“We’re not discouraged by increasing regulatory compliance because it keeps bad actors out and allows us to secure more business,” says Dan Titus, president of Weedsport, NY-based Page Trucking. “Regulations drive change in our markets. New materials added to hazardous waste categories can lead to more stringent rules for their transportation on trucks, but it also means they are available to us as one of a very few completely qualified hazardous waste transporters in North America.”
Titus also views trucking industry regulations, including the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, in the same way. Page Trucking has been piloting two ELDs for a few months and is now finalizing a decision. Making it easier to decide was the recent acquisition of a company that already had experience using one of its choices.
“ELDs can be a challenge for smaller companies that now have to revisit their business model,” Titus states, “but our philosophy has always been to do things the right way.”
Page Trucking also takes a direct approach when it comes to equipment. The fleet’s wide range of trailers are capable of transporting bulk waste for recycling or to landfills, and included are custom trailers built by East Manufacturing for the company’s highly specialized bulk segment.
For its bulk waste hauling operation, Titus explains, Page Trucking asked East to engineer a lightweight 39-ft. dump trailer with reinforced flooring and additional stiffness in its 5-ft.-high sidewalls. “We order 20 to 50 trailers annually,” he says, “so it’s important to work with manufacturers that understand our operational needs.
“Only with reliable equipment can we meet our commitments to customers and reduce downtime, which keeps the fleet on the road and costs down,” Titus adds. “That’s also important to us in order to provide work for the specially trained owner-operators who haul our bulk waste trailers because they are a part of the Page Trucking family.”
Keith Titus, Dan’s father, started the business in 1977—and it’s always been a family-run operation. After Keith’s death, Dan’s mother Debbie kept the fleet going, and since 2012 Dan and his sister Piper have run the company.
Over the past few years, Page Trucking has grown by making acquisitions that offer geographic, market share and employee benefits. “We look for 15- to 40-truck operations that we can assimilate into our culture and infrastructure,” Titus relates. “Our approach is to add to our network of terminals so we can cover the map with a hub-and-spoke-style operation.
“The ability to run from terminal to terminal is better for productivity and for drivers,” Titus continues. “A traditional coast-to-coast move might keep a driver out for a week or longer, while moving the same freight through five terminals means they’re closer to home every night.”
With its latest acquisition, Page Trucking has ten terminals in nine states and increased its revenue by about 6%. “We’ve had double-digit growth every year since 2003,” Titus says. “In 2002, we operated 70 trucks and generated $12 million in revenue. In 2017, we will have over 400 trucks and revenues of about $150 million.
