Growth serves as springboard to future goals

The Larson Group – Peterbilt of Springfield

Address: 3026 N. Mulroy Road, Strafford, MO 65757

2003 revenues: $190 million

2004 revenues: $248.6 million

2005 revenues: $318.1 million

3-year growth: 67 percent

Employees: 550

Glenn Larson, president of The Larson Group – Peterbilt of Springfield, grew up around the trucking industry.

“Growing up, the trucks my father’s family business had were Peterbilt trucks. He bought his first Peterbilt truck in 1964. So we knew the quality of the Peterbilt product – the longevity and the life cycle, maintenance costs and resale value,” Larson said.

Larson began selling Peterbilt trucks in 1983 for a company in Sioux Falls, S. D. His father, Claire, had been selling them since 1979.

In July 1987, after contacting the Peterbilt factory, they drove to Springfield to check out a dealership for sale. A deal was struck, and the Springfield location received Peterbilt factory approval by the end of 1987.

The Larson Group was off and running.

By 1989, the dealership had added a Joplin location. An O’Fallon facility followed in 1991, and a Fort Smith, Ark., dealership opened in 1994.

A Sikeston location opened in 1995, and The Larson Group added a site in Morton, Ill., in 2002.

In 2003, the company added a Peterbilt and GMC dealership in Great Bend, Kan., and in 2005, the company added two new locations: one in Louisville, Ky., and one in East St. Louis, Ill.

Now, Glenn’s brothers Gary, Kevin, Kyle and Kory are involved in the company, with Gary, Kevin and Kyle running locations outside Springfield. Kory Larson operates a surplus and used parts division, Truck Component Services, in Strafford.

The Larsons’ father is still active in terms of the company’s vision and long-term goals, serving as a mentor to his sons.

“Probably our core business is the owner-operator business and the family transportation businesses that run five to 100 trucks,” Glenn Larson said, but The Larson Group also serves large companies, such as Star Transport of Morton, Ill., which has 1,000 Peterbilts.

With nine dealership locations and a total of 550 employees – 120 at Peterbilt of Springfield – growth is still high on The Larson Group’s agenda.

“We have immediate plans and one-year, three-year, five-year and 10-year goals,” Larson said. “We will continually grow our business in Springfield. There will be expansion to both our service department and our body shop within the next 12 to 18 months.”

Larson added that he expects to add three locations north and east of Springfield in the next five years, and in 10 years, “We’ll probably be double our size location-wise.”

Recent growth could serve as a springboard for those goals. Between 2003 and 2004, revenues grew from $190 million to $248.6 million. Revenues grew to $318.1 million in 2005, representing 67 percent growth over three years.

But that’s not to say there aren’t challenges.

“We don’t have a lot of problem with retention once (employees) come to work, because we offer a safe, friendly environment that pays competitive wages and benefits,” Larson said. “We try to be the leader in that area, and in all of our locations.”

While most people are aware of the driver shortage, “Service technicians are as hard to find as truck drivers,” Larson said. “There’s just truly more demand than there is young men and women going into it.”

To make the job more attractive, The Larson Group has abandoned the concept of shifts in favor of flexible scheduling.

Customer service is both a challenge and a priority.

“Competition is severe from all the other truck manufacturers. Through technology, every truck manufacturer builds a good truck today,” Larson said.

Service must be “better than industry standard; above the benchmark,” he added. “Ninety-nine percent isn’t good enough. We’ve got to strive for 100 percent customer satisfaction in every aspect of our business.”

Another issue has been recent spikes in fuel costs that have challenged The Larson Group’s customers, and therefore the dealership.

In response to the fuel crisis, The Larson Group has tried a variety of approaches, from extending first payment options to assistance from the Peterbilt factory in terms of cash-back offers to reduce vehicle price or to be put toward purchasing fuel.

With the fuel spike of 2000, The Larson Group also began carrying more aerodynamic models that get better mileage and the company works to educate customers on cost savings.

“When trucking companies’ fuel costs go up that dramatically – and fuel is over 30 percent of their overhead – they cannot adjust their rates fast enough to offset the increased fuel price,” Larson said.[[In-content Ad]]