Meat Company Opens New LTL Terminal Some food processors out-source transportation to concentrate on their core business. Emmpak Foods Inc in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, takes another approach. It regards its transport division, Wispak Transport, as an integral part of the business.
In addition to providing temperature-controlled transportation for Emmpak, Wispak serves as a separate profit center, providing for-hire LTL service to third parties. Outside freight accounts for two-thirds of Wispak revenue. The remainder is meat from Emmpak.
"Private meat fleets are not unusual, and some run backhaul and limited truckload operations, but not many have LTL operations," says Jim Koeble, Emmpak Foods vice-president and general manager of Wispak. "As an LTL carrier, we have the advantage of also being a food processor. We understand the needs of customers perhaps more than other LTL carriers."
Emmpak Foods has demonstrated its continuing commitment to food safety by investing $55 million in capital improvements over the past three years. The improvements include new processing and safety equipment in existing facilities and a new 155,000-sq-ft cold storage plant and terminal for Wispak.
A vertically integrated meat producer, Emmpak Foods places food safety at the top of its business strategy. Using the most advanced methods available, Emmpak monitors product safety throughout slaughter, processing, and transportation.
155,000-Sq-Ft Plant "We simply outgrew our facilities," Koeble says. "We have four production plants in Milwaukee and two in Butler, Wisconsin. With our new 155,000-sq-ft facility, we have consolidated distribution functions formerly carried out in our other plants and have added cold storage."
Wispak Transport moved from Butler, where trucks were loaded from eight doors, to a 30-door terminal on 20 acres in northwest Milwaukee. The site is large enough to double facility size in the future.
The new facility actually consists of two buildings - a 15,000-sq-ft, two-story building for transportation and distribution center offices. It houses an engine room and has two refrigeration condensers mounted on the roof. The other building is a 140,000-sq-ft cold storage facility with a 30-door refrigerated truck dock.
The plant is a joint venture of Wispak and Geneva Lakes Cold Storage, based in Darien, Wisconsin. Geneva Lakes built the facility and leases the office building and 100,000 sq ft of the warehouse to Wispak. The remaining 40,000 sq ft of the warehouse is used for public storage. "I envision that eventually we could purchase the entire facility to handle warehousing for our transportation and distribution operations," Koeble says. "When that happens, Geneva Lakes will build another facility to the west of this building."
LTL Business Grows The warehouse has storage areas including 12 blast freezing cells. It is designed to accommodate mostly frozen product. Chilled items will represent only about 20% of the volume, Koeble says. "The business relationship with Geneva Lakes Cold Storage allows Wispak to offer a full menu of logistics services from storage to order-picking to distribution," he says.
The Wispak LTL operation has grown from a couple of dozen loads per week eight years ago to about 100 loads a week this year, Koeble says. All LTL runs originate from the Milwaukee terminal.
"We run LTL for Wisconsin food processors and some truckloads of Emmpak meat," he says. "Once out of Wisconsin, we act just like any other for-hire carrier, hauling various products. Outbound items include dairy items such as cheese and yogurt, processed meat, and frozen prepared foods. About 50% of our loads are chilled and the other 50% is frozen."
Besides the main terminal in Milwaukee, Wispak Transport has satellite terminals in Somerset, Kentucky; Broadway, Virginia; Aberdeen, North Carolina; and Orlando, Florida. Of the 160 tractors in the Wispak fleet, 90 are based in Wisconsin and the remaining 70 at the other terminals. Wispak uses 107 owner-operators, representing two-thirds of the driver force. The other 53 are company drivers. Wispak has 200 refrigerated trailers.
"Most LTL trucks depart on Saturday or Sunday and are back by Thursday or Friday," Koeble says. "We run trucks from our satellite terminals to Wisconsin to reinforce the Wisconsin fleet when freight demand is heavy. Trucks at the satellite terminals primarily run truckloads. However, we are expanding LTL and local cartage services from these locations as well."
