Nextran-Orlando’s Focus on Mack Trucks Aids Customers

Wed June 08, 2005
Aggregate Equipment Guide

No matter which direction a person looks while on the Orlando lot at Nextran Truck Center, the view will look the same.

They’re surrounded by Mack class 8 trucks.

Tom Dreiling, general sales and finance manager, said the focus on just one segment of the over-the-road market exemplifies the company’s motto: “In constant pursuit of perfection. One customer at a time.”

“This specialization allows us to become business partners with our customers,” he said. “By only focusing on Mack class 8 trucks, we can be very good at what we do. We only have to train our mechanics on these trucks, we only have to stock parts for these trucks and our sales representatives can really get to know the trucks and help our customers to be more profitable.”

Dreiling said the company focuses on its customer relationships by maintaining a focus on retaining good employees.

“We want our customers to know that when they buy a truck from us, we will be here to help them. We can only do that by knowing their needs and having the right people in place,” Dreiling said.

In his eight years with the Orlando branch, Dreiling has seen the number of employees grow from 40 to 60, but some of the old faces haven’t changed.

“We have retained the key people in the parts and service departments,” he said. “We want our employees to consider this a career, not just a job, so we work to assist our people to be the best they can be.”

The branch’s customers run the gamut in the trucking industry.

“We have a good strong base of both over-the-road and vocational customers. However, the over-the-road business is concentrated in a few accounts, while the vocational business, especially the construction end of it, has a lot of accounts,” he said.

With Orlando’s steady growth, the Nextran location sees its share of new people entering the business.

The store’s construction business is split among dumps, mixers and lowboy tractors.

Dreiling credits the success of the location to the employees. Executive Vice President Charlie Brown manages the operation. The staff also includes Service Manager Joe Ponder, who has been in that position for 11 years, and Wray Petry, director of parts marketing, who has been in the parts business for more than 40 years.

The Orlando branch is located near the turnpike and Beeline Expressway, both major trucking routes. It covers 11 counties in east central Florida.

In addition to the Mack truck line, Nextran-Orlando also represents Terex Advance front discharge mixers and Galbreth roll-off bodies.

Nextran, which started in 1993 with two independently operated Mack franchises, is headquartered in Lake Butler, FL. It has another 10 locations in Florida and Georgia.

For more information, call 407/855-1200. CEG Staff

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.