Turnover in their owner-operator fleets is now under 10% while turnover in their regular fleets is below 50%.
“The first thing I ever did, because obviously the turnover was an issue, was I looked at driver pay.” “When I started at SLT (Secured Land Transport) there was a 160% turnover,” said Wilbur, who was a partner in a private equity firm prior to joining Roadmaster. No matter the miles, the hybrid model guarantees a weekly paycheck between roughly $1,200 and $1,500 depending on driver qualifications.
“We essentially threw away traditional mileage pay, which I believe is essentially the biggest systemic flaw in this industry and we put in a hybrid salary structure.” “In January of 2012, we made the most impactful move that we’ve made in 8 and a half years,” Wilbur explained. While diversifying the customer base resulted in impressive revenue growth, the first big change for the better at Roadmaster started with driver pay.
In addition to team drivers, they also rely on solo drivers and owner-operators. Tri-State, which covers the 48 contiguous states and Alaska, also makes runs to all Canadian provinces. It’s really those three categories: high-security, hazardous and expedited are the reasons for our team format.” You’ve got to have teams to keep the trucks moving. It’s something that needs to get half-way across the country fast, well you can’t do that with a solo driver. We do work for expedited even if it’s not hazardous shipments. “The team format fits for both high-security, hazardous and expedited. You’re just switching drivers and continuing to move that truck,” Wilbur said. “We’re not sitting in a truck stop for eight hours on a load of explosives waiting for your hours of service to reenergize. Of their roughly 500 trucks, 400 are outfitted with team drivers, making expediting high-security loads easier. Roadmaster proved once again its determination in driving even more company growth with the acquisition of an ammo competitor, R&R Trucking in Joplin, Mo., which was also incorporated into Tri-State. They’ve also expanded into hazardous waste, electronics and other high-value commodities. Tri-State’s customers now include more mining and construction companies that rely on explosives. Most of our growth in the last eight years has come in the commercial sector.” “Almost all of our ammo competitors work exclusively for. “Whether it was starting out with Secured Land Transport or Tri-State, both operations were heavily dependent on the military and we diversified the customer base significantly,” Wilbur explained. military, Wilbur wasn’t comfortable having all of his eggs in one basket and set out to expand Tri-State’s reach just as he had five years earlier with Secured Land Transport which Roadmaster later folded into Tri-State. Raking in upwards of 90% of its revenue transporting high-security loads like ammunition, explosives and arms for the U.S. in 2016, it became the group’s largest division. When Glendale, Arizona-based Roadmaster Group acquired Tri-State Motor Transit Co. The journey toward explosive growth has meant implementing big changes to become more driver centric and diversified.
Since taking the helm at Roadmaster in 2011, interim CEO John Wilbur has guided the company from $28 million in revenue to more than $150 million today.