Following the close of Overdrive's Small Fleet Championship's initial entry period last month, we've continued gathering information relevant to the dozens of competitors in this year's program, sponsored again for 2024 by the National Association of Small Trucking Companies. At NASTC's annual conference November 7-9 in Nashville, Tennessee, we'll recognize two finalists each in two separate competitive divisions -- companies with 3-10 trucks and those with 11-30 trucks. Today, we're announcing semi-finalists in each category.
Over the course of this month, we'll be featuring stories about all of them ahead of announcement of the final four who will be attending the awards ceremony in Nashville. Keep tuned for those features highlighting their successes and challenges overcome, starting in the coming days. And ...
Without further ado, competing in the 3-10-trucks category:
Dana Gardner Trucking, Kentwood, Louisiana
Louisiana-headquartered chemical tank hauler Dana Gardner's now-five-truck operation represents a case study in turning lemons into lemonade. He's bought and driven some real clunker trucks -- yet still managed to make money with them. He found a fellow rising star in a rep at a large brokerage with whom he built a profitable partnership, turning an otherwise crushing pandemic into a fountain of high-dollar hazmat freight that's helped sustain him to this day. He adjusted in various ways to control costs as rates fell through 2023.
Hell Bent Xpress, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Like Dana Gardner, Hell Bent Xpress owner Jamie Hagen, running the company with his wife, Hillary, was a one-truck owner-operator as of 2020. By the end of 2023, his business was at eight trucks, and he's continued to add units this year to what is a highly fuel-efficient operation. Hagen's social media followers know well that fuel is a four-letter word for him. He personally averages 10 mpg, he said, and seeks to impart just how he does that with the wider trucking world. Hagen noted the current rate environment has made the personal nature of customer service even more critical. "We have focused on maintaining our relationship with customers and direct shippers, where we have more control over freight rates," he said. It's working. Though Hagen's competing in this category given Hell Bent's size as the year turned, he's continued to add trucks this year to a total of 11 under his authority (and one other single truck leased to a carrier), he said in August.
High Road, Franklin, Tennessee
Now-six-truck High Road, LLC, owner Sharon Lee (right) launched the company in 2016 in music-industry capital Nashville with a distinctly specialized mission. High Road supports concert tours across the United States and Canada, from one- or two-truck boutique tours to one recently completed for K-pop standout IU that required a grand total of 14 trucks in support, staffed by High Road operators and partner carriers. She's never been a CDL driver, and candidly, she said, "I don't love trucks. I hate trucks." Lee's equipment investment to date has been supported closely by those who do love them -- her drivers -- and they're what drive her. Meanwhile, what she most enjoys about the trucking niche High Road has carved out -- "taking care of the people," not just the drivers but all of any given tour team that's involved. "The truck part of the business is a means to an end. I love the company, I love the clients, I love the drivers."
Paul Rissler Transportation, California, Missouri
Four of Missouri-based Paul Rissler Transportation's six trucks are shown here at the Dutchland Refrigerated Transport dock in Pennsylvania, the small fleet's primary dedicated customer. Owners Paul and Michelle Rissler run all ELD-exempt gliders, which they maintain themselves through the Risslerbilt, LLC shop business they run with their sons, also performing custom work for clients there. Several years ago, the Risslers set out on a path to become a debt-free business, achieving the goal three years ago now. Profits have benefited, of course, and managing cash reserves effectively has allowed them to keep a reefer trailer pool in pristine condition, among other things.
Virk Express, Sacramento, California
There's an iron law at the foundation of seven-truck fleet Virk Express, based in Sacramento, California: Do the job, get the money. That goes both for operators at the company as well as the dedicated customers who swear by Virk's service and never saw the company waiver on price or quality throughout the pandemic. Owners Sunny Virk (right) and Sam Singh met as company drivers more than a decade ago, becoming fast friends. "We struggled with a few companies where either the schedule wasn’t right or it just wasn’t paying us right," said Singh. Finally, after one too many short checks, both had that ah hah moment that kicks off so many an owner-operator's transition to independence. The pair forged a bond and that iron rule that's bound them to this day. "Our rule is don't scam anyone out of money," said Virk. "Hell or high water, pay the drivers for what they’re doing." They joined forces as Virk Express in 2016 and have been steady as she goes on growth hauling produce mostly on dedicated lanes out West since.
And competing in the 11-30-truck division:
Brian Brewer Trucking, DeGraff, Ohio
“It’s almost like banker’s hours in a way” for the drivers employed at now-15-truck Brian Brewer Trucking out of DeGraff, Ohio, serving a diverse set of customers mostly locally around Dayton and Columbus metro areas. That’s according to small fleet owner Brewer, who cut his teeth trucking as an owner starting in 2000 with a friend he knew from local/regional auto-racing circuits, still more than a pastime for him with a custom-fab shop for racecars attached to the 10,000-square-foot BBT headquarters. Brewer's recent-history willingness and ability to add capacity in response to aggressive demand from direct customers has paid off as other companies have struggled. Since the beginning of 2023, the company's more than doubled in size to 15 trucks, including two straight dump trucks and a variety of daycab tractors. It’s such that Brewer’s been canvassing the area for a bigger facility to “continue to grow” the business, he said.
C.W. Express, Sellersburg, Indiana
17-truck C.W. Express' recent-history growth has come in part on the strength of owner Steve Wilson's partnership with Avenger Logistics, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. C.W.'s on dedicated lanes in the automotive supply chain of Avenger's major customer. Wilson's success as a small fleet owner is a product of both hard-won expertise and service. The times he's had a breakdown, he makes his own recoveries often enough, even helping other carriers in Avenger's network with diagnosis to build value. As one customer put it about Wilson: "He doesn't need to be on-site to tell you what's wrong" with a truck. And though Wilson prides himself on taking close care of every aspect of the business, it's clear he's also adept at team-building, with support in place to step up when it was do or die. In 2022, he spent much of the year in the hospital, losing part of his right leg after complications from COVID left him near death. Since then, growth has continued, with C.W. now in a new office just off I-65 in Sellersburg, Indiana.
DPM Logistics, Ashland, Virginia
Dave Monsell, owner of Ashland, Virginia-based DPM Logistics, has been around trucking most of his life. He grew up around it in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, then after a stint in the Air Force, he moved to Virginia and went to work as an owner-operator for a moving and storage agent. In the late 1980s he sold the rig and opened a truck repair shop, then a dealership in Norfolk in the late 1990s. DPM was founded in 2016 with his wife, Paula, operating as a regional carrier covering Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio, with a majority of the 11-truck fleet’s work being drop-and-hook dry van freight with contract customers.
Southwind Transportation, Mulberry, Florida
Samantha Causey (pictured middle-left, front) took over the 12-truck Southwind Transportation business in 2021 when her father, David Hryc, was diagnosed with cancer. Since, she's maintained the fleet with a keen focus on safety, maintenance and the driver employees who execute the refrigerated/dry van moves for mostly brokerage customers. Causey, 33 years old today, has met the highs and lows of freight in her time over the Southwind operation with growing deftness. She's starting to approach shippers in her area about dedicated work, which has led to one direct customer in recent times. Her selling point? "You know who you’re going to be speaking to if you work with us," she said. "We are all family.”"
[Related: Small Fleet Champ Larry Limp and team take do-it-yourself maintenance to new levels]
