Service, strong business sense drives the longevity of small boats

“Paul Rissler Transportation gets the job done and looks good doing it.” Those are the words of Tom Arnold of Dutchland Refrigerated Transport, the original customer of six Paul Rissler Transportation trucks.

Paul and Michelle Rissler are small boat owners, operating out of a small town in California, Missouri. These ships carry LTL cargo for Dutchland from Pennsylvania back to Missouri and Kansas two to three times a week. Part of the fleet has been dedicated to Dutchland for 27 years. These ships also have several trucks that go to Colorado and haul frozen and frozen food products.

Paul entered the trucking business at a young age, “born and raised in it,” as he said. His father has been a truck driver since he was 18 and has owned trucks since Paul’s childhood. Rissler started driving for his father, but after meeting Michelle at age 19, the couple moved to buy a truck from the elder Rissler and started on their own in 1997.

Five years later in 2002, Rissler’s father sold his business to Paul and Michelle, adding three of his trucks to their then five-man fleet.

With eight trucks, “it was busy with three boys, three little kids,” and the Risslers were at a crossroads, trying to decide if they wanted to move forward. how. They had talked about downsizing so Paul could be at home more with the kids. Then, in 2003, one of their sons had an accident and injured his head and had to spend six weeks in the hospital.

Paul and Michelle RisslerPaul and Michelle RisslerDue to demand, they actually moved their office to the hospital and kept the business from there. That flexibility, allowing them to maintain their business and keep the cash flowing despite Paul being out of the truck, gave them the answer they were looking for. Paul said: “That was the answer to our prayer. “So we decided to keep our business, and we never had more than eight trucks. We are just a small company. ”

Paul Rissler Transportation has had between five and eight trucks and drivers over the years, which they have found to be their sweet spot as fleet owners.

“The more trucks you have, the more headaches you have,” said Paul. “When you make a lot of money, yes, but it’s not just money. It’s about keeping our drivers happy and finding the perfect drivers out there. “

Risslers are picky about who they bring, but they also reward those drivers with top-notch equipment. Trailers are stainless steel reefers that are replaced after a few years. All fleet trucks are ELD gliders — a 2002 Kenworth W900; a 2008, 2014 and two 2016 Peterbilt 389s, and a 2020 Freightliner Coronado.

Michelle said she would like to see the fleet expand further down the road, but to more than 10 trucks.

“You get so much [drivers]it’s hard to be a family group,” said Paul. We truly believe that we are all family, we drive together and work together.

Michelle noted that half of the current drivers are related to the Risslers, so keeping that family strong is not as difficult as the boats are.

For these and other reasons, Paul Rissler Transportation is one of the five semi-final winners in the 3-10-truck category for. Excessive drivingSmall Fleet Champ Award.

[Related: Direct freight: Delivering a modicum of stability in a turbulent market]

Acquisition: ‘If you know one thing, stick to it’

Ever since Paul started trucking, he has been running Dutchland. When he drove for his father in 1996, “I joined Dutchland and never looked back.”

Small Fleet Champ logoThis is one of several Small Fleet Champ semi-finalist reports to be published throughout this month. (Find all published reports at this link.) Two competitors in each category (3-10 trucks, 11-30 trucks) will be announced in October.“The relationship with Risslers spans over 30 years, which speaks volumes for the quality of drivers and equipment they provide,” said Tom Arnold of Dutchland. “Paul provides drivers with excellent tools, which allow drivers to do their jobs without problems. LTL shipping takes a driver who wants to come to work every day to do the job, and that’s what What Paul, Arlin, Ryan and Justin do.

Rissler drivers working on Dutchland roads work three weeks a month and travel a week, with Paul himself filling in during each driver’s rest week.

One of the company’s drivers also carries in Pennsylvania, except when he doesn’t work weekends like Dutchland’s dedicated drivers.

The way Paul views business, “if you keep pulling food, you shouldn’t be broke because everyone needs to eat,” he said. Throughout his time as a truck driver, he stayed that way, resisting the temptation to switch to other types of goods, depending on market forces. There is value, you know, to known, as it is.

