Richard and Dixie Cavender are a husband and wife transportation team who know and appreciate the value of a real opportunity. Their journey led them to ES’s Path to Ownership (PTO), resulting in a Much Better Alternative (MBA) to truck finance. Read on to see how they overcame a potentially catastrophic health scare, and resulting financial hardship to become true owners and a Success in Trucking.
Dixie, how did you and Richard get started in transportation? We met while working in a mobile home factory thirty years ago. The company kept going in and out of business over the years. We got tired of all the uncertainty and turmoil and began looking around for a better way to make a living. We found a lot of truck driving opportunities in the newspaper and decided that’s where we should be. We left the mobile home factory in 1990 and went to truck driving school.
Tell us about how you arrived at Forward Air as your carrier? After graduating from school, we drove for a couple of different companies, but always keeping our eyes open for better opportunities. Finally, we landed a steady job hauling carpet from Dalton, Georgia to Los Angeles. We did that for ten years. Our next career move was driving for one of the large overnight carriers for the next twelve years.
We had seen Forward Air trucks on the highway over the years and even knew people who drove for them. Looking for a better opportunity, we contacted the company back in 2016 to see what they had to offer. We liked what we heard right away. They’re a great company to work with even though we took a slight detour away from Forward Air due to a serious health problem involving Richard. But as you’ll see, we found our way back to them through ES a short time later.
Tell us about Richard’s health scare and your resulting financial hardship? We hadn’t been at Forward Air very long, when Richard suffered a heart attack. Because of this, we couldn’t drive or operate our business and wound up almost losing everything, including the truck we were leasing at the time. Richard had quadruple bypass surgery. Shortly after surgery he began feeling much better. It wasn’t long before we were ready to go back to work. We were left without a truck, wondering what our next step would be.
What was the next step in your career following Richard’s illness? We went to work driving for a contractor at an overnight carrier again and knew immediately it wasn’t the right move for us. We discussed it, did some research, and decided to call ES. The recruiter was friendly and knowledgeable. We were so excited to learn that Forward Air was one of the carriers they support. It was great being back in the saddle with Forward Air! But that’s not all we learned.
We were also told about ES’s PTO. We learned that we could drive as a contractor for ES with Forward Air and qualify to become owners. Here’s how it works: over a certain length of time (usually about ninety days), ES would evaluate our aptitude, attitude and earning potential. If we meet their criteria at the end of the evaluation period, we would then continue our Path To Ownership by choosing our truck and submitting our paperwork to Expediter Equipment Finance.
Tell us about your Path to Ownership? After driving a few months, we got the call from ES saying that our numbers looked good. They asked if we were ready to continue our Path to Ownership. Our answer was a resounding YES!
We were soon in touch with Danny Vernon, Expediter Truck Sales Manager. He helped us source a grey 2019 Volvo 860 from General Truck Sales, using ES’s fleet pricing. The truck has a Thermoking APU (which helps us save on fuel), and a really nice sleeper. The next step was to submit our paperwork to Expediter Equipment Finance. It wasn’t long before we were approved. The whole process was easy and straight forward.
I can honestly say that I thought our career path was over after Richard’s heart attack and the financial trouble we had as a result of his illness. ES’s Path to Ownership restored our faith in ourselves and in others. It’s truly a great feeling to be true truck owners. If there’s anyone out there who works hard, but has had a tough break in your life or career, I encourage you to contact ES to explore the opportunities they offer. With ES, you Never Stand Alone!
What are your plans for the future, now that you’re owners? We’ve been in our truck for about three weeks now. We’re already able to see how being owners is positively effecting our bottom-line. Our goal is to maximize the earning potential of our new truck and pay off our home, as well as the truck as quickly as possible. We’re confident that with ES’s support we can achieve all of the goals we’ve set out to do.
A Woman in Transportation’s Perspective
What are your thoughts about ES’s 150 Woman-Owned Business Challenge? I think it’s wonderful! ES is definitely ahead of the curve with the 150 Woman-Owned Business initiative. Women are a growing portion of the trucking industry. It makes sense that ES would recognize this fact and help provide opportunities for women looking to start their own business and they’ve made great progress by helping create over 60 woman-owned businesses so far this year. (Read more about the WIT/ES 150 women-owned business initiative here)
How has the industry changed since you started in 1990? It has changed a lot since I started. In 1990, there weren’t a lot of options or amenities for women at truck stops. It was hard to find showers, and even then it was difficult to utilize the facilities. Today, more and more truck stops cater to women because there are more women truckers than ever before and that number is growing.
