Re: News from Kenworth: Teichert Gains
Competitive Edge with Kenworth W900S 10-Yard Mixers
For some undetermined reason, the image files attached to the below Kenworth
release (distributed today) did not send. They are attached to this email.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jeff Parietti, (425) 828-5196 jparietti@paccar.com
Teichert Gains Competitive Edge with Kenworth W900S 10-Yard Mixers
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 19, 2001 - Teichert Readymix had a mission:
Increase payload by a half yard of concrete, moving from 9.5-yard to 10-yard
mixers. The math was conclusive for a 20-truck order. If they were able to
gain the extra payload, it would mean a substantial increase in additional
revenue.
Management along with employees of Sacramento-based Teichert Inc. - which
holds the oldest contractors license in the state of California, (#8) -
displayed the product of their careful planning. On hand were recently
delivered Kenworth W900S mixers light enough to give Teichert its extra half
yard of concrete.
Teichert, which employs 2,200 people and operates 250 Class 8 trucks, hosted
customers and component suppliers to celebrate the achievement. "Through a
great working relationship with Kenworth, we did it," smiled Carl Musser,
who is Teichert's on-highway equipment superintendent. "Our new Kenworths
are 10-yard legal mixers - the first 10-yard mixers in our region. They give
us a competitive advantage and we're aiming to have our entire fleet of
mixers - 110 of them - hauling 10 yard loads in the near future."
Musser worked closely with Sacramento Kenworth, Kenworth Truck Company,
Cummins West and McNeilus to custom spec the W900S to meet weight
requirements.
"Teichert is one of California's most respected companies in the
construction industry," said Tom Bertolino, Sacramento Kenworth's general
manager. "When they told us they wanted to achieve the 10-yard legal
payload, we calculated that they needed a bare chassis dry weight under
14,300 pounds to reach it. We provided a list of weight-reducing options,
and they chose the ones that made sense for them."
"Kenworth applications engineers also took the time to come down to our
facility to meet with us and go through our operation and the specs," noted
Musser. "They reached the best and lightest specs of any OEM that we spoke
with on this project."
Teichert chose a Cummins ISC 315 horsepower engine driven through a Fuller
11-speed transmission. Together, the combination saved more than 700 pounds
over an ISM engine and heavier transmission. "We looked at major components,
plus little things that saved us 10 pounds here, 20 pounds there. It all
added up," Musser said.
"In our business, weight is money," Musser emphasized. "But, when we did
this, we didn't want to sacrifice vehicle reliability or driver comfort.
Kenworths are a premium truck and driver acceptance is extremely high. Plus,
from a management standpoint, Kenworths have great resale value."
How did Teichert calculate its increase in revenue? "We run five loads per
day, per truck -- that's 2.5 extra yards per day," Musser said. "Multiplied
by 200 work days a year, that's 500 extra yards with no extra labor cost.
Even with an average amount of short loads, which we all have in this
business, when you do the math it adds up to significant revenue that can't
be overlooked."
While spec'ing a lightweight truck was a foremost concern for Teichert,
quality was just as important. "Our company has been in business since 1887,
and we've grown by 100 percent in the last 10 years," Musser said. "The
reason is quality across the board - from our people to the trucks we
operate.
"Our fleet is predominately Kenworth for very good reasons," continued
Musser. "We look at maintenance dollars for the life of the truck and the
way it's constructed. For example, little things like cab access is
important from a safety standpoint - our drivers get in and out many times
per day.
"The sloped hood of the W900S is also important to us - it offers the best
visibility of any truck we've seen," he said. "Also, the wheel cut is
unsurpassed, which is important to our drivers and our safety record.
Drivers appreciate a good piece of equipment and we feel the Kenworths have
helped keep our driver turnover to a minimum."
Kenworth's W900S: List of Main Weight-Saving Specs
In total, Kenworth was able to take 1,671 pounds out of Teichert's
previously spec'd truck which, when coupled with several changes to the MTM
mixer, achieved 1,930 additional payload pounds:
-- ISC 315 engine replacing the Cummins ISM - 681 pounds
-- Fuller RTO11909ALL replacing the RTO14909ALL - 55 pounds
-- 4 super singles on the rear replacing 8 aluminum wheels - 332 pounds
-- Chalmers 40K rear suspension replacing the a 46K pound suspension - 271
pounds
-- Dana Spicer DS405 40K rear axle replacing the RT44-145 - 69 pounds
-- Two batteries versus three batteries - 44 pounds
-- Aluminum air tanks - 43 pounds
To learn more about Teichert, Inc., visit the company's website at
www.teichert.com.
Kenworth Truck Company, a division of PACCAR Inc, is a leading manufacturer
of heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth's Internet home page is at
www.kenworth.com.
#
NOTE TO EDITORS: Carl Musser of Teichert may be reached at (916) 386-3717.
Tom Bertolino of Sacramento Kenworth may be reached at 916-371-3372.
NOTE TO EDITORS: A high-resolution version of the attached image is
available by replying to this email.
CAPTION INFO:
TeichertW900Slr.jpg - Teichert's new Kenworth W900S 10-yard mixer.
Teichert1W900Slr.jpg - Teichert officials take delivery of their first W900S
10-yard mixer from Sacramento Kenworth and Kenworth Truck Co. From left are
Bob Perrine, Teichert vice president for concrete products; Brian Lindgren,
Kenworth vocational market segment manager; Carl Musser, Teichert on-highway
equipment superintendent; and Tom Bertolino, Sacramento Kenworth general
manager.
