Under the supervision of Charles Wodetzki, fleet manager for Kemira’s manufacturing division, the fleet of 97 tractors and 140 trailers hauls shipments from several of the division’s plants and transloading facilities located across the U.S. and Canada.
“We supply many cities and towns with environmentally-friendly and cost-effective chemicals that treat municipal drinking water,” Wodetzki says. “We’re also responsible for supplying cities, industrial manufacturers and mining companies with chemicals to treat wastewater before it’s returned to the environment.
“Some of our biggest customers are cities with keep-full accounts, which means we have to run loads of chemicals to their water and sewage treatment facilities on a 24/7 basis,” Wodetzki continues. “There are also smaller accounts, cities with personnel available to receive shipments only at certain times, so we often have tight delivery windows.
“Our trucks must be reliable and spec’ed and maintained to operate efficiently,” Wodetzki adds. “When municipalities and industrial users need chemicals for their water treatment facilities, the last thing they want to hear is that their shipments are delayed because of equipment issues.”
In addition to meeting delivery needs, part of Kemira’s approach is to not buy equipment it views as assets that depreciate. Instead, the company prefers to invest capital in plants and other activities that grow its business. That’s a major reason, according to Wodetzki, that Kemira Fleet Operations has turned to full-service lease agreements to meet its equipment and maintenance needs.
Financial benefits
“By leasing our trucks from PacLease, we can rely on our local PacLease franchises to specify and maintain them so that we can concentrate on getting deliveries made quickly, safely and efficiently,” Wodetzki explains.
“Full-service leasing offers companies like Kemira financial benefits over ownership including a lower net-present value cost and diversified sources of capital,” says Olen Hunter, director of sales for PacLease.
“Additionally,” Hunter says, “a proposed rule change by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board may require that lessees report leased assets on their balance sheets. With leasing, since the leasing company is responsible for the residual value of the vehicle, the amount the customer has to report will be less than if they purchase the equipment.”
From its base in East Chicago, Ind., Kemira Fleet Operations works closely with several full-service truck leasing companies. Its largest supplier is PACCAR Leasing (PacLease), which fields tractors and provides maintenance services at a number of locations. “We rely on local franchises,” Wodetzki says. “By having someone locally, we’re not making calls to a national office to have issues resolved. Local franchises also provide flexible maintenance schedules so our vehicles can be quickly returned to service.”
Currently, Kemira’s lease agreements with PacLease include 27 Kenworth T800s from Inland Kenworth PacLease in Fontana, Calif., including eight with 42-in. AeroCab sleepers, 17 with regular day cabs and two with the Kenworth Extended Day Cab.
Kemira also leases 18 Peterbilt Model 386s, including six with 63-in. UltraCab sleepers from Allstate Leasing in Cleveland, Ohio, and Sioux City, Iowa, and 12 with regular day cabs from Peterbilt-PacLease of St. Louis in Strafford, Mo. In addition, Kemira operates 16 Kenworth T800s, five Kenworth T660s and eight Peterbilt 386s from Location de Camions Eureka in Anjou, Quebec, and Kenworth Ontario PacLease in Toronto.
Wodetzki also says that Kemira relies on the expertise of its leasing partners to help choose components that achieve an effective balance between an acceptable cost and weight savings to maximize payload and productivity.
“We have to carefully analyze the higher cost of weight saving specifications and the benefit we realize,” he states. “We also can’t create a one of a kind unit or the vehicle will have little resale value and the lessor will have to charge more to cover those costs. Recently as well, 2010 emissions compliant engines and the DEF tanks they require add as much as 900 lbs. to our chassis, so the weight savings we’ve realized from things like aluminum wheels and other items have been wiped out.”
| Kemira Tractor Specifications Model: Kenworth T800 Wheelbase: 209 in. Engine: Cummins ISX, 450 HP Clutch: Eaton Fuller Transmission: Eaton Fuller FRO16210B 10-speed Front Axle: Dana Spicer Power Steering: TRW TAS65 Rear Axle: Dana Spicer DSP40 Rear Suspension: Kenworth Airglide 380 Brakes: Meritor Wheels: Alcoa aluminum Tires: Bridgestone R280 5th Wheel: SAF Holland Air Compressor: Bendix Air Dryer: Bendix AD-IS Batteries: (3) PACCAR Seats: Sears Seating Fuel Tanks: 100-gal. polished aluminum Paint: Dupont Imron |
New ideas
Kemira also is always looking for new ideas. For example, it has been testing two 430 HP PACCAR MX multi-torque engines. “A big consideration for us is that we offload product using air,” Wodetzki relates. “On the tractors with Cummins ISX engines in our fleet we use a 37.4 CFM dual cylinder air compressor to power the offloading systems. On the PACCAR engines we spec a transmission driven PTO and an Ingersoll Rand rotary compressor.
“Unloading times will be a big factor in our decision about both of these sets of specifications,” Wodetzki continues. “The biggest piece, however, will be fuel economy, which we’re also tracking closely.”
Also not overlooked at Kemira are driver impressions of the fleet’s specs. “Driver satisfaction is a key consideration for us since driver retention is so important in maintaining our low annual turnover rate of 1%,” Wodetzki states. “Typically, drivers stay with us until they retire, and many of our 111 drivers have been with Kemira for 15 to 20 years or more.
“One reason for that is because we pay them by the hour,” Wodetzki adds. “It’s the only fair way to account for the expertise they need to haul and deliver water treatment chemicals safely. Another reason, of course, is the quality equipment we offer them.”
Quality is what Kemira is all about. The subsidiary of Helsinki-based Kemira Oyj, a global chemicals company, Kemira’s mission is to help cities and industry conserve water, one of the planet’s most precious resources.
Meeting Needs: Kemira Trailer Specifications
Two factors help guide decisions about trailers for the Kemira fleet. First is the specialized nature of the operation. Second, a typical tank trailer in the fleet is expected to last at least 20 years.
The Kemira fleet includes basic types of tank trailers, rubber lined carbon steel tankers and newer FRP Poly-Coat models from Brenner Tank. While both designs have a 5,400-gal. capacity, the FRP units offer an almost 2,000-lb. weight savings. In addition, their fiberglass lining is much simpler to wash out between loads, improving utilization.
Specifications for the latest Brenner Tank trailers at Kemira call for Jost A400 two-speed landing gear, Hendrickson Intraax AANT spread axles and suspensions, Alcoa aluminum wheels, ConMet aluminum hubs and Motor Wheels (Hayes) drums. A Meritor WABCO RSS Plus roll stability control system with ABS, and Grote wiring harnesses and LED lamps, are standard as well.
