Mike's Book Club: The Legend of Werner Enterprises 1956-2002

Golden State Foods is one of the few big corporate entities that bothers to bling out there stuff usually companies as big as them aren't interested in that, but for some reason Golden State Foods has always had fancier equipment. I'm really shocked that a big company like Golden State Foods would have a show truck and even have models accompany that truck.

But clearly someone at Golden State Foods in upper management decided to go a more nontraditional direction. With the exception of In-N-Out Burger and Golden State Foods most food companies don't bother to much with fancy trucks.

 

The only other exception to this would be Concord Foods from Los Angeles, California area. Concord Foods has a way nicer fleet of trucks for a modern truck fleet. Like I said every now and then you can find a couple needles in a hay stack and Concord Foods which is mostly Italian specialties has I think a pretty nice fleet for a modern truck fleet. They certainly are clean and have some flash. It's usually the smaller outfits that have the clean fancy stuff just how it is.

 

I like the blond my self but that’s just personal preference lol! What’s funny any time that picture gets posted everyone goes straight for the red head in the middle.

 

They were having a convention. Look at the trailer second to the left. It’s a trail mobile trailer.

 

The dark haired one looks like Uma Thermond from Pulp Fiction a little bit.

 

Werner Enterprises 2002-To Infinity

So here is where we draw the line and come to a close everyone. One of the greatest trucking stories ever told as we covered Werner's history from the beginning to 2002.

In 2002 Mr.Werner was pretty much getting ready to step back and let his sons take the reigns.

The company at the corporate level was always very conservatively run and is considered a very well run operation. Werner as a corporate entity credits it's success to the fact that it's run by transportation people and not business people.

The Werner's say anyone can buy a truck and trailer that's not what sets the companies apart it's the service and level of attention to detail that the company gives to it's customers.

Werner Enterprises was always big on high level of service and marketing. Technology and all that stuff was always a big deal to them and really marketing them selves. There fancy trucks and trailers were all part of Werner Enterprises marketing mix. Werner Enterprises also was a big pioneer in technology and Information Technology and was a big premier customer of IBM's.

However it was the people at Werner Enterprises that really set them apart. Werner never bought out another trucking company ever they don't believe in acquisition. Which isn't usually the case well it's half and half I can't say I ever really knew Schneider or J.B. Hunt to buy anyone out. Now, Swift has bought out there fare share of companies and LTL companies tend to like to buy each other out, however that's kind of a different business and it's not the same thing. Food companies buy each other out all the time, but that's not trucking so that doesn't count.

Anyhow with the exception of buying out private fleets Werner Enterprises never acquired another company.

Mr. Werner him self was regarded as a real stand up guy even by his competitors like Crete Carrier Corp. Acklie who was the owner of Crete Carrier Corp based in Lincoln, Nebraska knew Mr. Werner and while the two men are head to head competitors Mr. Ackie had great respect for Mr. Werner.

Anyhow in 2002 Mr. Werner took a step back and his son's took over.

You know it was so funny now that history has come full circle. See the people in the book in 2002 couldn't have seen what would have happened to Werner today. The Werner story to me is kind of a bitter sweet one. You have this essentially great company that played by different rules how many mega fleets back in those days had a fleet like Werner nobody had a fleet like Werner had. Well Dick Simon was pretty close to Werner. Dick Simon he was kind of like a Werner his company was never as big or successful, but he was like a mini Werner. Dick Simon had a similar background to C.L. Werner, and that's why we covered Simon because he was a small Werner you know I know people have mixed opinions of Werner and Simon mainly Dick Simon he's not nearly as popular or well liked as Werner, but Dick Simon did follow kind of a similar trajectory, it's a shame his company wasn't as well run. However there's a lot of truck companies that came started small got kind of big and then fizzled out. Dick Simon, Star Transport of Morton, IL and there's more then that, but those are two good examples.

Anyhow, in the book someone said "If the Werner boys left the company it just wouldn't be the same place or the same."

Well ha-ha surprise! Here it is 15-16 years later and guess what! Now I have to look at there ugly white trailers and ugly new logo and ugly bland trucks like @Mike_77 said I don't even bother paying much attention anymore the magic is gone.

But we had some good years too, even as only spectators, look at that picture it's pure magic don't see stuff like that anymore. I reckon that Werner served many people well though. I know they get a bad wrap, but I know they also served many people well and the company gave a lot of people a chance to get a leg up on the pile.

The story of Werner is certainly an only in America story. They worked hard kept there nose to the grind stone and really built a huge empire and that's where were going to leave it. We all know what Werner was and sadly we kind of know what they have become. I would like them to still have there fancy chromed out blue trucks and trailers, but the politically correct times we live in won't allow it.

So here's one more as a send off:

This concludes Mike's Book Club Spring 2018 Edition The Legend of Werner Enterprises. Thank you all for reading along with me.