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Industry Profile: Oak Harbor Freight Lines: From humble beginnings |
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Written On: November/December 2007 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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Great things sometimes start from humble beginnings. Hard work and perseverance have their rewards. Like its namesake, Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. has grown from an acorn into a mighty oak with branches covering five states.
In 1916, Oak Harbor, Wash., resident Ben Koetje started a local delivery service on Whidbey Island called Oak Harbor Transfer. By the time of the Great Depression, the company was having difficulties. Two brothers, John and Gus Vander Pol, saw an opportunity. They were working on their family's dairy farm at the time, but there wasn't enough work for all of the family’s sons. So, with $600 in cash and assuming all of the company's debts, the two Vander Pol brothers bought Oak Harbor Transfer in 1936. Joined by their younger brother Henry a year later, the company grew steadily. In 1942, they bought another small carrier named Oak Harbor Freight Lines. They merged the two operations, keeping the latter name for their company.
In 1974, Henry Vander Pol purchased the company from his brothers to become the sole owner and brought his own sons, Edward and David, on board to work with him. Since then, the company has grown exponentially. When the trucking industry was deregulated in 1980, Oak Harbor was in a position to take advantage of the new freedom. Oak Harbor began an expansion that continues to this day, bursting out of the Puget Sound area to serve customers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California. Today, Oak Harbor Freight Lines has 32 shipping terminals and more than 1,300 employees, as well as a fleet of 550 trucks and 1,400 trailers. They have established themselves as a one of the leading freight carriers in the west, providing consistently high-quality service at competitive prices.
Spearheading this growth, Edward and David Vander Pol took over the reigns from their father as the company's co-presidents and owners. Under their leadership, Oak Harbor Freight Lines expanded to serve more Northwest locations than any other carrier, doubling its revenue every 10 years. To do this, Oak Harbor specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. LTL shipments allow customers to share a truck delivering goods to a common destination. This efficiency allows delivery of a wider variety of goods to and from a wider range of customers, saving money for everyone. One of Oak Harbor's largest customers, the retail store The Gap, represents less than 5 percent of total shipments.
To attract and maintain such a large customer base, Oak Harbor depends on its well-deserved reputation for excellent customer service. Quality customer service is stressed to every single employee from the top of the organization to the bottom. Oak Harbor's drivers are clean, well groomed and uniformed; they look and act professional. Trucks are kept clean and in good working order. A real-live person answers customer requests and questions in a timely manner. To reward this hard work and dedication, Oak Harbor offers generous wages and benefits to all of its employees. Line drivers can earn more than $20 an hour with full medical, retirement, and other benefits.
Equally important to Oak Harbor Freight Lines is flexibility and dependability. Oak Harbor has a 98-percent on-time rate. Handling 3,500 to 4,000 shipments a day, that's a pretty remarkable feat. Being a smaller shipper allows Oak Harbor to be more versatile and better provide for the special needs of its customers. "Many of the larger shippers have to talk to four or five people to make a decision," said Edward Vander Pol. "Here, the customer only needs to call David or myself and it happens. We often empower our employees to make these decisions so we can provide an answer to our customers in a fast, timely manner to get what they need shipped."
With so much time-sensitive material being shipped these days, staying on time is critical. "Many companies and stores don't keep huge inventories any more," said Edward Vander Pol. "For example, a company like PACCAR doesn't keep massive inventories of parts on hand—it's just too expensive. The parts that they need to build a truck arrive that morning. If we can't move trucks around, the economy is going to suffer in this state. Business—especially manufacturing—is going to go somewhere else. We're going to lose business in Washington if we don’t address these transportation problems."
Another of Oak Harbor's concerns hits a little closer to home. Currently, there are a number of Vander Pol's children working for Oak Harbor Freight Lines. They serve in every part of the company, from driving and truck repair to customer service.
"Our plan is to keep the company in the family," said Edward Vander Pol. "We hope that, at some point, they will be able to take the company and run with it. Third-generation family businesses have a failure rate of about 75 percent. We're trying to do the right things, but it's hard for family businesses because they're at a disadvantage. Because of the estate tax and other regulations, it's hard to move stocks and assets to the next generation. Things like that put us at a disadvantage because larger carriers that used to be family businesses are now public corporations that don't have to worry about the estate tax. Family businesses are at a disadvantage, but it can be done. We are optimistic."
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