How do you and Richard balance your workloads? Transportation is truly a team effort. There is just too much going on to try and attempt this business alone. We both help each other whenever or wherever it’s needed. For instance, I’m a great backer and Richard is my man on the ground to help me get the job done. We always have each other’s back and we love it!
Diane Beaver and Marvin Lang started their transportation career with the dream of becoming expediters, owning their own truck and building a business and a legacy for their family. They were able to achieve their goals through ES’s PTO (Path to Ownership), and getting a Much Better Alternative (MBA) to truck finance. Read more to see how their path made them a Success In Trucking.
Diane, how did you and Marvin get started in transportation? I drove a truck years ago with my ex-husband, but wound up getting out of the business for various reasons. Most recently, Marvin and I were drivers for Uber and Lyft. We got so tired of the abuse from so many of the passengers that we decided we needed something different and began looking at trucking and transportation; expediting specifically.
What brought you to expediting and ultimately to FedEx as your carrier? After getting our CDL’s in 2016, we started out driving for a couple of large trucking companies and almost went broke at one. The other gave us no support after my mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. We knew then and there that we needed to make a change. From the beginning, we wanted to get into expediting, but we were mistakenly told by other people in the industry that we had to get at least a year’s worth of experience under our belt before we could go to FedEx, which ultimately was our goal.
The decision to break free from where we were working at the time was difficult because we had a guarantee of so much money a week. But we knew that to be happy, to be expediters and to someday be owners, we had to leave that company and find a way to make our dreams come true.
A friend who was in expediting told us about ES and how they help people get into the business and become owners through their Path to Ownership (PTO) and MBA (Much Better Alternative) to truck finance programs. The opportunity sounded good, so we gave them a call. The first person I spoke with was ES Recruiter, Kim Smith. We told her about our desire to get into the expediting field. She told us about a number of options and carriers open to us. We knew that FedEx was where we wanted to be and that’s who we chose. To work for FedEx has been a goal of ours since starting in the business. They are a great company and we are extremely pleased to be signed on to them as a White Glove team.
Tell us about taking the Path to Ownership (PTO)? Right away, we told Kim about our desire to become owners — that was the first week in April of this year. She gave us more details about their PTO and MBA. It was unlike anything we had ever heard before in the industry. Kim explained that we could drive as contract drivers using one of ES’s trucks, while being signed on with FedEx as our carrier. Over a short period of time, ES would assess our attitude, aptitude and earning potential, even taking our work history into account when it came to getting financed. We were floored by the opportunity.
We asked a lot of questions and the ES team answered all of them, explaining how the program worked. I even requested information from our Fleet Manager (Patrick Bertrand), about the kind of numbers we would need to generate in order to complete the Path to Ownership. Right away, he shared a spreadsheet outlining the amount of income we would need to generate. It was very useful in helping us prepare, giving us a goal to work towards.
In just over ninety days after hitting the road, we got the call from ES, saying that our numbers were good and asking if we were ready to complete our Path to Ownership. Of course, we said yes! We began the process of finding a truck. ES and Danny Vernon at Expediter Truck Sales was helpful in making sure that whatever truck we got was spec’d correctly. We found just the right one, a 2014 Cascadia with a 100-inch sleeper and a Carrier APU with a shoreline. We then submitted our paperwork to Expediter Equipment Finance. The process was easy and straight-forward and it wasn’t long before we were approved.
How has being an owner effected how you earn and operate? We’re still pretty new to being owners, as we’ve been in our truck a few weeks, but we’re already seeing a positive bump in our bottom line. As far as how we operate, I can state categorically that ES has great support. Our Service Coordinator and the entire ES team have been there for us whenever we have questions or if we need anything so we Never Stand Alone. The fuel card has also been a great tool, helping us save money with every fill up. It’s tremendous!
