This morning we welcomed Charlotte Joyce Potter to our family.

Congratulations to Jason & Kim !!!!!!

Charlotte was born at 1 minute after midnight 5 lbs 10 oz’s. Both Mom & Baby are doing great !!!!

Safety is priority ONE at Calex.

Keeping both our associates and the general public safe is on our minds each and every day. Our company travels approximately 15 million miles each year. As you can imagine it takes a focused team effort to make sure we are all doing the right thing at the right time.

Here at Calex before any associate gets behind the wheel, they must pass a Speed and Space Management Driving course.

Our training focuses on safety basics. Here are some of the highlighted areas: proper speed, proper spacing, and staying alert to changing weather, road conditions (merging and turning) along with staying aware of the ever-changing surroundings they travel in.

No accident is a good accident so our focus remains the same: Safety is priority ONE.

Our Drivers are Trained for Safety

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common hazards and risks that our drivers face out on the road, and how they are trained to deal with each one.

Proper speed – Speed can be a huge factor in accidents. If someone is going too fast, and they come across an expected situation, chances are they won’t be able to react in time. Every day, a driver could suddenly face a stopped vehicle or someone who is going too slow for traffic conditions. This could cause other vehicles to make dangerous maneuvers in an effort to pass them. This, in turn, can force other vehicles to react quickly (and poorly).

Maintaining the proper speed is an essential safety practice. Our focus is to train each associate to operate at the correct speed so that they will have the ability to react (correctly) to most situations.

Proper spacing – Proper vehicle spacing is critical to operating a tractor trailer safely. One of our nation’s most common source of accidents is tailgating, so our drivers are trained to maintain the proper safety distance at all times.

If you’ve never driven a tractor trailer, you’d be surprised at just how long (and how many feet/meters) it takes to stop one. We tell all of our associates we (our drivers) are the professionals we need to be better than everyone else on the road. By maintaining a safe following distance, many accidents can be avoided.

Staying alert – Lately, our industry has brought another interesting topic into focus: driver complacency. This occurs in some cases due to the number of miles driven week in and week out.

Calex is addressing that issue through retraining. One of the things we’ve learned is that, like anything else, when you continually and repetitively do the same things over and over, it’s easy to become lax or unfocused. This outlook can cause us believe that we can do things that we normally wouldn’t.

By remaining sharp and aware of road conditions and surroundings allows our associates to notice situations before they become problems and avoid them entirely.

Adhering to the ELD Mandate

When the electronic logging device (ELD) rule was passed into law, it required many trucking companies to quickly update their vehicles, policies, and activities.

In effect, this rule required drivers to use these devices to accurately track, manage, and share their records of duty status (RODS) data. The goal was to create a safer work environment for drivers (and anyone who shares the road with those drivers).

These devices help improve safety by connecting with the vehicle’s engine and automatically recording important information, like engine hours and power status, miles driven, vehicle motion status, and on-duty time.

At Calex, we were already fully prepared for this mandate since we had been using electronic logs since 2009.

We make sure that our entire fleet is in compliance with this mandate because we believe it protects our drivers and improves road safety.

Safety and Supply Chain Management

Safety is priority ONE because we care about out drivers and their wellbeing. We also care about our clients and ensuring that their products get from point A to point B, on time and in perfect shape.

The measures we take to protect our drivers also contribute to a better, more effective freight shipping service.

Through effective logistics management, we can keep your goods flowing smoothly between your company, our warehouses, and the final destination. More importantly, we can do it while keeping our drivers and your products as safe as possible.

By putting all of our efforts into improving safety on the road, we are, in fact, improving the efficiency of your supply chain.

As long as everyone maintains the basic tenets listed above, accidents can be minimized. While we do realize that some accidents simply cannot be avoided, we do everything in our power to do the right thing each and every day.

At Calex, we are fully dedicated to keeping up with technology, which is why we are once again upgrading our fleet with the addition of many new Kenworth T680 tractors.

The T680 is the most advanced and aerodynamic truck ever produced by Kenworth. Its design was created after countless hours of CFD, track, and real-world testing, and the technology included in this model is amazing.

Everything about the new design contributes to a better and safer experience for our drivers which, in turn, leads to a more efficient supply chain for you.

We want you to feel confident when you use our shipping services, which means ensuring that your products are never shipped on an inferior truck.

Why Do We Like Kenworth So Much?

The PACCAR MX-13 engine in these trucks is state of the art. It includes a high-pressure common rail fuel system and a high power-to-weight ratio, which means that Kenworth’s new engine boast higher fuel economy than their previous engines. The block has significantly improved durability and a reduced weight because it is built from compacted graphite iron. This makes it much easier to service and keep running at peak efficiency.

