MABLETON, Ga. — By midnight every evening, not a single Stafford Transport truck can be found in the company’s yard. And that’s just the way the waste hauler’s maintenance manager in Mableton, Ga., likes it.
“We run just enough trucks in our fleet to cover our routes so everything we have has to be running on the streets and not waiting here in the yard for replacement parts to arrive,” said Jamie Roberts, maintenance manager for Stafford Transport. Roberts is responsible for managing the maintenance facility in Mableton and for making sure the company trucks stationed there run like clockwork. Mableton is 15 miles northwest of Atlanta.
The company also has four other maintenance facilities. Three are in Georgia: Macon, which is 85 miles southeast of Atlanta; Mauk, 110 miles south of Atlanta; and Gainesville, 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. The fourth is in Jacksonville, Fla.
From those five facilities, Stafford operates a mixed fleet of 81 heavy-duty Kenworth T800 and 21 Mack CH613 tractors, all day cabs. It also operates about 308 48-foot and 53-foot thick-walled aluminum tipping trailers and 27 39-foot dump trailers. The company also has lease contracts with 47 owner-operators.
To keep its trucks running efficiently, Stafford Transport relies on TRP Aftermarket Parts and TRP authorized local dealers, MHC Kenworth-Atlanta, MHC Kenworth-Gainesville and Kenworth of Jacksonville to supply all of its aftermarket truck parts even though the company runs a fleet of trucks made by two different truck OEMs.
“The service we get from MHC Kenworth and Kenworth of Jacksonville is unreal,” Roberts said. “The folks at Kenworth of Jacksonville make sure our Jacksonville facility never runs out of parts. MHC Kenworth’s new parts and service branch in Gainesville keeps our Gainesville shop stocked. And here in Mableton, all we have to do is send over our parts list to parts manager Matt DeJean or parts specialist Alejandro Gonzalez at MHC Kenworth by noon and they make sure we get the parts we need that evening.
“Stafford Transport is one of the accounts that I spend the most time with on a daily basis,” Gonzalez said. “Regardless if it’s over the phone, the 2-way radio or in person; Jamie Roberts and I are in constant communication. Knowing that extended downtime is not an option since all of Stafford Transport’s trucks have to be running constantly, we stock most of their commonly used items at all times.
“I have a full list of all their operating equipment so there is no time wasted on trying to get the right information on the right vehicle,” Gonzalez added. “Access to all-make parts through the TRP program is a great resource. We can supply the folks at Stafford with a quality product they’re proud to install in their units. And we can offer the parts at a great turnaround and be price competitive at the same time. I look forward to continue being a supplier for all their parts and maintenance needs.”
TRP offers operators like Stafford a variety of all-make replacements parts, such as fuel tanks, exhaust clamps, mirrors, spring brake chambers, air dryer cartridges, LED lights and windshields. TRP Parts are engineered to fit a truck or trailer regardless of manufacturer.
Every evening the fleet of trucks from Mableton move out to haul waste, mostly household trash, from transfer stations in the metro Atlanta area and south Georgia to nearby regional landfills. The transfer stations and regional landfills are operated by a variety of government agencies and private companies including Waste Management Inc., Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) Waste Systems and Advanced Disposal Services. The trucks operate overnight to avoid heavy traffic in the Atlanta area during the day.
Roberts said because the company can rely on both local dealers to have the parts they need on hand, or get them from the TRP distribution centers quickly, the company doesn’t have to keep as many parts in its own inventory. He estimates that as a result of that, he’s reduced his parts inventory at Mableton by $30,000. Stafford’s other facilities keep even fewer parts on hand because the company is able to get all the parts it needs quickly, Roberts added. “It’s good to know that we can rely on one source for all of our parts.”
ABOUT TRP Aftermarket Parts: TRP Aftermarket Parts for commercial vehicles are available through a network of authorized retailers that include Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF dealerships around the world. From dump trucks to cement mixers, delivery vans to tractor trailers, school buses to transit buses, TRP offers reliable aftermarket products that are designed and tested to exceed customers’ expectations regardless of the vehicle make, model or age. For more information, visit the TRP web site.