Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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Efficiency is Precedent at T Thermo King New reefer embodies today's business world he trucking business is changing. Everything changes over time, of course, but the trucking industry has been remarkably resistant to change over its 100-year- plus history. The most recent trend I've seen is the movement to- ward greater efficiency. For a long time, efficiency wasn't a critical component of trucking operations, due mostly to some good fortune on the part of the American econ- omy: Fuel was dirt-cheap, drivers were plentiful, regula- tions were comparatively mild and trucking technology was both robust and affordable. Most fleets made money, and efficient fleets made more money. Today, efficiency drives every aspect of a trucking operation. Our industry has become a game of pennies and even partial pennies. If you can find a way to add .04 mpg to your fleet operation, your boss will be ecstatic. Efficiency is essential for competing in today's market- place, complying with a wide range of state and federal regulations and – perhaps most importantly – allowing your business to survive in a turbulent, unpredictable busi- ness environment. Those tenets were driven The platform sets new standards in both fuel efficiency and cleaner emissions. home to me during a recent visit to Thermo King's head- quarters in Bloomington, Minn. When it comes to auxiliary power unit and reefer technol- ogy, Thermo King is one of the most forward-thinking compa- 34 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2012 nies I've come across. They have to be; just like you, they're driven by good competition, ever-changing government regulations and a rock-solid belief that system efficiency is vital to the success of their products. Thermo King's newest temperature control system, the Precedent refrigerated trailer unit, is a perfect example of this thinking. Thermo King president Ray Pittard says the Precedent is a game-changer for both his company and the refrigerated food in- dustry as a whole. "We have invested $60 million in this new product," Pittard says. "It is one of the largest – if not the largest – product developments MORE EFFICIENCY: The truck- ing industry is a game of pennies. BIG INVESTMENT: Thermo King invested $60 million in the Precedent. MANY INNOVATIONS: The company calls the new system a game-changer.