Wanted: drivers to go across U.S.
Wisconsin Nationwide is in need for drivers to haul to all corners of the United States.
Wanted: drivers to go across U.S. Wisconsin Nationwide is in need for drivers to haul to all corners of the United States. Check out this story on htrnews.com: http://htrne.ws/1DFXT6M
Charlie Mathews, HTR Media Published 12:00 p.m. CT Feb. 4, 2015
Larry Mitchell of Manitowoc is one of Wisconsin Nationwide's veteran truck drivers.(Photo: Matthew Apgar/HTR Media)Buy Photo
TWO RIVERS – Mike Krey, 59, says he has enjoyed for 21 years driving trucks with 53-foot trailers to all corners of the continental United States.
Last week Krey and his fellow drivers for Wisconsin Nationwide were taking shipments of Briess malt to Punta Gorda, Fla., Baileigh Industrial metalworking equipment to Phoenix and ammunition casings from Jagemann Stamping to Stevensville, Mont.
"I like being the boss when out on the road, taking care of the customers, handling the logistics, making appointments and meeting them," Krey said. "I also enjoy interacting with the people in this office ... they're wonderful people."
They include Dave De Rosier, who founded the Woodland Drive-based trucking firm in 1987 and started hiring his own drivers in 1991. In 2012, he sold majority control of the company to his two sons, Scott, 40, and Brian, 45.
Dave De Rosier (Photo: Submitted)
Scott De Rosier said the trucking industry offers a variety of opportunities and their own company is currently looking for four over-the-road drivers to join 50 other men — presently no women are behind the wheel of tractors and trailers — at Wisconsin Nationwide.
Driver compensation will be about $60,000 or more, with benefits, for drivers helping the contract carrier specializing in highly damageable commodities with time sensitive deliveries.
"We're also looking for older drivers who might work part time ... just a few days a week for vacation relief or when a driver is off for medical reasons," Dave De Rosier said. Whether full or part time, he said Wisconsin Nationwide's drivers are home every weekend.
Scott De Rosier (Photo: Submitted)
"This is a family run business and we treat people how they want to be treated," said Scott De Rosier, who has his own commercial driver's license and drove local routes for several years.
He said the key to the company's continuing success will be having good employees in all facets including dispatch, truck maintenance and repairs, information technology, sales and accounting.
The reality of financial stability for a trucking company is "you can only grow as fast as having drivers in the seats," he said, noting many of their drivers have been with the firm for more than a decade.
All shipments are loaded to ride at Wisconsin Nationwide's Two Rivers facility. The company picks up freight from customers within about a 75-mile radius and consolidates the freight to other regions of the nation, including "LTL," less-than-truckload shipments.
Safety paramount
Applicants need to be at least 25, own a Class "A" CDL license, have a minimum of three years driving experience and a safe driving record both behind the steering wheel of big rigs, as well as their personal vehicles.
Scott De Rosier said that while the company doesn't have a written exam for prospective new hires, it does take applicants on a 90-minute exercise involving city, rural and interstate driving.
And Dave De Rosier said his company is the wrong one to try and join if the driver is looking to bend the rules regulating how many hours, weekly and-or daily, operators can be driving, doing other duties or taking a presumed sleep break.
They said their drivers rank in the top 1 percent for safety with more than 5 million miles driven per year. Dave De Rosier showed off to a visitor the company's ability to know exactly, in real time, by looking at a computer screen where each and every driver is across America and how much driving time he has left before needing to shut down.
Warehouse worker Randy Dolgner of Sheboygan creates a wall inside a truck to limit shifting during transit in a trailer at Wisconsin Nationwide in Two Rivers. (Photo: Matthew Apgar/HTR Media)
Brian De Rosier leads warehouse operations including high school and college students earning $9 to $10 per hour who work with Wisconsin Nationwide dispatch managers and drivers on load planning to ensure successful, efficient deliveries.
The company also has full-time, year-round warehouse personnel who are a critical component in timely deliveries.
It may be thousands of pieces of Nemschoff furniture picked up from their plant in Sheboygan or lighting fixtures from Orion Energy Systems a mile away on Woodland Drive or barrels of liquid flavoring from Red Arrow Products in Manitowoc.
One time, it was a priceless Civil War flag from the Manitowoc County Historical Society going to Vermont for restoration. It went East solo in a trailer in a special wooden shipping crate that was carried by volunteers over a narrow bridge to the artisan's workshop before eventual return to the Lakeshore area.
No sightseeing
Brey said he has driven to all major cities in the U.S., but there's no time for sightseeing. "It's all business ... get out and get back," said the man who has had a CDL since 1975.
Forty years ago, citizen band radios in tractor cabs were commonplace. Now, if used at all, the CB is used to talk with other truckers about road or weather conditions ahead "or maybe the odd conversation ... they're not in their heyday any more."
Brey is entertained mostly by satellite radio, "plus I like my two GPS units in the truck for best routing into a new location."
He finds it ironic that he might haul paper rolls from Green Bay Packaging to a Virginia client and back haul special paper back to northeast Wisconsin.
What would he say to a young adult thinking of being a truck driver? "Get some more experience in life ... be trained by a reputable school or company," Brey said.
He quickly identified the traits of a good driver. "You need to be able to think on your feet, have common sense and be observant ... know how to interact with people of all different types.
"You also need to know when to shut 'er down at the end of the day rather than pushing too far," Brey said.
Charlie Mathews: (920) 686-2969 or cmathews@htrnews.com
Warehouse worker Randy Dolgner of Sheboygan operates a forklift as he helps load freight for delivery by Wisconsin in Two Rivers. (Photo: Matthew Apgar/HTR Media)
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