When you pair this with the Eaton Advantage automated manual transmission this tractor is greatly improved over Kenworth’s older models.

Some of the other reasons we’ve chosen to add more Kenworth trucks to our fleet include:

• Kenworth Idle Management System: This battery-based system helps fleets cut down their idle time in hot and cold climates, saving $3,000 to $4,000 annually per truck.
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System:The TPMS monitors each individual tire and reports back to the driver in real time, allowing for optimum pressure for improved fuel economy and reducing the potential for dangerous blowouts.
• Speed Control Management Systems:Engine software encourages the driver to up-shift at lower RPMs by reducing power. It also encourages drivers to drive in top gear by limiting RPM in the one gear below top gear.
• Adaptive Cruise Control:Kenworth’s adaptive cruise control system uses integrated proximity sensors with the engine and braking system to help keep at a steady distance from traffic while maintaining speed.
• Trailer Skirts & Tail:Improves fuel mileage by reducing the low-pressure zone at the rear of the trailer and controls air flow below and around the trailer.
• Dead Axle Tandem 6×2 Configuration:This configuration improves fuel mileage through power train efficiency, reduced parasitic drive train loss and weight savings.
• Wide-base Super Single Tires:Reduces weight by 300 lbs. and improves fuel mileage.

Providing the Most Reliable Freight Shipping

Effective freight shipping services are at the heart of effective supply chain management, which is why we strive to provide the reliability and transportation options you need to keep your products moving. Some of these options include:

• Refrigerated shipping– Deliver your perishable goods confidently. This allows you to ship frozen and fresh products in a temperature-controlled environment.
• Dry van services– We have a 48,500-load capacity, which means an 8% competitive advantage on this type of shipping.
• Flatbed/Conestoga service– This is an option for products that require specialized shipping.
• Satellite tracking – This technology gives us complete visibility on your products from pickup to delivery.
• JIT and multimode– These are offered throughout the domestic U.S.

The Kenworth trucks we just added to our fleet are all ready and able to continue offering these services to our clients. We continue to look for new ways to improve this part of the supply chain so you can continue to run at higher profitability so your costs don’t have to be passed on to the consumer.

Increasing Safety with New Trucks

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Safety is priority ONE at Calex.

Vehicles that don’t perform up to our safety standards only contribute to higher risks and less-efficient transportation.

At Calex, we won’t expose our drivers or your inventory to those kinds of risks.

The features listed above help us embrace road safety, and we ensure that every truck is compliant with the ELD mandate, but this is just a start.

Everyone who will drive one of these trucks for Calex must first pass a Speed and Space Management Driving Course.

This training focuses on elements like proper speed, proper spacing, and how to stay alert to things like changing environmental conditions, other drivers, and unexpected hazards. When our drivers commit to improving in all these areas, it improves the safety for everyone involved.

The Right Truck for the Right Job

At Calex, we continue to explore our options so we can keep our fleet of trucks updated to the highest safety and efficiency standards. Whether you are moving goods across the country or shipping perishable products to the other side of the city, we’ll make sure you have the right truck and the best drivers completing your delivery.

At Calex ISCS, Customer Satisfaction is always our #1 priority. We pride ourselves on our service and dedication to our customers. Here’s another testimonial from one of our clients.

“I am covering for my early morning process for a few days and was in to take delivery of our RDC truck this AM.

Over the past months, I have heard many great things regarding our driver, Chris, and the relationship he maintains with our team. He knows them all by name and has a reputation for being a positive influence and a great partner for our team. Just one of many examples… in order to plan and maintain communication before and during the recent storm, he maintained contact with the store team to ensure we were good and to assure us he would be there.

I had the pleasure once again to interact with Chris this morning and I thought it was important to thank him for his professionalism, commitment to working safely, his positive demeanor and helpful style. I know, from past retail experiences, how important a great driver is. Chris is an important and welcome part of our team and a pleasure to get to work with. We are lucky to have the consistency and partnership he provides every morning.

Please pass this along to anyone who has direct reporting relationships with Chris and let him know #3292 appreciates everything he does.”

Thank you Chris!!!!

At Calex ISCS, Customer Satisfaction is always our #1 priority. We pride ourselves on our service and dedication to our customers.

“Just wanted to send a quick thank you for all your hard work over the past few weeks helping us transport our important shipments. This was a very big initiative for us. Calex really came through with short notice, without a hitch, which is true to form for your company.

It’s a testament to the relationship we have built and the quality of your team.
“

To the entire Calex Team that made this possible, thank you!