18 Wheels of Justice Trucking Legends Series Presents…
Palmer Pride
November 2, 2012 14:30 - Missoula, Montana…
Nestled in the foothills along the Bitterroot River in Western Montana, there are only two objects which steal the beauty of the surrounding mountains. The Hellgate Trading Post and Jim Palmer Trucking. The Hellgate Trading Post was established in 1860 to supply the western settlers with much needed “DIY” books on bear wrestling, delicious opossum lard cracklin’s for protein, and chastity garments for the gals. Jim Palmer Trucking was founded exactly 105 years later in 1965 to serve the good people of Missoula and eventually all of us Americans. The Hellgate Trading Post was later renamed Missoula, but Jim Palmer Trucking will always be called Jim Palmer Trucking.
Today, Palmer still succeeds in providing the best opportunities to the best drivers. How? By offering outstanding benefits, extra safe, top-of-the line trucks, competitive pay and excellent owner operator packages. Jim Palmer Trucking gives drivers what they need on the road including the latest GPS and trucking technology.
Every Palmer Truck is held up to a rigorous preventative maintenance program, attending to the smallest details and thinking hard about the road ahead. Palmer is staffed with the best mechanics in the business. The Staff at 18 Wheels of Justice HQ has seen a lot of Jim Palmer Trucks and we all agree that every single one of them has stood out. Clean, all black reefers, with Palmer on the side and late model, pristine, black trucks. We can spot a Palmer Truck from miles away.
Experience the Palmer Difference
If you are a professional truck driver or Independent Contractor, you know that the trucking industry has become extremely competitive these days. There are numerous trucking companies for drivers to choose from, thus, making the right decision more difficult. Jim Palmer Trucking understands this. That is why we continue to improve and rise above other trucking companies in the industry.
Jim Palmer knows how to offer a working experience unlike any other trucking company out there. This is accomplished by focusing on the driver in a way that most trucking companies don't. Since 1964, we have sought out the best of the best. Our philosophy is, the more we can give back to the drivers, the happier, more productive and successful they will be. 18 Wheels of Justice always talks about pay and the importance of knowing the miles you will get before you start somewhere. High pay rate per mile is great in theory, until you start at a company and sit, sit and sit. This is not the case at Palmer; you get the miles, week in, week out. The operations at Palmer are designed with this in mind. No driver left behind at Palmer, you will get your miles.
We are fortunate enough to have Mr. Joe Kalafat with us today to discuss the opportunities available at this time honored organization...
Mr. Kalafat, Jim Palmer has been a fixture in our industry for over 40 plus years, and has one of the best reputations in the business with drivers. What do you attribute this success to?
I think we can attribute our success to two things: 1) We’ve always been a Drivers Company. That’s the way Jim started the company – with the drivers in mind. We really do care about the driver. He built a company around not just saying it, but actually being it. 2) By being a company that shippers count on. We excel at on-time service and it’s allowed us to compete with much larger carriers with very large shippers. But again #2 goes back to #1. We have such an excellent reputation with shippers because of # 1—we have excellent drivers. And we have excellent drivers because we’ve created a company devoted to the driver and getting the driver great pay and excellent miles!
If you don't mind me asking what is your background and how did you become the CEO of Jim Palmer?
I’ve worked for JPT for over 15 years now. Worked my way up from Dispatch and Fleet management, into customer service, booking freight, being a load planner and then into Executive Vice President and finally President & CEO.
In 10 words or less, what would you tell a driver who called you and wanted to come to work for Jim Palmer?
It’s about Family & Teamwork and we care about you and your bottom line. It’s not ten words, but I’d have to say a whole heck of a lot more to any potential driver on why they should work for JPT—this place is an excellent place to call home and make a real living as a professional driver with a lot of people that care about you and want you to succeed.
In 10 words or less, what about an owner operator?
Same thing! I would say if you really take a business approach to our pay package offering and compare that to what’s out there—you can’t do any better than we offer. I really like talking with Owner Operators that know the business end of things—because I can talk math with them and it’s clear we have one of the best pay packages for O/O’s out there and again, we get those guys the miles. All in- and O/O isn’t going to find a better company that’s going to ensure high earnings and a great team to help him win that JPT!
18 Wheels of Justice would like to thank Mr. Kalafat for his participation. We enjoy meeting CEO’s with Mr. Kalafat’s experience; it makes a huge difference in a trucking operation when you have someone who truly knows the ropes.
We invite you to... Experience the Palmer Difference
Click on any of the Palmer logos or call 800-682-8605
