There are only three things John Lamonica wants to see rise when his company’s trucks deliver pizza dough from the west coast operation’s two plants: the company’s reputation for quality, on-time performance and its profitability.
For the last six years, PACCAR Leasing and its local franchise, Inland Kenworth-PacLease, have helped Lamonica’s Pizza Dough Co. keep its trucking operation profitable, while maintaining its reputation for quality and on-time performance.
Lamonica’s Pizza Dough Co. has two operations, one on the West Coast based in Vernon, Calif., and the other on the East Coast based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Its West Coast operation, which consists of two state-of-the-art plants, makes and delivers dough products for breads and pizza to hundreds of distributors and major retailers. The company’s West Coast operation delivers about 1 million pounds of pizza dough each week, enough to make about 800,000 medium-sized pizzas. It provides pizza dough for all Costco Wholesale stores. Among its other major customers are Nordstroms and Loblaw Companies Ltd., one of Canada’s largest food retailers.
To make those deliveries, the company’s West Coast operation leases Kenworth T800 tractors, one equipped with a 38-inch sleeper for longer deliveries, and a regular day-cab for inner-city and regional deliveries. The Kenworth T800 sleeper is equipped with a 455-hp PACCAR MX engine providing 1,650 ft-lbs of torque powered through a 10-speed autoshift transmission. The Kenworth T800 day cab is equipped with a 425-hp Cummins ISM engine providing 1,650 ft-lbs. of torque powered through a 10-speed autoshift transmission. The company also leases a medium-duty Kenworth truck with a 27-foot van body for local or regional deliveries to distributors in and around Los Angeles.
Lamonica, who serves as his company’s president and CEO, said full-service leasing with PacLease works well because he can count on Inland Kenworth to maintain the trucks with no interruption to his operation. If Lamonica’s trucks need to be kept for longer periods of time, Inland Kenworth arranges for a loaner or rental truck that can help the company keep to its tight delivery schedules.
“Since many decisions are made locally by Inland Kenworth, we find that we don’t have to wait to hear from someone,” Lamonica said. “We can depend on PacLease and Inland Kenworth-Paclease to help us keep our trucks running promptly.”
That dependability is critical particularly when Costco requires precision in the timing of its deliveries. Depending upon demand at the stores, Costco may arrange anywhere from one to three deliveries each day to its 1 million-square foot distribution center in Mira Loma, Calif.
“When Costco arranges deliveries, it sets up appointments in which we’re given 30 minutes to have our product available for unloading,” Lamonica said. “There are so many trucks that go in and out of that facility, it’s really mind-boggling. If we miss our appointment window, then it becomes very difficult to reschedule. Plus, our reputation suffers as a result.”
Another reason Lamonica’s leases its trucks through PacLease is the financing flexibility that comes with full-service leasing.
“Six years ago, when we looked at adding equipment to our bakery to expand our product line, we wanted to acquire larger trucks that could handle the added weight,” said Lamonica.
“In the past, we used to buy trucks with cash or short-term loans,” he added. “But in order to preserve our capital for the new bakery equipment, we saw full-service leasing from PacLease as an attractive and competitive option.”
That’s because the company can get new and late-model Kenworth trucks that meet the new federal and state emission requirements without having to worry about maintaining that new technology, Lamonica said. He also doesn’t have to worry about how market conditions will affect used truck values when it comes time to sell the trucks and get new models.
Lamonica said his company’s drivers also appreciate the quality and comfort that Kenworth trucks offer.
“I don’t drive them myself, I just like to ride in them,” Lamonica said. “But my drivers tell me that they offer great ergonomics, which make them a comfortable place to work; good maneuverability for getting in and out of tight locations, and plenty of power and torque to get moving in stop-and-go traffic.
“And they look great, which is an important part of our company’s image,“ he added.
“Our customers expect us to deliver consistently high-quality products that make great pizzas and breads. Particularly after the San Francisco Chronicle in its Oct. 9, 2011, issue reported that a panel of local food experts judged Lamonica’s as having the best ready-made pizza dough among five available in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
Lamonica’s reputation for quality stretches back more than 50 years. John Lamonica’s father Louie “Gigi” Lamonica started the family in the pizza business when he emigrated from Italy in the 1950s.
Lamonica said his father and his uncles grew the company into a chain of about 15 restaurants, scattered throughout Maryland and Massachusetts. In order to ensure a consistent product and have control of sales, they arranged for the dough to be made at the company’s Brooklyn location, and then delivered to the restaurants.
In 1980, John opened Lamonica’s NY Pizza, a restaurant in Los Angeles located in Westwood near the UCLA campus. He brought the dough in from New York for 11 years. Then in 1991, John started making the restaurant’s pizza dough for Costco and other retailers on the West Coast.
“As we’ve grown our west coast operation, we’ve carried on that reputation of quality by keeping a close eye on the quality of our ingredients and the consistency of our finished products throughout the distribution process,” Lamonica said. “PacLease helps us in maintaining our reputation by providing quality K
enworth trucks and dependable maintenance service to keep those trucks moving.”
Good Pizza Dough Depends on Good Water
If New York tap water makes the best pizza, then how do you get that same New York taste using water in Los Angeles?
John Lamonica, owner, president and CEO of Lamonica’s Pizza Dough Co., said it’s true that for years Brooklyn water has always made the best pizza dough. The water is so good because of the minerals that are carried from New York City’s upstate water sources. Also, the pipes in New York’s water system are buried deep underground, keeping the water temperature fairly cold, even in the summer. The cold prevents bacteria from contaminating the water.
The pizza dough that’s made at the company’s two dough plants in California still makes for high-quality New York-style pizza because of the attention the company pays to using high-quality ingredients and filtered water.
“The only way you could really tell would be to do a side-by-side comparison of a pizza made of dough that contains Brooklyn water and one made of dough that contains LA water,” he said. “Otherwise you still get a delicious pizza with a crispy crust.”