Lawrence Transportation Company and MacKinnon Inc. Win TCA's Grand Prize Fleet Safety Awards

Kona, Hawaii - The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is pleased to announce the Grand Prize winners of the highly-coveted 2003 National Fleet Safety Awards: Lawrence Transportation Company of Rochester, Minnesota, and MacKinnon Transport Inc. of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The awards were presented at the March 16th Annual Banquet & Awards Dinner to Eric Lawrence, president of Lawrence Transportation Company, and to Ray Haight, president of MacKinnon Transport Inc.  Lawrence Transportation Company won the award for truckload companies operating under 25 million miles annually, while MacKinnon Transport Inc. won for the category of over 25 million miles annually.

The Truckload Carriers Association and the truckload industry are dedicated to improving the safety of all fleets and our nation's highways. All
participants in this award program must prove their commitment to safety, and each Grand Prize winner is recognized nationally for making safety the number one priority.

Lawrence Transportation Company believes its safety success is due to its concept of "operations with safety, not operations and safety." The company has received seven consecutive First Place awards in the annual Minnesota Trucking Association Safety Contest, including the Grand Trophy in 1997. Lawrence Transportation Company also placed second in the ATA Safety Contest in 1998.

One of the most important components of Lawrence's "operations with safety" program is a thorough driver selection process. In its application Lawrence wrote that it is "fully aware that a company hires its accidents" which is why it places such great emphasis on its selection process. The Lawrence driver selection process includes contacting all previous employers from the last three to five years, a criminal record check in each state the applicant lived, and a driving record check in every state the applicant held a CDL. For its efforts Lawrence Transportation Company is not only this years safest fleet under 25 million miles but also has only a 29% driver turnover rate.

MacKinnon Transport Inc. believes that a commitment to safety "begins with the leadership of the owners and senior management" which is why all of the company's safety policies and procedures have their "unwavering support." One way that MacKinnon supports their safe drivers is through their driver safety incentive program, which rewards drivers up to 5% of their wage to acknowledge safe driving and reinforce a commitment to safety.

For MacKinnon Transport safety is not just an idea or goal, "it is a tangible product and service" for which customers contract with the company.
Since safety is one of their "products" MacKinnon strives to upgrade employees skills through in-house safety training. The training programs are
not limited to MacKinnon's driving force but also encompass all employees and include guest speakers and informal "lunch and learn" sessions open to all employees. The company also developed it's own MacKinnon Transport Road Master Driver Program which recognizes drivers who by experience, education, and ability, belong to "an expert league of professionals."

The TCA Fleet Safety Contest judging process began with the determination of the top companies in each of six mileage divisions. The division winners (listed below) were selected based on accident frequency only. The top three winners in each division were then able to compete for the two grand prizes. The grand prize-winning companies were judged on their excellent overall safety programs, both on and off-highway. During the judging, some of the factors considered included safety program organization, employee driver/independent contractor selection procedures, training, supervision, accident investigation, inspection and maintenance of equipment, and outside activities including general highway safety. In an effort to ensure the highest level of integrity to the contest, all grand prize finalists were audited by independent auditors not affiliated with TCA or the carrier.

The top divisional winners based on low accident frequency per million miles were:

Division I Winners (under 5 million miles)

• 1st Place
  Specialty Transport, Inc.
  Knoxville, TN
  Robert Pemberton, President
• 2nd Place
  Frerichs Freight Lines, Inc.
  Swansea, IL
  Bill Frerichs, Jr., President
• 3rd Place
  Rochester Cartage, Inc.
  Rochester, MN
  Greg Reid, President & CEO
  
  
  Division II Winners (5 - 14.99 million miles)
• 1st Place
  Five Star Trucking, Inc.
  Willoughby, OH
  John Gramc, President
• 2nd Place
  Lawrence Transportation Co.
  Rochester, MN
  George Wilson, President
• 3rd Place
  Best Cartage
  Kernersville, NC
  William Ward, President
  
  
  Division III Winners (15 - 24.99 Million Miles)
• 1st Place
  Grand Island Express
  Grand Island, NE
  Thomas Pirnie, President
• 2nd Place
  Christenson Transportation, Inc.
  Springfield, MO
  Don Christenson, President
• 3rd Place
  Erb International
  New Hamburg, ON
  Vernon Erb, President
  
  
  Division IV Winners (25  - 49.99 Million Miles)
• 1st Place
  Kriska Transportation
  Prescott, ON
  Mark Seymour, President
• 2nd Place
  MacKinnon Transport Inc.
  Guelph, ON
  Ray Haight, President & COO
• 3rd Place
  Cornhusker Motor Lines
  Omaha, NE
  Ed Trout, President
  
  Division V Winners (50 - 99.99 Million Miles)
• 1st Place
  John Christner Trucking, Inc.
  Sapulpa, OK
  John Christner, President
• 2nd Place
  Highland Transport
  Markham, ON
  Norm Sneyd, President
• 3rd Place
  G & P Trucking Company, Inc.
  Gaston, SC
  Clifton Parker, President
  
  Division VI Winners (Over 100 Million Miles)
• 1st Place
  National Freight, Inc.
  Vineland, NJ
  Ike Brown
  Vice Chairman, Co-owner
• 2nd Place
  FFE Transportation Services, Inc.
  Lancaster TX
  Stoney "Mit" Stubbs, Chairman & President
• 3rd Place
  Smithway Motor Xpress, Inc.
  Fort Dodge, IA
  William Smith, President

TCA is the only  national trade association whose collective sole focus is the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry. The association
represents dry van trucking , refrigerated trucking , flatbed trucking , and intermodal container carriers operating in the 48 contiguous states as well as Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Representing operators of over 200,000 trucks, which collectively produce an annual revenue of over $20 billion, TCA is an organization tailored to specific truckload carrier needs.

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