Page 33 - Arkanas Trucking Report Volume 22 Issue 5

drivers. Every truck has a refrigera- & Son has experienced astonishing weren’t a good fit for both parties.
tor, lots of chrome, and is generally growth of 40%, but when asked what And that’s part of the company’s
just nicer than the average fleet truck. type of marketing contributed to that success. Thompson tries to keep their
That upgrade doesn’t come cheap, but growth, Thompson replied that they’ve business to what it does best—live and
Thompson considers it worth it. “We not once gone out and sought new fresh production. “That type of busi-
can spend as much as $10–15,000 more business. Instead, all their growth has ness takes a whole lot more resources to
per truck by ordering them that way been from customers coming to them, manage,” Thompson says. Additionally,
as opposed to ordering them a little which, Thompson says, is a testament Thompson says the drivers must be top
cheaper. But we think if it attracts a to their service level. “We try to put our notch, because, “You can’t just put any
better quality driver and we retain customers’ needs first. We look at profit class A CDL driver in a truck hauling
those drivers, then it’s well worth it,” second. Profit and growth is always sec- live poultry over the mountains. Some
Thompson says, particularly in north- ond and third,” he says. of these farms are five miles up a dirt
west Arkansas, where they’re compet- Thompson continues, “In north- road. There’s hairpin turns. These loads
ing with large companies like Walmart west Arkansas, pretty much everyone are very top heavy, so it takes an expe-
Transportation, J.B. Hunt Transport, now knows Lew Thompson Trucking. rienced driver to do that kind of stuff.”
and Tyson Foods for drivers. Because Everyone in the industry is pretty close- Some of the locations drivers must navi-
of that competition, it can be difficult ly connected, so because you’re hauling gate involve dirt roads so narrow that if
to attract and retain good drivers, he for one customer, another customer the truck meets a car, it must back up
says, but the quality of trucks helps the knows you’re providing them good almost two full miles before there is a
company be more successful in that service. And when they have a need, turn-around spot.
endeavor. Their numbers seem to prove they usually call us up.” Thompson
their efforts, as Thompson explains, “I says the company doesn’t accept just WILLING TO DO THE
think the trucking industry averages any offer that comes their way. Instead, DIRTY WORK
about 90% turnover, but our turnover they evaluate the customer’s needs and When asked about what his
ratio is only about 20%.” their own ability to meet that need. employees think about him in his role
In the last year, Lew Thompson Thompson has declined offers that
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ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2017 33