Sargento Foods is carrying its new design concept from tractor-trailers all the way down to personal vehicles for executives.

Top prize in the day category of this year’s Commercial Fleet Graphics Awards started with a motorcycle.

In 2003, Sargento Foods CEO Lou Gentine bought a bike from Harley-Davidson, another notable Wisconsin company. Gentine added a side car, which he painted yellow with holes like Swiss cheese. The Cheese Chopper was born.

Soon, Gentine’s Cheese Chopper became a promotional gimmick for Sargento. The Plymouth, Wis.-based company took the motorcycle to Milwaukee Brewers baseball games, Green Bay Packers football games and various promotional events. Others at Sargento have followed Gentine’s lead. His brother, Larry, owns a Swiss cheese Jet Ski. The vice president of marketing owns a Swiss cheese VW.

Eventually, Gentine himself suggested that Sargento’s private fleet also adopt a Swiss cheese theme with its graphics, says Danny Buss, fleet operations manager for Sargento. “He had this vision and wanted to explore it himself before he brought it out.”

The idea was enticing, but changing out fleet graphics is a bit more expensive than painting one motorcycle yellow. Besides, Sargento already had a sharp fleet. In fact, its bold-yet-simple red and black design had in 2002 placed second in the Commercial Fleet Graphics Awards, which are co-sponsored by the National Private Truck Council and Commercial Carrier Journal.

Ultimately, the decision to switch graphics was made in June 2004. By the end of next month, Sargento’s entire fleet will be full of holes.