What are the future plans for your business? Without a doubt, our plans include building a fleet. We feel very strongly that our business is an investment in the future of our family. We have a daughter who wants to help build and manage our business, and our son will soon be getting his CDL. He will be in the position to learn the business from the bottom up. We hope to start taking the step as fleet owners within the next year or so. It’s very exciting to think about the opportunities we can pass on.
A Woman in Transportation’s Perspective
What has it been like for you as a woman in transportation?Early on it was difficult. There was one instance in particular that stands out: My very first load required me backing a trailer into a very tight and crowded dock. I was nervous and apprehensive about doing it right and even making the right impression in front of all the men there that were starting to give me a hard time. I started to get a little rattled. One older gentleman saw what was going on and got out of his truck and came up to me and said, “Look, you can let these guys rattle you and they win, or you can ignore them, do what you know how to do and back this trailer in the right way. He was there with me every step of the way and I was successful in backing that trailer. This whole experience has been a metaphor for my entire career. As a woman, I do what I know how to do in this business and I’m a Success In Trucking!
Troy Hawkins grew up in a transportation family and always knew that his destiny would somehow lead to a life on the road. But achieving this goal would take the right opportunity and the right path to achieve Success in Trucking. Read more to see how he came to own his own truck after taking ES’s Path to Ownership (PTO) to get his MBA (Much Better Alternative) to truck finance.
Why did you enter the transportation field?
I’ve been interested in trucking all of my life. My dad was a truck driver and I rode with him when I was a child of three or four years old. I’ve always enjoyed it and knew that some day I would get into the business one way or another. In 1991, I went to school and got my CDL and even drove a truck for a few years. I left the business after a short time to pursue my education and to get a Masters in Business Administration, knowing the knowledge I gained would some day help me as an entrepreneur and business owner.
What brought you to Forward Air as your Carrier?
Over the past several years, I’ve been a Human Resources Director for a company and recently I started doing research for a way to get back on the road. I was looking for a way to start a business and become an owner without having a large outlay of cash. I looked at the used trucks on the market, as well some new ones, but I wasn’t really sure about how to get started. As it turns out, Forward Air has a terminal literally right up the street from where I live. I thought that was a good way to start, so I dropped by one day and talked to them. My recruiter gave me a lot of helpful information and it sounded like a great opportunity, so in January of this year I took the plunge and here I am. Forward Air is a great company and I really like hauling airport-to-airport freight. It was a good move for me and I’ve been a Success in Trucking ever since coming on board with them.
Tell us about taking the Path to Ownership?
My recruiter at Forward Air told me about a number of options to get into a truck and I chose ES and their PTO (Path to Ownership) because I could truly own a truck by taking this path. I started out by driving as a Contract Driver in a truck owned by ES in order to prove to them and to myself that I had the aptitude, attitude and work ethic to qualify and become an owner. The truly incredible thing is that the truck provided by ES was a brand new Freightliner Cascadia! ES even flew me up to Fort Wayne, Indiana to pick it up. Think about that — I started my career at Forward Air in a new truck. I knew right then I had made the right decision to go with Forward Air and ES. Things started off right from the very beginning!
I dove right in and hauled whatever Forward Air set up for me to carry. I was determined to make the best of the opportunity. It wasn’t long before I got a call from ES telling me that my numbers were good and asked if I was ready to continue the Path to Ownership and purchase my own truck. And boy was I ready! I got with Danny Vernon, Expediter Truck Sales Manager. He found me the truck I wanted: a brand new 2019 Freightliner Cascadia. Its great! I love everything about it. The truck also has a ThermoKing APU that helps me save on fuel, too. I then submitted my paperwork to Expediter Equipment Finance. The approval process was easy and straight forward, and I was approved quickly. And even though I earned an Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in college, I got another MBA — a Much Better Alternative to truck finance from ES. And I was pleasantly surprised at how ES took my work history into account when getting approved. There truly is no other company out there that invests in YOU like ES does.
After the purchasing process was completed, I dropped off the truck I had used as a Contract Driver at the ES offices in Southaven, Mississippi. I then picked up my new truck and hit the road. That was in September. Since then, I’ve been hauling loads and enjoying the fruits of truck ownership. The truck has been dependable and trouble free. Fuel economy is great, too. Add to this the savings from ES’s fuel card and it positively affects my bottom line.
