The family-owned truckload and volume LTL freight carrier isn’t even located in a town called Abilene. Even though the company is named after a small unincorporated community in central Virginia reminiscent of the fictional town “Whistle Stop,” in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes.” It’s based in Richmond, Va. So why Abilene?
“When my brother and I started our company in 1986, we were able to get a mailbox in the small town, and since Abilene placed you near the top of the yellow pages it seemed like a good fit,” said Keith Jones, Abilene’s chief executive officer. “Plus, it sounded a lot better than Jones. Besides, over the years, we’ve built and maintained our reputation for delivering shipments quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. And that’s what we really want to be known for.”
The company’s business is going strong with percentage of growth reaching into the double-digit range. It recently added 75 employees, including drivers, mechanics, fleet managers and other personnel at its Richmond, Va. headquarters. It’s also making improvements at its headquarters. Abilene’s fleet of more than 350 tractors and 1,100 trailers, about 200 of them refrigerated units, carries freight across the United States and Canada.
To get some of those shipments to their destinations, Abilene has been increasingly relying on Truck Enterprises – Richmond and new Kenworth T680s equipped with 76-inch sleepers and powered by 455-hp PACCAR MX-13 multi-torque engines through Eaton UltraShift® PLUS transmissions. The Kenworth T680s – with their excellent aerodynamics and more fuel-efficient PACCAR MX-13 engines – have delivered a significant 8 percent increase* in fuel economy compared to the company’s older, late-model aerodynamic trucks, helping to reduce operating costs.
“The 20 Kenworth T680s we introduced into our fleet last year have given us great performance and contribute significantly to our efforts to run a more environmentally-friendly, fuel-efficient fleet,” Jones said.
Jones said he has been so impressed with the fuel economy results and the driver comfort that the T680s have delivered, that he has ordered 20 more T680 76-inch sleepers this year with the exact same specifications. After the 20 trucks are delivered this summer, 10 will be assigned to single drivers while the other 10 will be assigned to driving teams.
