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and it tries to average 535 miles per day per driver. It now has 126 trailers and is trying to keep a 2:1 tractor-trailer ratio so trailers can be preloaded so drivers spend less time at the dock. With new operating software along with telematics for its tractors and trailers, it seeks to maximize its assets. “Tere’s 660 minutes in a day, and you’re


never going to get them back,” he said. Te company also became more selective


regarding what Falgione said are its shipping “partnerships.” It’s not afraid to explain to shippers the importance of respecting drivers’ time. Shippers, he said, are open to their requests. “Tey are very reasonable,” he said, “but


it’s through a relationship, and the only way I know you can build the relationship is get to know them, and they get to know you. ... It is a partnership. Tey rely on us, and we rely on them, and it’s not us against them or them against us. It’s us together.” Te carrier has shortened its trade cycle to


four years or less for tractors and 6.5 years for trailers. Falgione said the carrier will increase


profits that way because of fewer repairs and reduced down time with its related expenses, such as towing and driver hotel bills. Moreover, the company can more easily quantify its breakdown costs, adding more certainty to its operations. Te carrier is somewhat young but has a rich


heritage. In 1920, Henry Davis’ grandfather, Herman Cohen, started Greater Omaha Packing after leaving the Army following World War I. In the early years, Greater Omaha was a modest packing house in the Omaha stockyards. Now it specializes in high-quality meats served in high-end restaurants. Cohen’s son-in-law and Davis’ father, Pennie Davis, joined the company as a partner in 1945. Henry Davis joined it in 1973. He now owns 12 companies, with Greater Omaha Express begun in 2006 as a refrigerated carrier serving the packing plant. It now serves some of the other entities, such as Progressive Protein, which produces liquid tallow, Denver-based High Country Meats, and Trex Corporation, which exports beef to 50 countries from California. When Falgione was brought on board last


June, the carrier already was in the process of diversifying its client base outside of Davis’ family of companies. One of Falgione’s jobs was to accelerate that process of becoming a for- hire carrier, so it began to build relationships directly with shippers instead of relying on brokers. Te company now serves an array of clients, including some top 50 Fortune 500 companies. Still, Falgione said the carrier is trying to build its identity because too many customers think of it as the carrier that hauls beef for Greater Omaha Packing and not as a for-hire carrier. Falgione himself is undergoing a bit


of a growth spurt. He got his start in transportation “throwing furniture” for a Mayflower moving agent out of Hastings. He later started a repossession and asset seizure company, which required a lot of traveling. When he met his wife and wanted to start a family, he sold his business and went to work for Lincoln-based Crete Carrier, where he spent about a decade working for that established family of companies. Starting as a tractor assignment manager, he moved into


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NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 3, 2015 — www.nebtrucking.com


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