I’d like to add that ES and their team have created a structure that helps you be successful. If you’re looking to get into the transportation business or move your career forward, ES is where you should be looking for opportunity because with ES you Never Stand Alone. They provided support when I needed it and as you see, it paid off in a very positive way for me, as well as my business. All you have to do is call ES to get the details of the PTO and MBA programs. I recommend it highly to anyone looking to get into transportation.
What are you plans for the future?
Now that I’ve had some time to experience what its like being an owner, I’d like to expand into fleet ownership sometime in the not-too-distant future. With ES’s support, I can see making this a reality. As for right now, I’m focusing on my business and paying my truck off as quickly as possible. I know that the harder and smarter I work, the more opportunity there will be down the road.
With the right opportunity, transportation can be a great way to start and grow a business. Just ask husband and wife expediting team Edwin and Shannon Weisinger, who helped their sons Josh and Dustin join their family business. Together they are all signed on with Forward Air as their carrier, and together they took ES’s Path to Ownership (PTO) and got their MBA (Much Better Alternative) to truck finance, to move their businesses forward by purchasing a couple of Volvo trucks through Expediter Truck Sales. Read on to see how they made this family affair a Success in Trucking.
ES Recruiter David Withers with Josh & Dustin Weisinger
Edwin, how did you get started in Transportation?
Since I was twelve-years old, I used to sneak out with my mom & dad’s car. I fell in love with driving at a young age. I knew even then that I was destined for a career in transportation. After high school, I joined the US Air Force and retired after a twenty-year career. I began to think about what I wanted to do and naturally came back to my love of driving. I was so serious about a career in trucking that I waited until winter to go to truck driving school so I could be trained to drive on ice and snow. That was in 2014 and I’ve been driving ever since.
I drove for a couple of different companies after graduating from school. I was a successful driver, but there were issues and it just wasn’t a good fit. I knew there had to be something better on the horizon — and as it turned out, I was right!
Tell us how you found Forward Air and ES’s PTO and MBA? Recently Shannon had retired from her trucking position at another company and began driving with me. She and I began talking about how we wanted a Volvo truck. I had trained on a Volvo, she had driven one in the past and we both love Volvo trucks. Since the company we were with at the time didn’t offer a Volvo, we decided that our next career move must include the opportunity of owning a Volvo truck.
We began talking to other companies that offered Volvos and heard about Forward Air. We spoke with them and they told us about ES and their Path to Ownership and Much Better Alternative to truck finance — and that we could buy any truck we wanted through their program as long as it met certain specifications. That sounded great and we contacted ES because we heard of no other opportunity like it in the industry. We spoke with David Withers (Director of Recruiting at ES) who explained the PTO and MBA program to us. We operated in the PTO program for several months and proved ourselves, proved the motor carrier and the equipment. During this transition time of proving everything, we worked daily with Bobby Gardner (ES Service Coordinator) to make sure we were on the right track. When ready, he put us in touch with Danny Vernon, Expediter Truck Sales Manager. Danny found us just the right Volvo — but there was a catch. Shannon and I have two sons (Dustin and Josh), who are also drivers signed on with Forward Air and they were also looking to purchase a Volvo. Danny sourced both Volvos and we knew it was a great fit. We have to give kudos to Forward Air for giving us the information we needed to choose ES as our source for owning a Volvo truck. They are a great carrier and we have been a success in trucking ever since signing on with them through ES.
Tell us about you Path to Ownership? Once we chose a truck through Expediter Truck Sales, we submitted our paperwork to Expediter Equipment Finance. We soon got the call from ES telling us that we were approved. It was actually quite easy. ES took our work history, attitude and aptitude into account when it came to getting financed. We were thrilled that finally we had the Volvo truck(s) we had always wanted: two new 2018 Volvo 860’s. Our sons made the trip to ES’s headquarters in Southaven, Mississippi, to pick them up and the rest, as they say is history!
The trucks are fantastic! We get the best of all worlds — a great ride, great fuel economy and support from ES, so we Never Stand Alone.
