Perkins Specialized Transportation (don't ever think about leasing with any company)

Had a buddy who worked for them for 6 months, never made any money, was usually negative. Good news that they are closing. Maybe the owner/owners can be arrested too?

 

Not exactly accurate, otherwise Hiner would also assume Perkins' debt. And there is no bankruptcy filing.

However, there IS some sort of quasi-merger happening.

 

Nobody has shown any credible evidence that a crime has been committed by the CEO of Perkins.

When the news was broken to me, a couple of days ago. The CFO said that last quarter was the first time the company had shown a profit in nearly 4 years.

 

LOL they couldn't show a profit even though they were ripping off drivers all those years? Epic Fail. Double incompetence.

 

you are correct. i miss spoke. not a bankruptcy, but rather a liquidation.

 

yup. A few choice brass, employees, and as many drivers as they can get, are moving over to Hiner Transport, in Huntington, IN. Of course, they are taking the best account contracts with them too.
Unfortunately, the lease purchase program is being discontinued, even for those already in lease purchase trucks!
You either become a Hiner employee driver, or you get a bus ticket home, pack your stuff up.

 

i turned hiner down. many of the lease trucks had to go back to nat bank of indiania, or sterenburg. i dont know what happens to the guys who have several years of making payments on thier trucks, perhaps they ca talk to the lien holder

 

Those guys won't come up with financing for $30,000+ on the principal. I think most have already signed onto Hiner as Company drivers or packed up and left.

 

I am receiving multiple reports that Perkins Specialized Transportation has closed its doors as of today (2/18/2012).

According to Andrew Commons and Ben Lujin (via Facebook, oddly), no drivers were left stranded, and this closure was over the last 30 days. They claim to be (now former) employees of Perkins. Lease trucks were repossessed, and fuel cards shut off as the last trucks were returned. Those drivers who did not accept employment with Hiner were terminated and given bus tickets home.

However, media indications are that there was little, if any, notice. As recently as last night (2/17/2012), there were media reports that lease drivers were having their fuel cards turned off, and that their trucks were being repossessed over the last week, not over the last 30 days as these "former employees" are claiming in social media sites. The rigs were financed through Card Leasing, owned by Perkins. James "Andy" Card gave zero indication that the company planned to close its doors when he talked with Land Line (according to their article online last night). Many of the drivers were given little, if any notice, that they had to come up with the principle due on their rigs or surrender them immediately. Many of those drivers lost their rigs after years of paying upwards of $400/wk on their leases.

So far, I have not heard or seen any official reports of drivers having been stranded, as was originally reported to me early this morning. After what happened on Christmas Eve 2009 with Arrow, it was an easy conclusion to reach. However, no Perkins driver has chimed in yet that this has happened.

Company drivers were given Hiner employee handbooks, or bus tickets home, depending on which alternatives were available to them at the time. It is unknown what happened with office and shop personnel, whether they were laid off or transferred to Hiner.

I will try to update this if I get any more new information. Again, I have yet to hear directly from any Perkins company or lease drivers that they were left stranded when Perkins ceased operations this morning. If you are a Perkins driver or lease operator who was left stranded and you are under a load, PM me and I'll see what I can do to help get rid of the load (deliver, return, safe haven) and your rig, and get your home (I've been through this a couple of times, so I know a couple of tricks).

This is starting to make me wonder why I am going through so much to overcome my new disability to get back into trucking.

Good luck out among 'em, Drivers!

 

Article from landline

2/17/2012
Drivers report major changes at Perkins Specialized Transportation
By Clarissa Kell-Holland, staff writer
For several weeks now, the trucking industry has been abuzz with rumors about whether Perkins Specialized Transportation Inc., of Noblesville, IN, is suspending operations or merging with another trucking company in late February.

While Perkins' Chairman and owner James "Andy" Card told Land Line earlier this week that there "isn't anything to discuss at the time," drivers are reporting they were routed into the office and told the company was merging with another carrier, Hiner Transport LLC, based in Huntington, IN.

Drivers were given an employee handbook for Hiner, which has about 196 power units and 205 drivers.

Some of the drivers had lease-purchase agreements through Card Leasing, another Perkins' company. About a week ago, those drivers were given a week to come up with the principal amount owed on their trucks or surrender them. One driver was told this was because Hiner Transport doesn't offer a lease-purchase program.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, one driver told Land Line the company quit dispatching him, turned his fuel card off, and repossessed his truck. He had been paying nearly $400 per week on his truck for more than four years.

While the Perkins' lease-purchase agreement outlines what happens if the driver defaults, the agreement doesn't state what happens when the driver has fulfilled the terms of the contract, but the carrier and leasing company both close their doors.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website shows that Perkins' insurance policy is scheduled to be canceled on Feb. 29. The company had 203 power units and 189 drivers, according to FMCSA's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records site.

One driver said that some of the drivers are transitioning over to Hiner, while others are still weighing their options.



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