When Leo Rose went into management at Hollandia Dairy with a business plan to purchase new Kenworth T370s and trade out of his existing trucks, it was an easy sell.
“It was a no-brainer,” said Rose, who serves as fleet manager for the third-generation dairy, located in San Marcos CA. “We ran the numbers, and the T370s made a lot of sense. The purchase price, reliability and productivity, maintenance costs and easy access to engine parts, expected fuel economy advantages and resale value. It all added up.”
One year after taking delivery of 15 Kenworth T370s, the numbers have proved him right. Productivity is up to 100% utilization versus the 80% the dairy was accustomed to with its other truck brand. So is fuel economy—to the tune of 5%—along with other transportation metrics.
Hollandia was founded by the de Jong family, who emigrated from Holland. Since 1950, the firm has provided milk, juice and cultured products to the families of Southern California. Today, the dairy’s customers include retail, schools and other institutions.
Operating a fleet of medium-duty trucks and Class 8s, including Kenworth T680s that just went into service, the dairy is in the process of transitioning into Kenworth with a host of new specs that are making the fleet more productive. The trucks are purchased through Inland Kenworth–El Cajon.
“On our T370s, we went with Allison automatics, aluminum fuel tanks, aluminum crossmembers, and aluminum wheels,” said Rose. “Reducing weight means more milk to haul. We also have gone with air suspension in the rears and disc brakes, which has resulted in increased efficiencies. For drivers, we’ve added a host of new comfort options, and it’s been all thumbs-up for those behind the wheel. Coupled with other components in our program with drivers, the Kenworths have helped us in driver retention.”
The T370s are outfitted with 22-foot reefer bodies with liftgates. The trucks, which average about 35,000 miles per year, are operated in both single and double shifts. The first shift departs Hollandia at 2 am, and drivers typically make 25 stops, with up to 14,000 pounds of product aboard. About 20% of the trucks then go out for a second shift once the first shift returns around noon.
The Class 8 trucks are used to move product to big box stores (typically three stops per shift), plus they haul 48-foot trailers to the firm’s northern branch, about 90 miles north of Hollandia’s headquarters, where they cross-dock and cross-load more than a dozen medium-duty trucks for deliveries.
“This operation has allowed us to expand in other markets by using our trucks as distribution centers,” said Rose.
Hollandia recently added the T680 to its mix and plans to standardize on that model as its other trucks are traded out.
“We’ve seen a jump of one mile-per-gallon in fuel economy with the T680s,” said Rose. “We’ll run those about 140,000 miles a year, so those savings will really add up. Our drivers are also very happy; favorable feedback has been through the roof.”
With a trade cycle of seven years on its trucks, Rose said the benefits of running Kenworths extends all the way to when it’s time to buy new again.
“The NADA values on my Kenworth T370s, compared to the trucks I’m phasing out of, are huge,” he said. “There is a very signficant difference in Kenworth’s corner. That speaks volumes from going from a Tier 2 brand to a top-of-the-line Kenworth.”
See www.kenworth.com to learn more.