What are your plans for the future?
With the numbers we’re running, we plan on paying off the truck early. Our sons are doing the same thing. Being true truck owners brings a whole new perspective to your business. Without a doubt, taking the Path to Ownership was a very good move for our family and we are making the most of this opportunity.
A Woman in Transportation’s Perspective
What’s your experience being a woman in transportation?
I’ve been a driver for twenty-two years, this December I will be starting on my twenty third year. I’m proud to say that during my career, I’ve run 4.5 million miles without an accident. When I first began in the business it was very difficult. There weren’t showers for women in the truck stops. In order to take a shower, you had to have the janitor stand in the doorway to keep all of the men out. Even then you only had about ten minutes to finish up before the guys started banging on the door to get you out of there. That’s just one example. But over the years there have been improvements for women (as well as men) like earning potential, better equipment, driver training and some regulations.
There was the problem of perception when it came to women in transportation. As you know, back then trucking was considered a man’s business and there was a great deal of prejudice towards women drivers. Over the years there has been a lot of good changes to make the industry more equitable and accessible for women. Companies are much more open minded today when it comes to women drivers and studies have shown that women are as good as anybody. So attitudes about women in the industry have slowly changed to allow more opportunity. That’s why I think ES’s 150 Women-Owned Business Challenge (Read more about the WIT/ES 150 women-owned business initiative here) is so important. It helps open the doors to more opportunity for women to own their own business and to be successful. Because of the progress women have made, trucking isn’t considered as much of a man’s business as it is thought of as just a business for anyone who wants to access opportunities.
As a team, how do you and Edwin balance your workload? We run our truck as much as we absolutely are allowed. That means we sometimes shower every other day and at times, due to freight loads, we shower during our thirty minute breaks. Ed is the nighttime driver and I drive during the day. I deal with dispatch, all of our books and paperwork, shippers, consignees, etc. Because we’re signed on with Forward Air, most of our loads are drop and hook. Since I drive the day shift, I have his duties laid out ready to go when he takes over. Our family runs on a dedicated route and we make an effort to see our family as much as possible. We use technology (tablets, cell phones) to help communicate with each other. At the end of the day, we all work as a team and we’re all onboard when it comes to our business and our family.
What advice would you give to women who are looking at getting into transportation as a career?
I would tell women to never stop dreaming, and never stop doing what you want to do. Before you start doing the business, research it to find out about how it works. Learn as much as you can about the business. Find out about the truck and make the decision if you’re capable of handling it. And women should contact ES for more information and support.
I trained my kids to be truck drivers, and I trained my husband. If a woman has a husband or partner who is interested in the business, they should both look into it to see if its something they truly want to do together. Transportation can be a great career and a good way to earn a very good living if you’re dedicated and work hard.
Jeff Tacker, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President with Expediter Services
There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding ES’s 150 Women-Owned Business Challenge. Since January of this year, the initiative has helped women start 50 new, small businesses and the trend is building to meet the the 150 goal in the very near future. Spotlight News sits down with Jeff Tacker, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President with Expediter Services to get the latest news and to learn even more about the success of the challenge.
How can I qualify for your truck ownership programs and how does your financing work?
First of all, I want you to know that a major focus of our company and the 150 Business Challenge collaboration with the Women In Trucking Association is to provide people the opportunity to enter the trucking industry and to find success by building their own small businesses. Specifically, when we are talking about the 150 Business Challenge, it has been designed primarily to create ownership opportunities for women seeking to become owner-operators. As we launched this specific program, the majority of the interest we have seen has come from professional drivers who already hold a CDL.
When looking at all the opportunities that ES offers, the answer as to how can I qualify for truck ownership programs covers a lot of territory. ES has a Path To Ownership program that is set up to work with professional drivers in a number of ways. We provide opportunities that allow professional drivers to make sure that you like the motor carrier, and that you like us. We also want you to be comfortable with the equipment type, as we offer options with either tractors or straight trucks with DOT-approved sleepers for OTR applications. Our approach allows the participants in the 150 Woman-Owned Business Challenge to get to know the motor carriers in our network and to experience the range of discounts, services and support ES provides the members of our community. ES has programs to give you the opportunity to gain first hand experience while working toward truck ownership. We allow you to try it before you buy it. For professional drivers looking to move into truck ownership, ES provides the chance to get a feel for the lifestyle of being out on the road and working with a leading carrier. On the flip side, this approach allows ES the opportunity to get a sense of your attitude, aptitude and work ethic – all of which serve as significant factors in our decision-making process for financing small businesses and offering the best path to truck ownership.
