As a result, the company needs to contract with reliable transportation vendors that can safely transport their exterior glass facades to construction sites that are often located in densely trafficked urban areas. Pioneer recently contracted to provide glass panes for a building project in the heart of Washington, D.C. – one of the most highly regulated and restricted areas of the country for transportation vendors – and selected Ace Doran to coordinate the logistics and transport the loads. The project is now in progress and is expected to be ongoing through spring of 2017.
Why Ace Doran?
When seeking a vendor, Cincinnati-based Pioneer needed a transportation company that could navigate the complexities of D.C.’s numerous requirements and permits. They also needed a vendor that could manage the over-the-road transport through four states of 50 to 70 loads of 11-foot-by-6-inch glass panes safely and without incident.
“I value Ace’s expertise,” says Paula Heinold, who manages transportation logistics for Pioneer. During the vendor selection process, Heinold says she remembered partnering with Ace Doran in the past when she worked in the service center of a steel company. “I always had a good experience with them,” she says. “I knew they had expertise with specialized, heavy hauling, rules and regulations and making sure the loads are secured properly. I was really happy to work with them again.”
Heinold also mentioned that she has enjoyed working with Ace Doran’s crew, who are not the same people she worked with in the past. She complimented Ace Doran’s president, Jim Collins. “My first phone call with Jim was very positive; I felt really comfortable with him,” she says.
Thumbs Up So Far
Heinold says she has been very happy with Ace Doran’s performance. “I’m happy with what they’re doing, the guys on site are happy, and everything has gone smoothly as far as I can tell,” she says. “I haven’t heard anything negative, and I’m taking that as a sign that it’s all good.”
Heinold is especially grateful for how well the team secures the loads. “These glass panes are very large and heavy, and require quite a bit of engineering, as far as getting them securely loaded,” she says. “The panes are more expensive than most of our glass because they’re from Spain and shipped in. Our warehouse spent a lot of time getting these panes packaged correctly and that’s where the Ace team came in and were helpful, getting them on the truck and loaded safely.”
Heinold is referring to Chad Liter and Bob Thomas, who together manage the account, the paperwork, permits and coordination, as well as assist drivers with securement, and who say they pride themselves on customer service and safety.
Ace Doran’s Expertise Paying Off
Liter and Thomas are the ones to address the challenges associated with the job, such as being restricted to traveling with an over-sized load only during daylight hours through Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland, but then not being able to deliver the load until night-time. Due to D.C. traffic congestion during the day, the city only permits transportation vendors to pick up and deliver at night. They must start a half-hour after sunset and end a half-hour before sunrise.
To add to that challenge, a lack of storage capacity in the building limits Ace Doran to one delivery at a time, and the panes must be installed before the next load can be delivered. While there is a schedule for loads, sometimes issues with installation may delay the next shipment. This presents challenges with being able to call upon a consistent team of drivers at any given time. These drivers must be experienced enough and willing to take on the challenges of hauling to D.C.
That’s where the Ace Doran “magic” comes in, says Liter. “Pioneer might call us and say they need a truck to deliver the next day, and that’s the first obstacle,” he says. “The second obstacle is finding a driver that can do the job that is available that quickly, and we won’t just put any driver on this job. We make sure they have the right experience and a good safety record.”
Relationships With Drivers Key
Ace Doran’s own network and long-term relationships with drivers, as well as the ability to tap drivers from parent Bennett International Group enables the team to be able to locate an appropriate driver quickly in those instances where there may be delays between loads. Ace Doran’s breadth of capacities has enabled the company to deliver a seamless experience for customers who have challenging wide-load transportation projects.
If you would like to learn more about Ace Doran’s transportation services, please contact Kevin Gibson at 800-829-0929, ext. 329.
