When one of nine refrigerated trailers with special graphics operated by the RFX Companies pulls in at a truck stop at any location throughout America, other truck drivers immediately take notice. The eye-catching red, white, and blue of Old Glory stretching from the nose to the end of the trailers always is a topic of conversation among drivers who want more information about the company that proudly displays the flag of the United States.
“We've heard countless stories about the reaction our drivers receive while pulling one of the flag trailers,” says Jim Morse, RFX president and CEO. “Although it wasn't part of our plan, the flag trailers have had a positive impact on owner-operator recruiting. Drivers start asking questions about our company — what we do, our terminal locations, who owns the company, the size of our fleet, and the idea behind the flag trailers.
“The real reason behind the flag trailers was it gave us the opportunity to display our patriotism and love for our great country. Several months after 9-11, I noticed fewer flags in front of houses and businesses. We wanted to make a statement that America hasn't forgotten our loss of lives and the bravery of our military.
“One of our trailers was rolling slowly through a construction site on a highway in Ohio. A policeman assigned to the construction site saluted while construction workers stopped what they were doing and stood at attention with their hats over their hearts as the trailer passed by. It proves that Americans haven't forgotten 9-11, and they want to show their patriotism.”
With about 125 trailers serving refrigerated and non-refrigerated truckload customers throughout the country, RFX is a privately owned company that pulls loads with 100% owner-operators. Freight is dispatched from 18 terminals in 16 states. In 2004, company management saw a Great Dane trailer with the flag graphics at the Mid-America Truck Show.
“A couple of months later, the same trailer was for sale at a Great Dane dealership in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so we decided to buy it,” Morse says. “Then we decided to add the graphics to more trailers in our fleet. We assign each trailer to our best drivers in different parts of the country so they get as much visibility on the road as possible. I just wish we had the budget to provide 50 flag trailers to our drivers.”
For example, two flag trailers are based in Dallas, Texas. Another one in California runs across the country coast to coast. A flag trailer out of Memphis, Tennessee, runs north through the New England states.
A common and contract motor carrier since 1952, RFX provides nationwide truckload service — refrigerated and non-refrigerated — long haul, regional, and local. The company also provides LTL service from Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington. RFX has been a member of the Truckload Carriers Association for 51 years and also is a member of the TCA independent contractor division and the refrigerated carrier division of TCA.
Fleet logistics —
-
The RFX Companies, Refrigerated Food Express Inc and RFX Inc, 55 Murphy Dr, Avon MA 02322-0347
Common and Contract Motor Carrier
3PL Licensed Transportation Intermediary
Graphic service provider —
-
Nite Bright, 16061 Pine Ridge Rd, SW, Fort Myers FL 33908