When it comes to financing, we are a very unique company. We are a relationship lender, and we make our decisions based on someone’s attitude, their aptitude and their work ethic, in addition to their work history with specific motor carriers. We’re not concerned with a credit score. We are concerned with the person who is behind the credit score.
Let’s face it, at times bad things can happen to good people and sometimes their circumstances are out of their control. When their credit rating isn’t optimal, it limits their choices when it comes to financing a truck and they often turn to a lease-purchase agreement seeking pseudo-truck ownership. We also work with a lot of people whose first try at truck ownership was through a lease-purchase or similar type offering. We know that a lease-purchase can put people in a position with an extremely high hill to climb and with a great deal of weight on their back. Most times, being in a lease-purchase means that people are placed in a position where they can never get over the crest of the mountain and find success in order to do better for themselves and their families.
We have found that you can get a really good window on how someone’s small business will succeed or not based on their work history and their work ethic. The simple fact is that good people like to work hard and be successful. But we all know that it rains on the just and the unjust. We live in a world where it seems like we are all just one or two phone calls away from something taking place that could put us in a position where we might not be able to obtain traditional financing.
Now, I want everyone to understand that, while we do use traditional financing instruments, we have chosen to be a relationship lender. For instance, our credit box is different. We don’t place weight on a credit score as a traditional lender does. We buy into the person and we find out who they really are.
The goal of our company has always been to help generate small businesses and service those small businesses. We are an equipment and financial services provider. What we have done is to align ourselves with independent contract drivers, owner-operators and fleet owners. With ES, you will Never Stand Alone!
We have set our program up to be a win-win-win: To be a win for the independent contractor, to be a win for the motor carrier and to be a win for us. All of this in our view creates a big win for the whole industry. This is especially true for anyone who is in a segment, or a class that needs help overcoming obstacles and needs an opportunity to build a business – an opportunity that, in many cases, might not be available through traditional approaches. And that speaks, in part, to what we are doing through the 150 Business Challenge.
At the end of the day, a central goal of our company and the programs we offer is to help people and to service their needs. We want to bring that forth in everything that we do. Our success as a company is directly dependent on the success of the contractors and their small businesses within the ES Community. We have intentionally chosen to align ourselves with the small business owners in the ES Community in ways that will place them in the best position for success within the directions that they have chosen.
The doors of opportunity are always open at ES. If you want to start your own small business in the trucking industry, we can not only help you find the equipment and financing that you need to get started, but we will walk with you every step of the way and provide the kind of support you’ll need to achieve success.
To learn more about program qualifications and financing with ES, please click here.
What is the difference between the truck ownership programs at ES and the other truck ownership programs in the market, including typical lease-purchase programs?
Let me start by saying that the difference is as great as night and day between what people will experience with our programs that offer true truck ownership and the other programs available in the market today. This is particularly true when you compare our truck ownership programs to similar programs in the market. And while the lease-purchase has become familiar across the industry, there are now several other roads that you can take to truck ownership.
At ES, we are continually studying what’s taking place in the new and used truck markets, and we have been able to use our industry knowledge and our experience in building relationships with some of the leading equipment manufacturers in trucking. As a result, we are able to offer professional drivers innovative equipment ownership opportunities. These opportunities afford a lower overall operational cost when compared to other options available in the market today.
In the 150 Business Challenge initiative, you’ll have competitive, market-rate financing with a defined payment schedule over a specified term and you’ll own the truck. (Typically, the participants in the 150 Business Challenge are setting up their payment schedules mainly on a four-year or five-year term).
In a typical lease-purchase, your payments could be extended over an extremely long period of time at high rates and with fees that drive up the total cost of ownership. For those people who can keep up with the payment schedule and make any balloon payments that may exist at the end of the lease, they’ll end up with an older piece of equipment, typically with high miles, with higher repair costs and increased fuel consumption.
