Prime teaches truckers to act as business owners

Rick Igel knows how to operate a semi-truck. He is learning how to effectively operate a business the business of moving freight across the country.

The two go hand in hand for semi-truck drivers of Springfield-based Prime Inc.

Igel, of Dayton, Ohio, was one of about 170 truck drivers in Springfield the week of June 9 for Prime's training programs. Over the course of a year, about 7,000 drivers both new and in-service associates receive training at Prime's training center, the former Bass Country Inn on North Glenstone Avenue, according to John Hancock, Prime's director of training and recruitment.

Prime has converted the hotel, which it purchased out of bankruptcy court as a Howard Johnson hotel for $4.5 million in 1998, into its national training center.

Training sessions

Before Prime drivers take to the road, they must complete a training session as long as four months. Not only can drivers earn their CDL licenses, they learn tools to operating a small business. Seventy-five percent of Prime's approximately 3,400 drivers are independent contractors, meaning they lease their vehicles from Prime.

"Not only are you learning how to drive, you're learning how to run a business," said Don Lacy, Prime's director of safety.

Igel, who completed Prime's Ace II business tools class last week, has worked as an independent contractor for six months.

"It's teaching me to be more financially productive," Igel said of the class that emphasizes fuel economy, among other business tools.

There are seven different classes offered per week, including orientation, ongoing business education, safety education and the CDL instructor course. The classroom education is then applied on the open road. Trainees must complete a minimum of 100 hours behind the wheel, Hancock said.

"All we're doing is teaching them the skills in a real-world environment," Hancock said. "Instead of having 12 hours at a truck-driving school, they have 100-hours of wheel time pulling live freight down the highway. When they get to working, they've been trucking already."

Hancock said that's beneficial because trucking is more than driving; it's being away from home, working odd hours, and eating and showering at truck stops, he said.

There are also seven tests drivers must pass five written and two skilled, Lacy added.

During training, drivers receive food and lodging at the hotel. Lacy said the 225 rooms there typically have a 67 percent occupancy rate.

Trainees coming to Prime with no experience pay $100 for the classes and sign a $3,500 note. After one year of employment the note is waived, Hancock said. About half of those trained are new associates, Hancock said, the majority of which already have earned their CDLs.

Hancock said Prime pays for experienced drivers' training.

Recruiting

In the trucking industry where turnover is high, recruitment and training efforts are significant. Prime allocates $5 million annually to the two departments, according to Hancock.

That budget brings several thousand recruits to Prime training annually.

Prime employs 18 people in recruiting and has six full-time instructors in the training department, plus several guest lecturers from Prime headquarters. With the recent acquisitions of C.H. Dredge & Company and Rocor International Inc., Prime added recruiting stations in Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City.

Prime drivers logged 490 million miles last year, while the company grossed about $533 million in revenues.

Facilities

Making this all possible is Prime's acquisition of the former Howard Johnson hotel. Prime was leasing the facility for $1 million annually for training purposes, Hancock said."We bought the property to fulfill our training needs," he said.

Prime originally split up the property into Bass Country Inn and the 180-room Oasis Inn &Convention Center. Prime is in the middle of renovating both facilities and expects to invest $8 million for the project.

"The expense of doing the training justified the purchase of the place and refurbish of it," Hancock said. "We didn't have a need for 400-plus rooms for training."

The Oasis Inn is open to the public.