Call him obsessive about cleanliness — and some people have — but industrial waste hauler Colin Deems has always insisted that drivers keep his trucks spotless and inspection-ready. Deems, co-owner of Enviro Waste Oil Recovery in Mahopac, N.Y., works with a dirty payload every day, but he says that doesn’t mean his trucks shouldn’t be clean and shipshape at all times.
Coaxing drivers to buy into a fanatical washing and maintenance schedule and attention to detail when he specs out a new truck are two contributing factors to Deems and his company winning Pumper’s 2008 Classy Truck of the Year contest.
A 2004 Kenworth W900 with a 4,200-gallon tank, which does many of Enviro Waste Oil Recovery’s toughest industrial jobs, was the January 2008 Classy Truck entry and was chosen for our annual top truck prize by reader online voting and a COLE Publishing panel.
KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN
“I’ve fought to keep the trucks neat and clean,’’ Deems says. “People always ask, ‘Why do you always focus on that?’ I tell them these are my rolling billboards that keep everyone working. For repeat business, image is everything. I couldn’t tell you how many callbacks we’ve had because of the equipment.’’
Being chosen as one of 12 Classy Truck monthly winners has been a great source of pride for Deems and his drivers, and he says winning the annual prize serves to reinforce the professionalism of the company Deems started in 2000 with his brother Aaron Deems and their partner Robert Clarke.
The winning rig was built by Presvac Systems to transfer waste oil, clean catch basins and work on spill recovery projects throughout the New York City area. It’s powered by a Caterpillar C15 550-hp engine tied to a 13-speed Eaton-Fuller transmission. The dual-compartment 4,200-gallon (1,400 gallons front, 2,800 gallons rear) tank with heated pneumatic valves is matched to a 750-cfm Fruitland pump. The lifting rear dump tank is fabricated from steel to serve hazmat applications, but is painted to look like aluminum.
The Mack green and white cab is dressed up with old-style doors with vent windows, chrome quad air horns, green clearance and neon underbody lights, 24-inch aluminum wheels and chrome bumpers and stacks. The jet-black interior features full push pillow leather upholstery, rosewood steering wheel, chrome dash gauges and dual air-ride seats.
Driver Freddie Premuto is charged with keeping the rig clean and sharp, a task that is complicated because the truck is on the go for industrial jobs six to seven days a week. Between the dirtiest jobs the company is called out on, the Kenworth has been entered in numerous truck shows, including a top-25 finish at the Rye Playland show and two entries in the Diesel Truck Nationals at Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.
MOTIVATE THE DRIVERS
So why was a hardworking truck tricked out the way it was in the first place? It might seem unconventional, but Deems brought the rig’s original driver into the planning process, allowing him to choose the vintage and higher-end treatments. It was a way to motivate the driver to take good care of the truck over the long haul. Deems prefers drivers to feel ownership in their trucks, and doesn’t move them from one rig to another.
“The drivers are responsible and we keep the same drivers in the trucks, which helps a lot. I don’t bounce them around and they take pride in their equipment,’’ he says. And that pride in appearance extends to a strict schedule of planned maintenance.
Two mechanics thoroughly go over each of five service trucks once a month, usually at about a 6,000-mile interval, and the trucks are washed three times a week. Though the company’s been buying a truck or two every year, Deems prefers to keep his vehicles in service as long as possible. He just got his first service truck, a 1993 International, back after a four-month refurbishing.
The fleet runs from a 1,000-gallon hauler to two 7,000-gallon tank trailers pulled by semi trucks.
About half of the company’s workload is on the environmental side, cleaning industrial tanks and spill cleanup, and about half waste oil hauling, working for everyone from mom-and-pop businesses to major factories. The company cleans some grease traps through cooking oil recycling jobs. Though Clarke grew up in the septic-hauling business, market demands have never pushed Enviro Waste in that direction.
Even with his Classy Truck of the Year award in hand, Deems has no plans to let up on the care and quality of his fleet. In fact, you’ll see him kicking tires and shopping for his next great service rig at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International this month.
“These trucks are our tools of the trade. It’s what we use to get the job done,’’ Deems says. “We grew the business on service, and without shiny trucks in good working order and the guys working them, we are nothing.’’
CLASSY CONGRATULATIONS
I’d like to thank all the proud owners who sent photos and stories about their classy trucks the past year. The 12 monthly winners are service vehicles that do a great job of promoting the businesses they serve and the liquid waste industry as a whole. The more good-looking trucks like these we put on the road, the more the tired old stereotyped image of the dirty, unprofessional contractor fades in our rearview mirrors.
None of the owners of these Classy Trucks has to wonder what customers think when they pull in front of their house to pump a tank. The message one of these fine-looking rigs conveys to customers is clear: This driver knows what he’s doing and we’ll receive professional service.
If you haven’t sent in your own Classy Truck photo, what are you waiting for? Get your entries to me today at editor@pumper.com.
SEE YOU IN LOUISVILLE
It’s the time of year we’ve all been waiting for … Expo time. And I hope to see you at the Pumper & Cleaner Expo Feb. 25-28, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky. Whether you want to kick a few tires on the latest service vehicles the industry has to offer or expand your horizons through dozens of Education Day seminars, the Expo is the ultimate business booster.
And I look forward to meeting you on the Expo exhibit floor. I will be on hand at the COLE Publishing editors’ booth, so please stop by and say hello. I’d enjoy getting your feedback on recent issues of the magazine and your ideas for timely stories of interest we can produce for the pumper community. Have safe travels to the Expo and we’ll see you there.
