My new adventure with Gordon Trucking

Best thing about the citrus runs...... They trailer smells good after unload.

 

Not like those Garlic loads I used to get out of Central California....my dog even hated to go to the D.C. LOL

 

As one who has done it twice with airlines, this is great advice. It's hard not to live "in the moment" as an employee, but large corporate mergers are cumbersome and time-consuming. Keeping ones eye on the ball - the road, as it were - is critical for sanity.

 

My condolences GTI drivers... Gordon was my backup if I started disliking my current company, but I don't have any faith in Heartland. I hope I'm wrong, but get while the gettin's good...

 

Good advice double yellow

 

Love your new avatar. Just make sure you stop your smurf truck before hitting the button.

 

Had one Half garlic, Half onions while With GTI.

Opened the trailer the day after drop and it smelt like cheap spaghetti sauce.

 

Another mega coolie carrier in the works

 

I have been reading through the discussion and feel that I can add some factual information to the conversation. I am not an executive and not a recruiter and have no intention of promoting either company. I do have access to both management's information and drivers and can clear up some of the misinformation that might be floating around out there. Take it for what it is. Here is what I know.

Gordon drivers will not lose their seniority with the company, ever. Drivers with 20 years seniority with the company will continue to have 20 years seniority and will have 21 years in the next year, etc. All drivers and office and shop employees will keep their earned vacation. They will never have less vacation than they have now. Also the health insurance benefits were just renewed so they are guaranteed to keep the same insurance benefits for at least the next year. Benefit programs are always subject to change each year of course in any company, but they absolutely will not change over the next year. A year from now, with Obamacare who knows what health insurance will look like at ANY company.

Gordon Trucking is still continuing to operate as Gordon Trucking, under the same management. Steve and Scott Gordon are still running the company and will continue to. Mr. Larry Gordon has retired from day to day operations after 50 successful years in the business (I think he deserves some well-earned time off, don't you?), but he has joined the Heartland board of directors to have a role in helping to guide the combined company.

No one can say what the equipment will look like in future years, merger or not. But it is a fact that Gordon is continuing to take delivery of the GTI blue Freightliners with the same specifications that they have had, with GTI on the truck, not Heartland. Long-term on the equipment, no one can assume that Gordon equipment will just become the same as Heartland equipment, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I know for fact that Heartland management is looking at Gordon's equipment and may adopt some of the same features on the Heartland side over time. GTI drivers seem to love the specs on the their trucks and Heartland is paying attention to that. Heartland has been making many changes to their equipment over the last few years to make them more driver comfortable. This year they installed brand new 1500W inverters in all of their trucks to power household type appliances. They are delivering their new trucks with Espar heaters. They are looking to see how well the APU's work on the Gordon fleet. Bottom line, make no assumptions in this area. Both Gordon and Heartland have both been making positive changes to their truck specs.

Safety is high priority at both Gordon and Heartland. Heartland has the absolute best CSA safety scores of any for-hire trucking company among the best. Gordon Trucking currently has the second best CSA scores. Combined they have the best CSA scores together. This is verifiable at the fmcsa.dot.gov website.

Is Heartland/Gordon a mega carrier? They might be larger than many companies because of the successful growth they have had, but the intent is not to be the biggest company. Heartland is majority owned and lead by the Gerdin family, 3rd generation truckers in the family business. Heartland started in their current form with 16 trucks in 1978 and has grown because they attractive to both customers and drivers. Gordon has been owned by the Gordon family, of which Steve and Scott are 3rd generation in the business. Gordon started in the beer hauling business in 1946. The Gordon family is now one of the largest stock owners of Heartland Express, along with the Gerdin family. Still a family run business. I'm sure this will bring the naysayers, but it is still a fact that the Gerdin family and the Gordon family own the majority of the business. Mike Gerdin has continued to have breakfast with different drivers every week to listen to them, and has used much of their feedback over the past year in making decisions to benefit the drivers and company.

Why did Heartland acquire Gordon and why did they sell control? Heartland has a strong presence in the east and has been growing west, and Gordon has a strong presence in the west and has been growing east. These two companies operate very similar and have the same values in so many areas. It almost seemed inevitable that they would come together some day. Now the combined company has freight everywhere around the country. Both GTI and Heartland drivers are a very experienced group, very excellent drivers. Mr. Gordon wanted to make sure that all of his drivers and employees were going to be well taken care of well into the future. Heartland was a debt-free company with a culture of safety and service and driver success. The goal is for Gordon Trucking to continue to successfully thrive and for Heartland to continue to successfully thrive. Both GTI and Heartland customers have been asking the companies to haul more freight and serve the other areas of the country that they weren't operating in. Now they believe that the customers will give both companies more freight opportunities because of the expanded service offering.

Reefer division will continue to operate under Gordon Trucking and hopefully expand. Same with the heavy haul and team operations. Same with the owner operator program. Gordon is continuing to recruit and hire drivers for Gordon Trucking.

Heartland has not traditionally hired trainees and has required 1 year of experience. Gordon has successfully run a limited training program in addition to hiring experienced drivers. The difference between the Gordon program and some of the others out there is that many of Gordon's most tenured drivers have come out of the training program and have been well taken care of. They will continue forward with the same program. Both companies have some of the most experienced drivers in the industry, with many 3 million milers, 2 million milers, and 1 million milers, alongside the newer drivers that they are helping to mentor.

Good luck to everyone! I am sure many of you will be surprised at how well things go. Don't expect things to be perfect. Things are never perfect. But I would encourage you to use your own eyes and your own head in evaluating the situation. If you are a Gordon driver you continue to have your seniority that you have had, you have nothing to lose by sticking around and seeing how things go. Making a change at this point and starting over with another job carries its own risks and changes. I would encourage you to use your own judgment and not just listen to what other people write.