Two Nebraska-Based Truckload Carriers Named Overall Winners of 2015 Best Fleets to Drive For: Grand Island Express and Fremont Contract Carriers
03/10/2015
Truckload Carriers Association and CarriersEdge find that these fleets are best in their respective sizes for providing outstanding working environments
Kissimmee, Florida:
On Tuesday, as part of its Annual Convention, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and its partner CarriersEdge announced the names of the overall winners of the 2015 Best Fleets to Drive For.
Grand Island Express of Grand Island, Nebraska, was selected as the Best Overall Fleet for the small carrier category, an award sponsored by Bose Corporation, manufacturer of the award-winning Bose Ride® system for heavy-duty trucks.
Fremont Contract Carriers of Fremont, Nebraska, was selected as the Best Overall Fleet for the large carrier category, an award sponsored by Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor.
Best Fleets to Drive For is an annual survey and contest that recognizes North American for-hire trucking companies providing the best workplace experiences for their drivers.
To participate, fleets must be nominated by a company driver or independent contractor working with them, after which they are evaluated across a broad range of categories reflecting current best practices in human resources.
The top 20 finishers are identified as Best Fleets to Drive For and then divided in half according to size. The highest scoring fleet in each category is named overall winner.
This is the second time that Grand Island Express (GIE) has earned an overall winner award. Like last year, its drivers say the company cares deeply about its people. For example, it has created a closed Facebook page for spouses of drivers to help them stay connected and share information.
GIE also utilizes the latest technology, providing tablets to all of their drivers. It convenes ad-hoc committees of drivers to research new technologies and make recommendations about future purchases.
Fremont Contract Carriers (FCC) is also a previous winner of an overall award — 2015 marks its third time. While it was being evaluated, the judges noted that FCC is a proactive company, analyzing a variety of data points to identify potential problems with shippers and address them with customers before problems arise.
It has also created an innovative maintenance management system that is connected directly to each truck. The system streamlines maintenance scheduling and makes the drivers’ lives easier.
Jane Jazrawy, chief executive officer of CarriersEdge, noted that both overall winners have shown a commitment to adding new driver programs while refining existing ones. Thus, they are perpetually improving the driving experience for their people. In addition to best-in-class program scores, both companies rated better than 90 percent driver satisfaction and demonstrated strong safety and retention scores.
“Make no mistake… our two overall winners keep surfacing in this contest, but that doesn’t mean that either fleet has rested on its laurels,” she said. “Both of these fleets are providing multiple opportunities to not only recognize their drivers, but also allow them to provide input on company operations and decisions. People want to work where they feel needed and valued. So it’s not surprising that we keep seeing them back at the podium.”
Brad Bentley, TCA’s president, agrees. “These two fleets keep impressing us year after year as they constantly provide excellent examples of innovation and creativity in the workplace,” he said. “In fact, in addition to Fremont, I’d like to recognize two other companies — Motor Carrier Service of Northwood, Ohio, and Paramount Freight Systems of Ft. Myers, Florida — who have made the Top 20 winner list for five consecutive years. This is no easy feat!”
The Best Fleets to Drive For survey and contest was open to any fleet operating 10 trucks or more, regardless of TCA membership status. Nominated fleets were evaluated in areas like driver compensation, pension and benefits, professional development, driver and community support, and safety record.
For more information about the Best Fleets to Drive For program, please visit www.BestFleetstoDriveFor.com. You can also follow TCA on Twitter (www.truckload.org/Twitter) or Facebook (www.truckload.org/Facebook) or search the hashtag #BestFleets15 on social media networks.