Those 'reality' TV shows about grimy jobs should include hardworking Peterbilt trucks too.
Peterbilt fleet improves efficiencies at Russell Reid, Mr. John
Many companies face logistical challenges. It’s just that Russell Reid and Mr. John, sister companies in the waste removal and portable toilet businesses in Keasbey, N.J., seem to face and overcome more of them than a typical trucking or service company. Regular routes, for example, are basically non-existent in many aspects of the businesses, since customer demands can vary greatly on a daily basis. Then consider the fact that the companies function in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, which may be good for marketing, but bad if you need to get from Point A to Point B efficiently through traffic jams. And top that off with concerns such as driver retention and equipment durability that would be faced by anyone operating a 150-truck company-owned fleet.
But Mitch Weiner, the CEO of Mr. John and Russell Reid, has found at least one means of making his life less complicated — he runs a nearly all-Peterbilt fleet. “The tasks we per form are actually very simple,” says Weiner. “The challenge for us is organizing and scheduling since it’s a very dynamic environment. Plus we do a lot of work in the five boroughs of New York, so we have to be very cognizant of the ebb and flow of traffic. Running the most durable truck we could find gives us one less thing to be concerned about.”
Simple origins
No doubt about it, the Russell Reid and Mr. John businesses can be difficult to get your arms around, since their equipment needs vary from job to job. In fact, the companies run six different Peterbilt models, ranging from over-the-road traditional conventionals to Peterbilt’s newest medium-duty vehicle, the Model 325.
But for a company with such a diverse service agenda, its origins were quite simple. Morton Weiner, the father of Mitch and Gary, who also plays a key role in company administration, started the company in 1964 with a couple of portable wooden toilets that he peddled to construction companies for work-site usage. The company grew, both organically and through acquisition, and made its biggest acquisition in 1981 when Morton Weiner brokered the deal that brought Russell Reid under the Mr. John banner.
As the Weiner sons and longtime colleague David Dam moved into management roles, they brought a greater growth initiative than the company’s founder may have ever envisioned. Upon Morton Weiner’s death in 1989, revenues stood at about $6 million. Today, they surpass $40 million.
But if the size of the company has changed, the core service hasn’t. Mr. John owns 9000 single stall temporary restrooms, which it delivers to construction sites, events or anywhere a temporary restroom provides a solution. The company relies on about 60 Peterbilt medium-duty trucks to either pick up and deliver the units, or service them if they’ll be on site longer term. Pickup and delivery requires a specialized flatbed on a straight-truck chassis, while servicing them requires a specialized tank that separately stores fresh water, a pre-mixed deodorant solution and a waste compartment that can be filled by the vacuum apparatus that’s mounted to the frame rails.
Trucks in these operations include Peterbilt’s Model 325, Model 340 and Model 335, the latest of which are spec'd with PACCAR PX-6 and PX-8 engines. “It’s stop and go all day long,” says Weiner. “On a construction job, for example, those last 150 feet are going to be over the curb, across the blue stone and through the dirt. The door will get slammed 40 to 60 times a day. Then they have to get back on the highway and go 65 miles per hour. “But they’ll last. We’ll get 10 to 12 years out of them. That’s one of the main reasons we own them.”
Model diversity
The Russell Reid side of the business, which focuses on septic tank servicing, rolloff dumpsters, non-hazardous waste removal and municipal sewage jetting, puts its Peterbilts through a whole different set of paces. Vacuum and tank units run heavy-duty here and favor the Peterbilt vocational line, now led by the Peterbilt Model 367, and traditional conventionals, now led by the Peterbilt Model 389. Whatever the variety of trucks, any model of Peterbilt brings an important quality. “1999 was when I had my epiphany and committed to Peterbilt,” says Mitch Weiner. “I decided I had to move up in the game in order to attract and retain better people. That’s the single biggest challenge we face. So we decided to stop fooling around and get the best of the best.”
Peterbilt’s Model 325, a Class 5 vehicle that does not require a CDL to operate, figures to broaden the pool of qualified drivers for Weiner. And the entire Peterbilt lineup helps Weiner build the Russell Reid and Mr. John brands.
“Our customers don’t meet me or come to our office,” Weiner says. “All they ever see is the truck bearing the company name and the guy who climbs out of it. “We’re trying very hard to build a brand in the space in which we work. Our reality is that we have some competition that is generally of equal competence. Our strength is in building a recognizable brand, and our equipment helps us do so.”
www.peterbilt.com
David Giroux
Director, Marketing Communications
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