From: The Safety Office...
Pittston, Pa, – One of the favorite radio stations today for truckers is WLW out of Ohio. Everyone waits for the week end to listen to Bubba Bo Americas favorite Radio DJ for the trucker. Bubba Bos shows on the week end is always filled with great conversation about what going on in the world of todays trucker. Call ins and in studio guests make up a big part of this show. Lately Calex Express has been well represented on this show. Saturday night 8/1/10 had John "Sarge" Timmons there for five hours. John covered topics with Bubba from Electronic Logs, to CSA 2010 and several other topics. Naturally the topic came up of where John is working now and he was proud to tell them about his time at Calex. Sarge isn’t alone on the air waves. Other recent guests have included Bill "Lobster" Lobger, and one of our newer drivers with the company Greg Field! Listen to WLW often and learn more about whats going on in the industry and what our "On line" celebrities from Calex are saying
From: The Safety Office...
Pittston, Pa, – On Aug 5,2010 a representative of our Insurance Carrier was traveling on I 81 in Penna. As a large insurer of trucking companies he watches closely the driving practices of motor carriers on the road and especially close at those that they insure. On this day he had the opportunity to follow one of our units for quite a distance > Here is part of the excerpt from his e mail to us. “Mort I observed truck #23231 n/b on I 81 at mm 160. good driver practices, speed and road courtesy. There were some other trucking companies not paying attention but your guy was doing it right.” Congratulations to Mike Salzer for an outstanding job of representing Calex in a positive manner, and for being a safe driver. We appreciate your efforts Mike
From: The Safety Office...
Pittston, Pa, – Recently I received a call from Jimmy Michaels in truck #23317 He had just pulled into a truck stop in Wyoming and noticed a tractor pulling a refrigerated trailer with Calex rear doors and green covers over the motor. He also could see where our 800 # had been pulled off the doors. Jimmy immediately called me in safety as he remembered some years back we had had a reefer stolen in the pacific northwest. Checking our records I found this to be true. Jimmy immediately got me all the tag and DOT info off both the tractor and trailer. While I was still checking this information out the tractor pulling this trailer left the truck stop. Without hesitation Jimmy immediately began following him at a reasonable distance so that we knew his whereabouts as we contacted the proper authorities. Thanks to Jimmy this unit was stopped and all information was verified and the appropriate action taken A BIG thank you to Jimmy Michaels for going above and beyond the call of duty
From: The Safety Office...
Pittston, Pa, – Electronic Logs (e logs) have been up and running for the first quarter of 2010. While the program has been widely accepted by the drivers in general we continue to have several common problems that could easily cut our violations by 80% or more! Pre Trip Inspections must be the first thing done after coming off a break. Be sure to change duty status to "on duty" prior to selecting Pre trip or post trip. Post trip must be the last event prior to going off duty or sleeper berth. Both must be done daily. Log off your vehicle when leaving the truck in the yard. This will help prevent an interruption of your 34 Hour reset should maintenance need to road test your vehicle while you are off. MAKE SURE each and every break is a full 10 hours. 9:59 minute break will quickly put you into a violation status Should your system show an unknown location when changing duty status please type in the city and state closest to you at that time. This is very important for DOT Then when you come to the yard note that your antenna needs to be checked by maintenance. On an average day I handle between 50-60 calls related to the above problems. Your help in remembering to these things an do them correctly will be greatly appreciated. There is a point coming VERY SOON where these corrections will not be made and they will become violations to you Thanks for your assistance in this very important matter
Congratulations to Jason Jones Truck #23311.

Jason is the proud winner of the PC Miler GPS System made especially for the Trucking Industry! Jasons name was drawn as the winner of the Safety Depts. Safety Awareness Contest. Driver names were entered monthly for each of the following Safety Categories
  1. No serious log violations
  2. No accidents
  3. Clean DOT Inspections
Jason has begun using his system in his truck and has reported that it is now an “invaluable tool” Congratulations to Jason and good luck to all in our next safety contest

APRIL 2010

Pittston, Pa, – Check out the latest additions to our fleet, these Smartway approved skirts will assist in reducing air flow and drag created underneath the trailer. Preliminary reports show that the skirts along with LRR Tires (low rolling resistance) will increase fuel economy by 3 to 7%. Although all of the fuel economy information is not in yet, we are excited and plan to share the results once they are in.
MARCH 2010

We lost a member of our family last month, Michael Creeden. Mike spent the last several years here at Calex as a coast driver; those who knew him would say he was very quiet, a person of strong conviction. He was a long time employee and friend. He will be missed by all of us. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Betsy and family. His untimely passing will leave a void in all of our lives.


