7 minute read
Tow Boss
A Towman Who Invests In Towers
The Stauffer family with the company’s Jerr-Dan 60-ton rotator on a Kenworth chassis.
By Brian J Riker
Brian J. Riker is a third-generation towman, with 25 years of experience in the ditch as a tow operator, and president of Fleet Compliance Solutions. He specializes in helping navigate the complex world of federal and state transportation regulatory compliance. He can be reached at brian.riker@fleetcompliancesolutions.net I recently spent a few hours speaking with Kurtis Stauffer of Stauffer’s Towing hoping to understand what has allowed his business to expand, dare I say thrive, during these difficult economic times brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. At 59 years old and with 40 years as the owner of Stauffer’s Towing based in Salt Lake City, Utah it would be fair to say he has learned a thing or two along the way.
The Stauffer family success is not because of what many would assume -having a large amount of funding available, rather it stems from what Kurtis learned from his father Von who founded the business in 1954. These lessons have become the key principles of providing exceptional customer service through proper training of their team with a fanatical focus on safety and employee well-being.
Besides being prudent with managing expenses and controlling their internal growth Kurtis credits their success to the sacrifices his wife and four children have made. He has shared his vision for the growth of the family business and working with other towers within the entire towing community.
The concept is simple, by raising the bar for the entire industry and helping others grow we all benefit from the successes.
It is in this spirit he has begun a program to help entrepreneurs desiring to own their own towing company but needing a little assistance to get their shot at success. In key locations within their service area Kurtis is willing to partner with qualified individuals where, in exchange for a minority ownership interest or percentage of revenue agreement, he will help them pick a location, purchase their tow truck(s), develop a business plan and steer work into their independent facility. This is not a franchise deal, they will be fully independent businesses, with guidance and support from the Stauffer family organization. As a network affiliate these independent towing companies will benefit from group buying power for insurance, employee benefits, parts, service and more.
From humble beginnings Kurtis and his family have built their company into the powerhouse it is today. With more than a dozen locations spanning three ◀
Jerr-Dan 35-ton with a JFB on a Kenworth chassis.
states their goal is to have a tow truck within an hour of every location along I-80 from Cheyenne, Wyoming to the Utah/Nevada border and up I-15 past Idaho Falls, Idaho. Their growth plan includes strategic locations that will allow them to promptly service a 500 square mile radius of Salt Lake City, Utah. COVID-19 has not dampened their expansion efforts either with Stauffer’s Towing recently announcing the acquisition of Triple L Towing & Repair, LLC in Pocatello, Idaho.
A company with this vast of service area requires a great deal of reliance on their team members ability to work remotely with little to no direct supervision. To accomplish this goal for their 80+ employees Stauffer’s has implemented several new rigorous training programs along with a robust mix of in-house and outsourced continuing education provided both online and hands-on and including cross discipline training with many fire departments within their service area.
Their program begins during the on-boarding phase where a new-hire is required to complete a pre-work physical assessment at an occupational medical specialist’s office and review the company policies and employee handbook before ever stepping foot into the yard or the cab of a truck. During the on-boarding phase all new hires must also complete Smith System defensive driver training provided by an in-house Smith certified ◀
instructor that Stauffer’s employs. All new drivers regardless of previous experience then spend their first two weeks in training with a lead driver before being permitted to do any work on their own. Drivers with no previous towing experience spend an additional two weeks operating the equipment with a driver trainer riding along before being released to work alone. Kurtis believes in a graduated training experience which requires all drivers to demonstrate proficiency in light duty before moving on to medium duty and finally working into heavy duty and complex recovery positions.
Kurtis speaks from his heart when he says “we consider training a core value - not only for our employees but also for the towing community. In fact, we host a Facebook page (Heavy/medium towing hookup methods) where the towing community can share lessons learned and ask questions about unique towing scenarios. We believe if we don’t invest in our employees someone else will”.
Their in-house training program is so well received they even provide training on rigging scenarios to many of their local fire departments, helping them prepare for technical lifts.
Since 1994 Stauffer’s has used industry recognized professional training from WreckMaster, requiring all their drivers to be WreckMaster certified within 90 days of hiring and to maintain a current WreckMaster certification for the level of their job function. Before being advanced to simple recovery jobs all drivers must be at least WreckMaster level 4/5 certified and 6/7 or higher to become a heavy operator.
In addition to regular in-house continuing education and traditional training sources such as WreckMaster, Stauffer’s also invests time and money into sending their heavy duty recovery specialists for advanced instruction from Jerr-Dan and their dealer, Rocky Mountain Wrecker Sales. “The investment of time and money into sending my guys to the factory for instruction is money well spent” says Kurtis Stauffer. He believes in ◀
the value of learning directly from the manufacturer of his towing equipment and rotators so much that he has sent three different groups of operators to Greencastle, Pennsylvania to participate in these factory events.
Stauffer’s commitment to training does not stop with towing and recovery methods. They currently employ three operators that have completed the Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Train the Trainer program, one Smith System certified defensive driving instructor and have a full time dedicated Safety Director to assure all their team members remain current with the latest in safety training for their job roles. “We also understand that training is not a one-time thing - so we’re always striving to continuously learn and train our employees on the safest and most efficient towing methods.” To this effect they have one more operator in line to be trained as a TIM Trainer and one in line to become a Smith System defensive driving instructor.
Beyond training Stauffer’s also deploys state of the art technology systems and old fashioned methods to monitor and improve the operation of their fleet of over eighty trucks. In addition to random unannounced field observations of their drivers performed by Kurtis himself and ride-alongs with lead drivers Stauffer’s Towing deploys gps telematics data to monitor speed, hard braking and other safety critical events. Combined with cameras on all their trucks this data has proven invaluable in coaching their drivers towards the goal of being safer operators. The truck mounted cameras and gps data have been used to defend their drivers against false claims and ◀
even have prevented false citations from being issued.
Perhaps the real key to the phenomenal growth and stellar reputation of Stauffer’s Towing is their practice of treating every vehicle, even the worst of crashes, as if it has no damage and is your own pride and joy. Putting their customer’s above all else and working tirelessly to improve the image of the towing industry in general has truly allowed them to expand in a very remote, rural area where your reputation means everything. It is critical to work with other towing companies in a professional and open manner and Kurtis agrees, saying “we need to work with other towers. We are all on the same team”.
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