Sysco Corp., North America’s largest foodservice marketer and distributor, recently named International Truck and Engine Corp. as its Transportation-Capital Equipment Supplier of the Year. Sysco’s operations personnel selected International based on several criteria, such as providing quality products and services, satisfying the company’s requirements in a cost-effective and efficient manner, and being “easy to do business with.” The local truck dealership, International Trucks of Houston, also was a large factor in winning the award.
International Trucks of Houston provides trucks and trucking-related service to Sysco headquarters in Houston and played a significant role in building the strong relationship with Sysco. One of the keys to success was determining Sysco’s transportation needs within the company’s network beyond the Houston area. Two years ago, sales representative Rick Klepetko from International Trucks of Houston and technical service manager Mark Green from International Truck and Engine Corp. began visiting Sysco’s locations around the United States to meet with their fleet managers.
By discussing the transportation requirements with Sysco’s personnel, the dealership was able to better understand the challenges their fleet managers face nationwide. “By getting out to the Sysco sites and making a connection with their fleet managers, our Houston dealer demonstrated the care and commitment that is often overlooked in the truck purchasing process,” says Terry Minor, vice president of Southwest region sales for Warrenville, Ill.-based International.
With service to more than 400,000 customers nationwide — including restaurants, hospitals, schools and hotels — Sysco’s reliance on quality trucks and dependable service is essential. Determined to convince Sysco of International’s product and service superiority, International Trucks of Houston provided 12 International Series 8600 tractors with Cummins ISM engines to Sysco for testing and evaluation. In all 12 cases, the performance of the trucks met or exceeded the fleet managers’ and drivers’ expectations in comfort, ride, maneuverability and overall value.
Sysco now has more than 786 International Series 8600 tractors running in their fleet nationwide, and they have a large number of Series 9000 trucks as well. For their lighter applications, Sysco uses International Series 4300 and Series 4000 medium-duty trucks. International has the largest dealer network in North America, with nearly 900 locations, to service Sysco’s trucks in any area of the country.
“Outstanding dealer service is a top priority for our entire dealer network,” says John Whitnell, vice president of dealer operations at International. “We’re proud that a highly regarded company like Sysco has recognized International Truck and Engine and our dealer International Trucks of Houston as shining examples of how customer service should be in the trucking industry.”