CALEX GOES GREEN!
Pittston, Pa, – Yes, Calex has gone green! We don’t just mean the color of our trucks. Lots of companies talk the talk, but we are walking the walk. Calex understands the environment and is committed to doing its part to ensure an eco-friendly climate for all of us. Not only is going green important when it comes to helping the environment, but in today’s economic climate every trucking company who wants to survive needs to understand that it must automate itself everywhere it can to increase efficiencies. In doing so, the bottom line is affected in a positive manner. We would like to think that we are well ahead the curve in that regard.

So for these reasons, Calex has now gone to electronic logs in all of its company vehicles. No more paper logging! Less trees dying! More oxygen in the atmosphere for you and I! Earlier last years DOT announced that GPS systems in trucks could and would be used to audit logs. With this in mind Calex made the decision to have its drivers do their logs electronically while in the trucks, thereby not only complying with the regulations, but staying a step ahead as well. In September 2009, the Safety Department began testing with five trucks and initial results were impressive to say the least! By December 31, 2009 we were able to have all units in full operation. Naturally, there was much skepticism and apprehension, but within weeks of implementation, feedback was almost 100% positive and turnover was basically non-existent. Drivers have seen the benefits and even the most “technically challenged” have managed to enter the Safety Office with a smile on their face and share comments on their electronic logging success stories. One driver even commented that he now wants to buy a laptop and review his logs online and finally e-mail his family for the first time in his life while on the road! We even received positive feedback from DOT officers across the country commending us on taking the lead!

Watch for the next What’s Happening and see what’s going on at Calex!

But wait…it doesn’t end there…. Look on the road in the next week or so and see our 7 new 2010 Volvos that just arrived! Based on the input of our drivers, these trucks will now be equipped with a straight 10 speed. We’re almost as proud of our new trucks as we are our drivers…. Almost!

CALEX RISES TO CHALLENGING BUSINESS CLIMATE
Pittston, Pa, – During this tough economic climate that we are all experiencing, Calex Express has managed to maintain its position in the industry and has actually taken several steps to set itself apart from much of its competition. Over the past few months we have had strong success in hiring drivers in several areas of the country based on studies of our traffic lanes. Hiring these drivers in specific locations has enabled us to offer quicker response to our customer’s needs while still aware of the all-important home time that our drivers have come to expect and appreciate. We have received several new tractors and trailers in the past few months as well. This equipment was all built to the specifications required by our drivers, maintenance department and safety department, which meet the rigid demands required today. We have opened a Company Store that offers all employees to buy quality merchandise (all with the Calex Logo) at a very low price all conveniently payroll deducted. Items include jackets, shirts, hoodies, skullies, coozies (full size), coffee mugs and much more. Calex is also focusing on requirements coming forth next year with CSA 2010 and trying to prepare each of our drivers to meet these stringent requirements set forth by our federal government. With this we are reviewing all drivers’ record to ensure only the most safe and courteous drivers are retained. Lastly, but far from least, is one of the largest projects we have taken on as a company. At this point over 70 of our drivers and trucks are up and running with electronic logs. This state of the art program allows our drivers to go green and paperless while having the most accurate and up-to-date logs in the industry. Both drivers and the safety department are amazed at the smooth transition and how easily even the most "technically challenged" are able to adapt. Look for much more on this endeavor in the coming weeks.
THE BEGINNING OF 30 NEW 53' DURAPLATE AIR-RIDE TRAILERS BEING PUT INTO SERVICE THE BALANCE OF THIS YEAR.


ADDED TO OUR FLEET: NEW 53' DROPDECK


NEW DECALS ARE ON THE TRUCKS....


THE NEW TRUCKS HAVE ARRIVED
August 4th 2009 - Seven of the twenty four trucks being put into service this year have arrived at our corporate headquarters in Pittston PA.







CALEX JOINS U.S. EPA SMARTWAY TRANSPORT® PARTNERSHIP
Pittston, Pa, – Calex “Integrated Supply Chain Solutions” today announced that it joined the SmartWaySM Transport Partnership, a innovative collaboration between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. - read more
Knoxville based High Country Express joins the Calex team!
I am excited about adding Knoxville, TN as part of our network! The former High Country Express, based on Knoxville, TN, is now part of the Calex team. Not only did we add a presence in the southeast, we added a new type of equipment, flat bed's with rolling tarp kits. These trailers will be available throughout much of the United States. Out of the new Knoxville location we also offer standard flat bed, dry van and refrigerated service. - read more
Calex inks relationship with i2m Mountaintop PA
i2M is pleased to announce a partnership with Calex Logistics for the management of the i2M supply chain. The partnership and combined expertise of Calex Logistics in Supply Chain Management and i2M in the manufacturing of Thin Film products insures our competitive position and efficient distribution to our client base both internationally and domestically. - read more
Calex adds five new Refrigerated Trailers to our existing fleet and updates our logo