AdVANtage Contractor Newsletter

Pre-buy 2007 trucks
Now is the time to upgrade your tractor!

Mike Wurzer,
Purchase-Lease Manager at Highway Sales, Inc.
Lower emission standards for diesel-powered trucks have been mandated by the EPA for diesel engines built after January 1, 2007. These new standards mean that the cost to buy, fuel, and maintain trucks will be going up in 2007.

Engines manufactured after January 1, 2007 will be equipped with an exhaust "after treatment package" that replaces the muffler. This package functions much like the catalytic converter on an automobile. It also comes with a $6,000 - $9,000 price tag that will be added to the cost of each truck engine manufactured after January 1.

The new engines will require fuel with lower sulfur levels. To prepare for the new 2007 engines, the Federal Government issued new diesel fuel regulations that took effect on September 1, 2006. These regulations require that diesel fuel must now be "ultra-low sulfur" as compared to "low sulfur." Less sulfur in the fuel means it burns cooler. Cooler burning fuel means less power, and less power means fewer miles per gallon. Engine manufacturers expect a 2% - 3% loss in power, which is like a $0.06 per gallon fuel cost increase.

To avoid the big cost increases that will come on January 1, Highway Sales, Inc. has pre-purchased a large group of Volvos, Internationals, and Freightliners ahead of the 2007 engine change.

If you plan to upgrade your truck in the next year or two, consider making your purchase early while pre-2007 truck-engine inventory is still available. You'll save thousands of dollars in the purchase price, plus thousands more in operating costs. Call Phil Marston at 800-366-9000, extension 1821 for more information.

Post Witt

Contractors of the Month

Post Witt - Dallas Operating Center

Cathy Aydelott, Staff Writer
Post Witt has contracted with Dart for half of his ten years in the trucking business, and currently owns his own truck.

Post said he first started in the trucking industry when "the opportunity presented itself, and I decided to give it a shot." He had started out by hauling mail for the post office before getting his own truck.

Post says the biggest challenge he sees in trucking right now is fuel prices. He utilizes Dart's AdVANtage Fuel Network and checks prices on-line as often as he can.

Post calls Stillwater, Oklahoma home, and enjoys spending time with his wife Tina and his two kids, Forrest and Taylor, when he's not on the road.

Walt Bray

Walt Bray - Eagan Operating Center

Kristin Ries, Staff Writer
After driving for 18 companies in a decade, Walt Bray was happy to contract with Dart in 1989 and lease his first truck through Highway Sales, Inc.

"What do I like most about being an owner operator? It's the standard answer," he said, smiling, "independence."

Walt has a Regional Dedicated contract that gets him home often to Pickard, Indiana. "Pickard is just a 4-way stop and a place to park a truck," Walt said. But he enjoys being close to his wife of 38 years and his parents. "

Dart takes the biggest headache out of being an owner operator," Walt said. "Dart's always been there to help me when I need it."

Forget walking! Dart contractors at the Dallas
Operating Center enjoyed limo rides all day
to and from their trucks.

Contractor Appreciation
Dart celebrated for a week to honor Dart contractors

August 20 kicked off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, which celebrated the hard work and safe driving of professional truck drivers across the country.

Throughout the week, Dart held a series of celebrations to honor independent contractors.

Everyone was a winner!
Chaun Burch,
Dart Contractor Services Manager in Dallas
From breakfast each morning, to a fish fry, banana splits, cookies, brownies and a barbeque lunch, something different happened each day at Dart's Dallas Operating Center. There was a limo on Friday to shuttle Dart contractors to and from their trucks to the terminal or the Great American Truck Show. Each day there were drawings for brake adjustments, clutch adjustments and PM's (donated by the Dallas Pro Stop Truck Service, Inc.), cash prizes, gift certificates and pre-paid phone cards. Everyone was a winner!

We all had a lot of fun!
Kelly Zola, Safety Advisor in Sellersburg
It was a busy week here in Sellersburg: pizza on Monday, subs on Tuesday, and cookouts Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Each day there were games outside and prize drawings. Everyone present at the time of the drawings won something. We all had a lot of fun!

