“Know your customers, know what they need and keep a finger on your costs,” says Steve Teeple, president of Pollywog Transport Inc. “That recipe for success is what’s helped us earn a reputation for delivering exceptional customer service.”
Founded by Teeple with a single truck, Palmetto, Fla.-based Pollywog operates 50 tractors and 90 trailers. Providing mostly dedicated temperature-controlled service, along with some dry van and flatbed capacity, the carrier operates primarily east of the Mississippi River. Serving a wide variety of customers, the company also has a facility in Garrett, Ind.
“We have a customer base that includes many large and Fortune 500 firms,” Teeple states. “That’s somewhat rare for a trucking company the size of Pollywog Transport. What it says is that we are consistently providing reliable, efficient service, and we’re able to do that because we have always looked for new and innovative technology.”
Enhanced visibility
“We equipped all of our power units with PeopleNet’s on-board system years ago,” Teeple continues. “We thought it was important to know where our assets are and to provide our customers with that enhanced visibility. We’ve also automated much of our dispatching, which has improved our driver productivity by 30%.”
Teeple points in particular to the PeopleNet mobile communications systems that are now in place on all of the fleet’s tractors. The system, in conjunction with Prophesy Transportation Software’s dispatch solution, provides satellite tracking, dispatch and routing, electronic driver logs, automated fuel tax reporting and real-time performance monitoring capabilities.
“We’ve grown with PeopleNet,” Teeple says. “We originally adopted the system in response to a shipper’s request for the ability to track loads. We also participate in the PeopleNet Product Advisory Council, where we’ve had the opportunity to test new technology and help develop solutions we’ve adopted, such as eDriver Logs, Automated Fuel Tax Reporting, PACOS exception dispatching and PerformX real-time performance monitoring of drivers and equipment.”
For Pollywog, Teeple reports, the benefits have been measurable. “PeopleNet’s Automated Fuel Tax Reporting solution has delivered a 100% return on investment by allowing us to move a full-time fuel tax person into a different role,” he states. “We not only saved the salary and benefits costs for that position, but the move also sped up our receivables processing and helped us get paid faster.”
Reducing liability
In 2006, Pollywog also used a PeopleNet solution to improve its safety scores, and in turn lower its liability and physical damage insurance rates. That year, a DOT audit cited the carrier for driver errors in logging hours of service when preparing paper logs. The result was a driver-out-of-service rate as high as 90%.
“We made the decision to turn on PeopleNet eDriver Logs in every truck,” Teeple relates, “and in a short period of time the out of service rate was down to 35%, with further improvement after that. The improved safety statistics reduced our insurance costs by 20% after the first year and an additional 10% after the following year.”
Pollywog also is using ReeferTrak trailer monitoring and control systems from StarTrak to track and manage its refrigerated trailers. “These systems give us the ability to remotely control the reefer, including start/stop and temperature setting capabilities, even for multi-temp units on three compartment trailers,” Teeple relates. “It’s another way we are proactive in trying to keep costs down.”
Paying dividends
Investing in solutions that Teeple describes as having “small costs, but pay dividends” also extends to the fleet’s purchasing practices for tractors and trailers. “Our 50 power units are primarily Freightliner Columbia models with Detroit Diesel engines, along with a few Internationals with Cummins ISX units,” he relates. “We’ve kept our 2002 through 2007 model year tractors in part to avoid the costs and issues associated with 2010 emissions-compliant engines.
“We also fitted our tractors with Thermo King TriPac auxiliary power units,” Teeple adds. “The combination of reduced idling with the APUs, the excellent fuel efficiency we get with our engines—and the better MPG we’re realizing by specifying longer-lasting Michelin tires—makes this approach a good choice for us.”
Pollywog’s 90 trailers are a mix of new and used models from Great Dane, Utility, Wabash and Hyundai. Primarily 53-ft. reefers with Carrier refrigeration units, the fleet also includes flatbeds and dry vans, a result of the acquisition of Cline Trucking in Garrett, Ind.
“We buy both new and used equipment,” Teeple states. “For tractors, we do not have a fixed trade cycle based on years or mileage. We continue to measure maintenance expenses for each power unit, and any time that number exceeds a pre-determined cost per mile, it’s time to rotate the unit out of the fleet.”
All maintenance on the Pollywog fleet, except mainly some electronic system issues that are handled by dealers, is performed in-house. At its Florida headquarters, the carrier operates a shop staffed by four technicians. At its Indiana facility, the company leases its shop to an independent contractor that handles the fleet’s needs on a priority basis and also takes in outside work.
Maintenance and repair activity for the Pollywog fleet is managed using FleetTrax Premier, the maintenance module supplied by Prophesy Transportation Software. The system is used to handle inspection reporting, tire tracking, preventive maintenance scheduling, maintenance and repair histories, purchase order tracking, fuel usage, and parts inventory and cost analysis functions.
Deep knowledge
Pollywog’s success in all aspects of its business comes from Teeple’s extensive knowledge of every part of his company’s operation. Joined today by his daughter Lori and son-in-law Chad, who have worked for the company for the past 15 years, Teeple is actually a third generation trucker. His grandfather, D.F. Teeple, founded Teeple Trucking in 1872 in Decatur, Ind. The business went on to be run by his sons, including Steve Teeple’s father.
“My family had the right idea,” he says. “They exposed me to all the elements of running the business. Over the years I worked in the secretarial pool, in the shop as a tire changer and a mechanic, and as a driver. In the office, I served as a rate clerk, a claims adjuster and as operations manager, along with other management roles.
Teeple did leave the family operation to pursue his passion for photography, operating Pollywog Photography, whose name lives on in the trucking company he founded in 1984. “The same values that I learned in the family business have helped us succeed,” he states. “We deliver uncompromised customer service, and always strive to contain our costs. It’s a recipe for success that keeps Pollywog a leap ahead of the competition.”
Pollywog Transport Tractor Specifications
Model: Freightliner Columbia
Wheelbase: 212 in.
Engine: Detroit Diesel 12.7 liter, 430 HP
Transmission: Eaton Fuller FR 15210
Front Axle: Meritor
Rear Axle: Meritor
Wheel Seals: National
Tires: Michelin
5th Wheel: SAF Holland, air slide
Air Dryer: Bendix
Air Cleaners: Baldwin
Fan Clutch: Horton
Batteries: Interstate
Alternator: Leece-Neville
Fuel Tanks: dual, 150-gal. aluminum
Pollywog Transport Trailer Specifications
Models: Great Dane, Utility, Wabash, Hyundai
Refrigeration Unit: Carrier
Landing Gear: SAF Holland
Tires: Dayton, Dunlop, Kelly
