The family-owned and -operated Tex-Mix Concrete ready-mix outfit got its start in 1996. During the last two decades, Tex-Mix has grown by supplying ready-mix concrete for residential, commercial, industrial, and government projects in and around Austin, Texas.
“Ready mix concrete is a very local business. We use local materials to build things locally,” says Logan Owens, CEO of Tex-Mix. “It’s a perishable product where all of the materials that we use are sourced in very close proximity to the plant.”
The company’s 88 mixer trucks are a common site along I-35 and Texas 130, delivering TxDOT- and city-approved mixes for construction projects from seven plants. The company has two new concrete plants under construction to keep up with demand.
A recent order added 12 Freightliners to its fleet. Tex-Mix Fleet Maintenance Manager James LaRue says points to 23 Freightliner 114SDs, four FLD120 mixers and two Coronados, a Columbia and two Cascadia tractors among 32 total Freightliners. “We started running the Freightliner trucks for the ease of maintenance, the reliability, the parts availability and the relationship with our dealers.”
The Freightliner 114SD, LaRue says, spec’d with the Detroit DD13 engine, makes for a durable vocational truck that technicians appreciate for its ease of maintenance — drivers like the visibility and comfort. The Detroit Virtual Technician onboard diagnostic telematics system helps LaRue stay on top of his fleet.
“Virtual Technician helps me do my job. If I get a truck with a check engine light on, I know right away what that problem is,” LaRue says. “If it’s a minor issue the driver can keep running. I don’t have to take the truck out of service. If it’s a major issue, like when we had a coolant hose failure, I get the e-mail right away.”
In ready-mix, if a truck breaks down and you are unable to keep the load active, it will set. When that happens you not only lose the cost of the concrete, but it can cost $3,500 or more to have the drum chipped out and three to seven days of downtime.
Freightliner produced a video with the fleet you can view below.
Read more in Freightliner’s Severe Duty Report newsletter.
from Overdrive http://ift.tt/160O2Oo
Sourced by Quik DMV - CADMV fleet registration services. Renew your registration online in only 10 minutes. No DMV visits, no lines, no phone mazes, and no appointments needed. Visit Quik, Click, Pay & Print your registration from home or any local print shop.
0 comments:
Post a Comment