He said: “If you’re good at one thing, stick to it. It’s like playing baseball, football or basketball, all at once. “You’ll never succeed. It’s better to stay with one thing and stay good at it. That’s my whole philosophy about trucking and sticking to the reefer.”

With the market slumping and prices at record lows over the past two years, the Risslers said their customer relationships “have been a blessing.” They still sometimes use the market to get trucks from Missouri to Pennsylvania to run their dedicated routes, but giving away half of their work has helped the fleet a lot, they said.

[Related: From $13/mile loads in a ‘zombie’ truck to stability, growth: Evolution of Dana Gardner Trucking]

“It saves time,” said Michelle. “We created that amazing relationship [with Dutchland]. Both parties, we know each other well, and we are always there and they always give us goods. We take care of each other.”

Paul acknowledged that today’s freight environment is likely to be the worst since the 2008 recession and said, “if you don’t have leverage at this time, or a relationship with a freight forwarder, you’re in trouble.” because you can’t. Run away from the board. You can’t do that often.”

When negotiating real estate, relationships pay off among businesses that are used frequently, he said. The Risslers tend to stick with the same carriers that move the same loads to Pennsylvania to get them where they need to be. It helped them get better rates than those advertised on the boards, he added.

The trade-offs of debt relief

Perhaps the biggest thing that Paul and Michelle have done over the years to improve their business is to focus on their finances and avoid debt. Michelle was listening to financial expert Dave Ramsey and, although she was skeptical at first, she decided to take action to reduce business debt with the goal of becoming debt free.

NASTC logoThe National Association of Small Trucking Companies sponsored this year’s Small Fleet Championship program. Finalists receive an annual member of the organization, with access to many benefits from NASTC’s renowned fuel program to drug and alcohol testing services and more. All will be recognized at the association’s annual meeting, where the winner will be announced in November in Nashville, Tennessee. Find out more about the organization through their website.Michelle said: “In the first year I was the one who preached and I always failed. Then about the second year, Paul started to realize that I was like, ‘let’s take it easy on the purchase, let’s get to where we need to be and see what happens. it works.’”

Once they started working together to achieve the goal of being debt free, it took about two years to get there, and they have been debt free for the past three years.

Paul said: “We were in debt for 27 years. “You feel like you’re never going to get out of it.”

They quickly discovered the benefits of not having to pay when it came time to buy a new trailer — they made money so they could pay cash for it. In fact, they bought three without borrowing money.

It has undoubtedly helped weather the tough trucking market in recent years, as both have learned over decades in the business. Michelle praised how the couple lived a long time by knowing “when to spend money and when not to do certain things. If fuel will be high this month, we will not be there buying more chrome,” he said.

In addition to running their longtime trucking business, the Risslers also started a shop, officially forming an LLC in 2022, with their three sons, where they operate their own trucks out of foreign trade. Risslerbilt LLC Garage handles all maintenance for Risslers, including oil changes every 18,000-20,000 miles, all routine service and anything else that needs to be done.

The company’s drivers are all involved in a strong preventive maintenance program. All employees come home to Missouri at least once a week, and drop off an inventory at the store of anything that needs attention. “Our trucks aren’t on the road for a month, so there’s no roadside service, ever,” Paul said, still minimizing the risk of high repair costs.

[Related: Small Fleet Champ Larry Limp and LNL Trucking team take DIY maintenance to new levels]

Paul Rissler Transportation truck“Looking at their trucks and trailers will tell you their commitment to the trucking industry,” noted Arnold of Dutchland. “From their shop supplies to the drivers who wash and polish, Paul Rissler Transportation gets the job done and looks good doing it.”

Rissler employees are paid a percentage based on time spent with the company, and receive two bonuses a year to help cover the cost of the life insurance that drivers must obtain. Many of Rissler’s drivers have been with them for years, and some have even left and come back.

“That says a lot about me and my wife, because if you’re going to come back because we treated you well, we have to be good,” said Paul. No one would come back if you treated them badly the first time.

[Related: Family legacy keeps Southwind Transportation maintaining through loss, market chaos]

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