Food for everyone!
Jim Neubauer, Dart Director of Operations in EaganIf you were around Dart's Eagan corporate office, you probably took advantage of all the food. Monday, Wednesday and Friday Dart served donuts and rolls for breakfast, there were lunches ordered every day (sometimes three times a day) and a cookout on Wednesday. Prize drawings throughout the week included gift bags, steer tires from Pro Stop Truck Service and many other gifts. There was also a golf-cart with a cooler full of pop for anyone who wanted a ride to the office or a cold beverage. Everyone had a good time and there was food for everyone!

Throughout the summer, Dart also held Contractor Appreciation events at the Dallas and Eagan offices, which included picnics, thousands of dollars in prizes, fun and games for the kids, truck beauty contests, and Dart's truck-driving simulator. Don't forget to join us next year for the celebrations!

Dart named National Dry Van Carrier of the Year

On August 30, United Sugars Corporation presented Dart with its 2006 National Dry Van Carrier of the Year award for achieving excellence with outstanding service.

The award was presented at the annual carrier conference in Fargo, North Dakota where representatives of Dart's Operations accepted the award. Among them were Ted Lundberg, Dart Regional Sales and Operations Manager; Steve Youngquist, Dart Director of Twin Cities Short Haul. The combined efforts of Dart contractors and employees provided United Sugars Corporation with transportation solutions to meet their needs and dependable service.

Dart's truck driving simulator was also present at the conference for other carriers and management at United Sugars Corporation to experience.

Thanks to all who contributed to the success behind receiving this award!

Pinyerd crosses the finish line at World
Championship in Karkovy Vary, Czech Republic.

World Champion
Dart Sales and Operations Manager brings home the gold

John Pinyerd, Atlanta Sales and Operations Manager
I always dreamed of becoming a "World Champion." This applies to a couple parts of my life that I am very passionate about: building Dart's Atlanta business into a "world-class operation" and whitewater racing.

After 25 years of whitewater racing at all different levels, including the World Championships in 2003 and 2005, this year marked an exciting turn of events.

I was one of eight athletes to earn a spot on the United States team in the 2006 Whitewater World Championships in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic from June 13-18.

To prepare for the competition I felt it was important to be truly honest about my strengths and weaknesses. My weaknesses: I was a little overweight, I didn't have very much time or the perfect place to train and my whitewater skills needed improvement.

So throughout the year, I focused on these items. I cut 15 pounds, prioritized my schedule so I could train at night without sacrificing my commitments to Dart and my family, and made my whitewater training on weekends really count.

I believe that a common trait of successful people is that they know what it will take them to reach their goals. This is true in business and in becoming a whitewater-racing champion. So before race day, I made up my mind that I was not going to fly back to Atlanta thinking that I could have gone harder.

I decided to offset my lack of time to train by increasing the intensity of training. In the last couple of months before the World Championships, the most important thing I did was to go head-to-head against other racers and the stopwatch in 12-minute mock races (the distance that I had calculated the World's course to be). The training was so intense that several other racers turned down the opportunity to train with me.

Finally, race day came and I knew that I had some incredibly tough competition. I had the added challenges of fighting jetlag, different food and having to learn the river well enough to race at the elite level with just a couple practice runs.

The races began and I went out very hard just like I had learned to do from all of the mock races that we had done. I backed off a little to stay on line in the rapids. And when the river flattened out towards the end of the race, I gave it everything I had in the last 3 minutes, and went anaerobic. At the end of the race, I knew that I given it my best shot and that is all I could ask for.

For the first time in my whitewater-racing career my best was enough to win the title of "World Champion" in my category (45-54 age group). I received the Gold Medal and finished with a time of 13:35.69, which was 3.41 seconds ahead of silver medalist Veljko Milihram of Croatia and 21.41 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Joel Gazeau of France.

In addition to being World Champion in my age group, I finished 24th overall at the World Championship, and 6th in the Team Run with my USA teammates.

I credit my success to following a few basic principles that I routinely prescribe to the racers I coach: be in-sync with your sport, be in-sync with yourself, prioritize your days, weeks, and life, train to race, race to win and most importantly stick with it.

I am quick to say that everyone needs a coach -- even a veteran racer. This year I relied on the coaching of David Jones, my friend and coach of 20 years. I also served as David's coach, who raced and won the Bronze Medal in the Masters Kayak Class at the World Championship this year.

I will always feel truly blessed to compete against the best in the World. Winning the World Championship was very special.

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