Carrier Profiles

Carrier Focus: Remedy Express

Remedy Express is an expedited carrier based in southern Illinois with a somewhat different business model  than the typical emergency freight company.

This company doesn't use cargo vans or straight trucks for its customer's loads. As founder Tim Houseman says, "We haul time-sensitive, expedited freight ONLY with an all tractor-trailer fleet.  We specialize in true just-in-time freight that has to be at a plant at 6:00 am or the plant shuts down."

Houseman adds that this is not just partial or LTL loads:  "Most of the loads take up 80% to 85% of the trailer.  Very rarely will we pick up just one or two skids. Our customer base includes companies like Del Monte and Black & Decker.  With accounts of that size, they will want to load as much freight as they can. Most of the loads will just about fill a 53' trailer.  These major companies keep us very busy, particularly in the third and fourth quarters."

One could assume that, given Remedy's focus on JIT, the company's fleet would be regular visitors at the car plants, but Houseman says that's not the case: "We don't do automotive freight (although it's certainly lucrative) but because the manufacturers invoice on a quarterly basis and a modestly-sized company like ours prefers to deal with accounts receivable on a more frequently-scheduled basis."

Beginnings
"My father was a trucker with his own trucking company and I've been around this business my entire life," says Houseman. 

"I became a professional driver in the late 1970's and I continued driving until moving into an operations position with a trucking company where I was in charge of anywhere from 10-40 trucks on a daily basis.  I did that for around 3 years."

Houseman founded Remedy Express in 1999 and is the company's president and even,  occasional driver.

"I think my experience keeps me 'grounded' because I remember where I came from.  I still hop in the truck occasionally.  If a customer needs us, I'm ready to go. My drivers know that I've been down the same road that they have."

The Remedy Express fleet is composed of 100% owner-operators (all solo's) who own late model tractors with 53' dry van trailers. Fleet size is currently at 15 units.

Operations
The company's owner-operators regularly run in about 15 states, primarily in the midwest, but including Minnesota to Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas.  Chicago and Minneapolis in particular, are hot areas for the company.

Equally important to many drivers, says Houseman, is where his drivers don't run, and that includes no Canada, no New York City and very limited west coast.  Remedy Express does not transport hazardous materials.

The average length of haul is around 650 miles.
A phrase that describes many of Remedy Express' loads are what Tim Houseman calls, "Predictable runs.  We have runs coming out of the same locations on a regular basis. For example, if one of our drivers is in Ohio on a Wednesday, he knows that there is a regular run coming out of there heading down to Arkansas." 

"The same applies to Minneapolis - there are frequent loads coming out of there headed down south.  Our drivers get to know the twelve or fifteen facilities that we run out of for six months out of the year.  We get freight out of those same facilities to bring us back to Chicago, Minnesota and Tennessee." 

"It kind of spoils the driver because he knows he can figure on loads coming out of the same places on a regular basis.  Not dedicated runs, but predictable."

He adds, "Even though many of our loads come under the expedited heading, we usually have an idea a day or so before hand, so we can position a driver.  There are those times when a run is dispatched at the last minute, but most of the time, we have plenty of advance notice and can pre-dispatch the next run.

"Most of my guys are home on weekends.  All of our drivers are OTR, we don't have any drivers doing local work."
 
"We do a little bit of trade show transportation for a couple of customers, but not on a large-scale basis. We don't really offer specialized handling services.  Most of our freight is palletized and wrapped, but we do offer a little bit more delicate handling service when required."

Relationships
Houseman talks about his company's low owner-operator turnover:  "I've still got the first owner-operator here who signed on with me when I opened the company. I also have some drivers who worked for me at my previous company back in 96 and 97.  I like the long-term relationship with drivers and getting to know them."

"We all know each other here.  We have a staff of four people in the office with two of us dispatching.  Even if I take the occasional load myself, our drivers can still talk to me via cell phone.  It means a lot to them to know that sometimes I will have to hop in the truck to take care of a customer's needs."

Remedy Express' president touches on the keys to success for an owner-operator signed with his company:

-"Military experience and discipline are a plus. I believe it helps a driver in dealing with the pressures of driving.
 
-"A driver has to possess fiscal responsibility.  Just because one makes 170,000 a year doesn't mean he can spend that money."
 
-"Customer service skills are essential  Being able to go into a customer and present yourself professionally is very important."

He continues, "In expedited freight, the customers expect more from the driver and expect him to show up with the correct attitude.  It means a lot to the customer and they return the respect.  Our guys are often treated better than the other truck drivers and are frequently moved to the front of the line for loading/unloading.  That's not only because they represent our company but also because our drivers are in and out of the same places so often that they get to know our drivers."

Houseman feels that getting to know the driver is key:  "I tell a new owner-operator give me a month and a half.  He'll get to know me and I'll become familiar with how he works."

The 'benefits' of leasing with Remedy Express
*No forced dispatch
*84% of gross
*100 percent of the fuel surcharge
goes to the owner-operator
*Minimal deadhead
*Home on most weekends
*Company provides liability and cargo insurance
*Regional freight
*Predictable runs
*Fuel taxes calculated

Owner-Operator requirements
*5 years verifiable experience
*Clean driving record
*NO DUI
*2001 or newer tractor
*Positive attitude
*Excellent work ethic
*Desire to be a part of a winning team

Tim Houseman says that when it was time for him to leave his driving career, he realized that he wanted to stay in the business and progress in a different direction.  "I didn't want to waste all the time I had spent in the industry and the things I had learned."

"I think of all of my drivers as my brothers and the company as a family.  When you talk to my guys, you get a different feeling for a trucking company.  That means a lot to me."

Remedy Express Online Pre-application