{"id":884,"date":"2020-05-01T18:15:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T18:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/?p=884"},"modified":"2020-05-01T18:21:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T18:21:03","slug":"weathering-the-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/resources\/2020\/05\/01\/weathering-the-storm\/884\/","title":{"rendered":"Weathering the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wisconsin reefer WEL Companies experiences two months of record hiring growth during challenging times
<\/em> 
By Al Muskewitz
<\/strong> 
The nation has just come through its two most challenging months in a generation, 61 days that tested every aspect of American life, but one Midwest trucking company has weathered the storm to experience unprecedented growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The WEL Companies of DePere, Wis., a family-owned reefer in the shadow of the famous frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, has experienced two record months of attracting new drivers to its fleet.
 
The company hired 95 drivers in March and April at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with a net gain of 60 seats to its 438 seated trucks. And the gains show no signs of slowing.
 
\u201cOver this past year we\u2019ve made a really big push to dial in our entire process from the moment we\u2019re getting them in as a lead all the way through til they\u2019ve gone on the road with us,\u201d WEL marketing manager Andrew Ziemke said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten everybody in the company on the same page and I think that\u2019s just paying us dividends over these last couple months, now that everybody\u2019s dialed in and everybody has a clear picture of the direction we\u2019re going.\u201d
 
WEL, shortened from the Wisconsin Express Lines name founder Wally Tielens and sons gave their family business in 1975, has long come in well below the industry turnover average through its competitive pay, respectful customer network, family approach and open-door policy, but its recent commitment to standardizing its message across all segments of the company has taken it over the top. In April alone it brought on 50 drivers with a net gain of 39. 
 
It had one month last summer similarly successful, but it\u2019s never had a run quite like the one it\u2019s on currently.
 
\u201cThe stars all aligned,\u201d vice president Dalton Tielens said. \u201cIt takes everybody to make this happen so it\u2019s been a team effort. We\u2019ve always had, everyone says, a family oriented (philosophy), but we have an honest up-front approach towards recruiting and what we tell you on the phone is what happens.
 
\u201cAt the end of the day we don\u2019t have this corporate mentality where it\u2019s all about the bottom line. My dad\u2019s still involved and the one word he preaches every day, it\u2019s written on every wall, is respect. Like he says, if you don\u2019t respect the fact these guys have families, too, that they\u2019re out here trying to make a living, that they\u2019re making a sacrifice \u2026 and you can\u2019t help these people, they\u2019ll find somewhere else to go that will. It\u2019s respect all around.\u201d
 
WEL hauls refrigerated food and drink from the nation\u2019s dairyland throughout the Lower 48 year-round out of five terminals and warehouses strategically located in DePere; Joliet, Ill,; McDonough, Ga.; Winter Haven, Fla; and Allentown, Pa.
 
Its top drivers average 63 cents a mile and new experienced drivers go through a streamlined virtual orientation that gets them on the road in a matter of hours of coming into one of its facilities instead of days. For drivers who have just gotten their CDL still considering where to go with it, WEL offers what it calls a finishing school, an eight-week program that takes them from the basics to shuttle work to six weeks of OTR training. More than 75 drivers who have come through that program are still with the company.
 
Furthering its commitment to its drivers, the company has during the coronavirus emergency provided weekly stipends for cleaning supplies and parking.
 
\u201cWhat brings people in and what they hear through the grapevine goes back to that whole process,\u201d Ziemke said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of all come to fruition here the last couple months, all the work we\u2019ve put in on the back end to help this process become as smooth and really true to our word as possible.\u201d
 
Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at <\/em>musky@wrightmediacorp.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for available truck driving jobs with WEL Companies.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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