-Way NOW led off the speakers with his presentation - "The Trends of the Expediting Industry".
Don is a veteran of the transportation industry and he spoke about how expediting continues to evolve to meet its customers' needs. He informed the group that with the resurgence of the economy over the last two years, Con-Way NOW has experienced 40% growth over the
previous year. He says that the company is expanding its customer base to include new industries that haven't used expediting on a regular basis.
As part of Don's Con-Way NOW overview, he mentioned that automotive freight currently accounts for only 8 percent of Con-Way NOW's business. The company's fleet is now at 420 units.
"How to be Successful as a Fleet Owner" was the title of the next speaker's presentation - Joe Manley, Operations Manager of D.J. Trucking. Joe is part of a family trucking operation founded by his father and their business has grown to include a fleet of 25 trucks, many leased to Con-Way NOW.
An energetic and enthusiastic speaker, Joe told the assembled group that the core motivation for his family's development of an expediting fleet was the desire to replicate the success they discovered during their time as drivers.
Joe also listed the ways his company has found to retain drivers - be fair, honest and pay them well.
Bob Sheaves, Detroit - Attendee
(The event was) "Extremely well-presented, well-organized and concise. It was definitely worth the effort to attend."
The next presenter to take the floor was John LeLonde of Fyda Freightliner of Columbus. John is an expert in the setup and spec'ing of the expediting truck and the crowd listened intently to John detail some of the in's and out's of truck buying
.
John gave a realistic appraisal of what expediters need from a truck and he listed some of the common mistakes that buyers make when purchasing and financing a new truck. He stressed that buyers need to restrain their impulse to sometimes buy more truck than they require because, chances are, that is not the last truck they will buy.
John also touched on perhaps the dominant trend in expediting straight truck buying - Class 8 platforms with stretched frames. He told of how he now takes many questions about that truck type; in fact, he brought an example of that truck with him to the event - a 2004 Freightliner Columbia Class 8 platform with twin screws.
Following a short break, Rob Cygan of Daimler Chrysler (Chicago-area) presented "How to secure truck financing". Rob informed the audience of some of the difficulties in obtaining financing for those without a solid credit background and he gave details on what the lenders are looking for from the new truck purchaser.
Richard S. - Attendee
"It was a good presentation, it's encouraged me to get into expediting - possibly with Con-Way NOW."
Rob's presentation was the end of the "formal" part of the Open House and after some Michelle Potter and Don Fegtly answered some questions about Con-Way NOW, it was time for the giveaways from the various sponsors.
After this, the crowd broke into smaller groups and got together with the Con-Way NOW recruiters for informal question and answer sessions.
The attendees also availed themselves of the refreshments prepared for them, including both "dry" and "wet" Buffalo wings along with other tasty snack items.
Darlene Krohn said of the Open House, "At Con-Way NOW, our owner-operators are an important part of our corporate family and a key ingredient to our company's success."
"At this Open House, we tried to present information about our company and its opportunities as well as a general overview of the emergency freight business. We were extremely gratified by the response and the great attendance" (around 25 guests).
Michelle Potter, Con-Way NOW VP of Operations:
"We were extremely pleased with the turnout! It was very exciting to see so many people show up. We had all of the right vendors and speakers to support the questions from the attendees."
Pleasant surroundings, great speakers and a lot of expediting info! It was very satisfactory inaugural Open House for Con-Way NOW and the principals behind the function were heard discussing ways to make the next Open House even better.
Participants in the Open House include Expediters Online.com, Fyda Freightliner of Columbus, D.J. Trucking, Big Rig Owner and PPG Inc.