We will quite often have conversations with people who are taking a look at the programs ES offers and the other truck ownership programs that are available in today’s market. One of the key points we always stress during these discussions is the need to examine the total cost of ownership. As an owner-operator, you are not just buying or financing a truck. You are running a business, and you have to look at the total cost of what it will take to own the key operational element of your trucking business. Of course, that’s your truck, and that brings us back to the total cost of ownership. One of the things we stress with professional drivers examining our programs at ES is that it’s important to keep in mind that the total cost of ownership goes well beyond the amount of your weekly truck payment. The total cost of ownership involves looking at what it will cost you over the life of the loan. Will you have increased payment costs and higher fees over the life of the loan? How long is the term? Is it an extended period of time? Over the life of the loan, will you see a decrease in the miles per gallon with your truck? Have you budgeted for increased repair and maintenance costs that come with older higher-mileage equipment?
At ES, we have built our ownership programs, our support systems and vendor network along with our ES community with a focus on the total cost of ownership – always working to put the participants in a position where they can best leverage the investment in the truck while maximizing the profitability for their small business.
In addition to the advantages ES offers with financing and equipment, the 150 Business Challenge (and all our ownership programs) offers the kind of business and operational support, as well as network discounts, that are unique to the trucking industry. We are placing the participants with some of the best carriers. We spend time with those carriers to make sure that their operations are set up to provide the best opportunity to achieve consistent profitability in running their businesses. ES is not a motor carrier. The participants in our programs run under the authority of the individual motor carriers within the ES Community. For the 150 Business Challenge, we are proud to be working with Forward Air and Panther Premium Logistics, a Service of Arc Best. As members of our community work with the carriers on an operational level, we are able to support those contractors with tools, benefits and advantages. Each member has access to the discounts in our fuel network, to insurance programs and to maintenance resources as well as to a range of business support and back-office functions.
Here’s one of the most important points you should know about the efforts of ES to create ownership opportunities for professional drivers. We are focused on the success of the participants in the program. We can’t be successful unless you are successful. The bottom line is that we focus on your bottom line.
To learn more about the positive difference you can experience with the truck ownership programs available through ES, please click here.
What types of equipment does ES have available? Can I trade my old truck for a new truck?
At ES, we work with Class 8 tractors and straight trucks. The equipment is state-of-the-art, and we work with the leading brand names in the industry. We have established a strong working relationship with several of the leading truck dealers in the country, providing us with a consistent pipeline of equipment available for those joining our community. All the equipment available in our truck ownership programs, including the 150 Business Challenge, features some of the most competitive pricing found in the market today.
We do have a process in place to work with trade trucks through the dealer network in our ES Community. When it comes to trading trucks, there are a number of factors involved that must be considered. We will be glad to discuss those with you when you call us.
For the 150 Business Challenge, as well as the other ownership programs available through ES, we are able to offer new Class 8 tractors featuring automatic transmissions and APUs. We also have straight trucks. ES is able to offer individuals their choice between brand-new tractors or late-model, low-mileage straight trucks.
Our expediter-specific equipment offers access to factory and custom sleepers, including those designed to specialize in dry-freight or refrigerated loads. As I mentioned earlier, the trucks available from the ES Network are backed with a maintenance support program.
Part of the ongoing work at the ES Network is our dedication to testing equipment. We are continually evaluating the specifications of the trucks. By looking at what’s available and what’s possible from an equipment standpoint, we can offer you options that best fit the segment of the industry where you choose to operate.
And don’t forget, The 150 Woman-Owned Business Challenge is just one of many opportunities ES offers. We can help everyone, whether you’re a driver wanting to become an owner, an owner wanting to start a fleet or a fleet owner looking to grow your fleet.
To learn more about the equipment options available through ES, please click here.
Dixie, how did you and Richard get started in transportation? We met while working in a mobile home factory thirty years ago. The company kept going in and out of business over the years. We got tired of all the uncertainty and turmoil and began looking around for a better way to make a living. We found a lot of truck driving opportunities in the newspaper and decided that’s where we should be. We left the mobile home factory in 1990 and went to truck driving school.
