CCJ

February 2015

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/466315

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 48 of 90

D oug White doesn't have an ejection seat- and machine gun-equipped Aston Martin DB7 in his fleet. Not yet, any- way. But as vice president of fleet maintenance for Dunbar Armored, a highly specialized armored car company, he wouldn't be surprised if the need came up. White oversees a national fleet of up-armored vehicles rang- ing from Subaru Foresters to Class 8 Peterbilt tractors that haul sensitive, valuable cargo daily across the United States. A manifest at Dunbar Armored reads like a Hollywood script: At any given time, the company is transferring coins, currency, jewelry, securi- ties and sensitive government documents to and from secure installations – cargo that criminal elements and national enemies alike would love to grab. In White's line of work, vehicle specs never can be "good enough." Lives can be lost if a vehicle is not configured properly. Downtime, while impossible to mitigate completely, carries an entirely new set of risks that most fleets never face. Sitting in his corner office in a Baltimore suburb today, White shakes his head in mild disbelief at the path his career in trucking has taken. In addition to his responsibilities at Dunbar, White has emerged as a leading voice in the fleet maintenance community, poised to take a highly visible role as a leader on the board of directors for the American Trucking Associations' Technology & Maintenance Council. It's all heady stuff for a kid from New Jersey who never wanted to do more in life than tear engines apart and put them back to- gether again. But White credits the timely appearance of mentors who set him on new paths, broadened his horizons and spurred him to take on more responsibilities with ever-increasing conse- quences for leading him to this pinnacle of his career. It's why he is determined to mentor up-and-coming fleet professionals today and give back to an industry that has given him such tremendous opportunities and rewards over the course of his career. A DRIVE TO UNDERSTAND Doug White was one of four children born into a solid blue- collar New Jersey family. His mother, Fran, was a stay-at-home mom. His father, Walt, was an Air Force veteran who'd served in the Occupation of Japan and had transferred the electronic skills he learned in the service into a 40-year career with the local telephone company. "He started out climbing telephone poles and ended up work- ing on what was then highly advanced communications equip- ment like teletype machines," White says of his dad. "He knew the value of working your way up in life. He taught all of us that." White looks back on his childhood with fondness. "My father was the 'cool dad' in the neighborhood," he says. "He was very involved with our lives. We had a lake near our house, and in the summers, he'd fashion a 'Tarzan'-style rope swing for us to play on." White's mother taught him traits he still relies on every day – virtues like honesty and compassion – while his father instilled discipline in the four White children. "Dad expected you to follow the rules," he says. "It was understood that if you didn't, there would be consequences. His philosophy toward life was a simple one and one that has always stuck with me – 'Whatever you decide to do in life, do it well. If you're not going to do it well, don't bother.' " Walt White was a gifted woodworker and incessant tinkerer whose shop was filled with a bewildering array of tools and gad- gets that young Doug found endlessly fascinating. From an early age, he was obsessed with understanding how things worked – and, more importantly, why they didn't work when needed. That drive to understand how and why things function remains with him to this day. His mother gleefully recalls her 5-year-old son going over to the next-door neighbor's house and marching home with their lawnmower so he could tear the engine down in the family's garage. "Dad put the mower back 46 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2015 As a kid in New Jersey, Doug White never envisioned a future beyond turning wrenches. Today he oversees one of the highest-security fleets in the country and is recognized nationally as a trucking industry leader. BY JACK ROBERTS

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of CCJ - February 2015