LTL runs typically have three to six stops. Wispak schedules LTL just about anywhere east of the Rockies, Koeble says. "Our strongest lanes are to the Southeast, where our other terminals are located - Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida. We also run to the Northeast, Middle Atlantic, and Midwest, and south to Texas."
Driver Incentives Wispak requires drivers to run safely and legally, says Nick Pfannenstiel, field safety director. "We have only three teams for the most critical runs that must be delivered within tight time windows," he says. "The other drivers run solo. Some companies run drivers and equipment ragged, but we don't. We run legally, honestly, and efficiently."
Wispak pays incentive bonuses annually for delivery without accidents or moving violations. Incentive pay ranges from one-half cent per mile to a maximum of two cents per mile, depending on accumulated safe driving miles.
"We also pay quarterly bonuses of one-cent-per-mile to drivers with good performance," Pfannenstiel says. "These are based on on-time delivery and having paperwork in order. Thus, drivers can earn a total of three bonus cents per mile for performance and safety."
Wispak uses KellerSCAN log-scanning and auditing software from JJ Keller & Associates in Neenah, Wisconsin. The software works with a high-speed scanner to read and sort logs by truck, driver, date, and total miles. KellerSCAN targets mistakes in reporting and reduces the risk of DOT fines. "This program saves us time and money by greatly reducing clerical work," Pfannenstiel says. "We installed the equipment in May 1999, and it has paid for itself two or three times since then."
Late-Model Tractors Wispak runs late-model tractors, leased from Ryder Transportation Services and Rollins Leasing Corporation for company equipment. "None of our over-the-road tractors are more than a year old," Koeble says. "Most are Freightliners. We run a few Volvos in local pick-up and delivery operations."
Company fleet maintenance is done by the lessors under full-service agreements. "We haven't ever focused on doing our own fleet maintenance," he says. "We know it could be a source of revenue, but any company can only do so much, and we decided to focus on LTL. With Emmpak's large capital investment in processing facilities, leasing is a better option than purchasing trucks."
Freightliner tractors are FLD 120s with 70-inch raised-roof sleepers. They are powered by Cummins N-14+ engines rated at 435 hp at 2100 rpm, driving through ArvinMeritor RMX10-165A 10-speed overdrive transmissions and ArvinMeritor tandem drive axles rated at 40,000-lb capacity.
Trailers are a mix of Great Dane and Utility 48/102s, equipped with Thermo King SB-III Smart Reefer Whisper Edition refrigeration units. Refrigeration maintenance is done by Ryder and a local vendor, Custom Fleet Maintenance, in Milwaukee.
"With service shops throughout the country, our national lessors can do maintenance no matter where the tractor or trailer is," Koeble says. "They provide emergency repair service and replacement vehicles, if necessary. This helps us deliver safely and efficiently."
Wispak recently installed new trailer graphics promoting Wisconsin as well as Emmpak Foods. To unveil the new fleet graphics, Wisconsin officials, including Governor Tommy Thompson and executives from Emmpak and Wispak, held a news conference at State Fair Park in Milwaukee.
The trailer decals combine the Wispak Transport logo showing the head of a cow and slogan "A Partner You Can Count On" with a farm landscape and slogan "Something Special from Wisconsin."
"We wanted to reflect the same image and Wisconsin pride that our shippers and their employees put into their products," Koeble says. "Our fleet travels throughout the United States, and we knew this would be a perfect opportunity to help create awareness for our state."
At the press conference, Thomas Ament, Milwaukee County executive, said "The Wispak fleet will enhance the highways and roads across Milwaukee County and around the entire state and nation."
Emmpak Foods is helping inform the people throughout the country of Wisconsin's position as America's dairy-land, added Joe Tregoning, Wisconsin's secretary of agriculture.
"It has always been important for us as a Wisconsin-based company to honor and embrace our state heritage," said Justin Segel, Emmpak Foods CEO. "Our new fleet tells the entire nation that Wisconsin has a lot to offer visitors and residents."
