This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Now, Ford, Chrysler and Nissan


have joined GM as PAM’s automotive customers. “Customers always want to know what else you do and what you have.


Going to Ford, I can go in and


say I am an expert at this. Same with Chrysler, same with Nissan. They see you as great and knowledgeable about their business based on what you already do.” Cushman also sought out his driv-


ers while spending the first year and a half telling the new PAM story. “I went out and asked drivers, ‘How


are we treating you?’ The drivers would say, your equipment isn’t all that nice. So we invested a lot of money into our fleet. We changed our logo. Now, they drive with pride. They have good equip- ment,” Cushman explained. “In the darkest days of the most


devastating financial crisis since the Great Depression, Dan Cushman took the reins at PAM. It was July 2009, and the trucking industry was in survival


mode. PAM was no exception,” said Mark Brockinton, managing director of Aon Risk Solutions’ Transportation and Logistics practice, based in Little Rock. “The ship was taking on water, and Dan had to plug the holes, put his arm around his team, and try to live to fight another day, which is exactly what he did.” “Even though the circumstances


were dire, he had a vision for a trans- formed PAM Transport from the very beginning. He set out on the journey to reshape the business and company cul- ture, and methodically begin to imple- ment his strategic plan.” Brockinton and Aon have been


advising PAM Transport on risk issues since the trucking firm’s early days. “Five years later, the verdict is in,”


Brockinton said of Cushman’s leader- ship. “The company has restored profit- ability, and Wall Street has taken notice – the common equity has increased seven fold, and is trading at its all-time high, rewarding employees and share-


holders alike. Dan is deserving of all the accolades that have come his way, but he is quick to credit the team around him – the mark of a great leader. I am confident the company will enjoy con- tinued success under his direction.”


CEO MATERIAL The company has had an interest-


ing and sometimes turbulent history in its 34-year life. Tontitown native Paul A. Maestri and Robert Weaver were working for Springdale’s J.B. Hunt and his trucking line when they decided to start a dry-van company. Maestri’s ini- tials made for a catchy name and logo (though some Internet legends about the company’s name remain prevalent, claiming PAM really means “Pretty Awesome Mileage,” and one can under- stand the owners co-opting that in the recruitment of drivers in its start-up days).


Weaver led the move to take the company public in 1986, briefly left


 Less Here more Here


DefenD your company anD your Drivers with a legal Defense plan DesigneD By anD for truckers.


ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 4 2014


Drivers Legal Plan


@DriversLegal


Call Jim C. Klepper, Esq. 8 0 0 - 4 1 7 - 3 5 5 2


www.driverslegalplan.com 29


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52