For the first time in the company’s 76-year history, Ruan Transport is honoring one outstanding driver as the Driver of the Year for superior safety, customer service and reliability. Ruan named 138 finalists for the award.
“Ruan’s drivers are central to our business,” says Jim Mulvenna, vice president of safety and administration for the Des Moines, Iowa-based company. “They’re the face of Ruan – the first people customers meet. They move the freight that generates revenue and are the economic engine of what we do. These men and women are outstanding because they consistently go above and beyond our safety and customer service standards. This recognition is our way of honoring their dedication and commitment to Ruan.”
Ruan drivers are assigned to individual shippers, so they handle the same type of equipment and cargo on every run. “We invest major resources into training our drivers, and because of it, we have an envious 28 percent voluntary turnover rate,” says Mulvenna. “In an industry with overall 100-plus percent turnover, that’s extremely low.”
Ruan says safety is a major component of the Driver of the Year program and that it adheres strictly to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, extending it further by hiring drivers that also meet other important criteria, including at least one year of experience in the industry with heavy-load trucks.
The 138 finalists were chosen from a field of more than 4400 drivers. The list then was narrowed to 17 regional finalists, who were to attend the Ruan Leadership Conference in Des Moines in January, where one was to be named Driver of the Year.
