In Arlington, Texas, there’s a railhead just down the street from the General Motors Assembly Plant. Here, the Jack Cooper Transport Company operates the main shuttle services for vehicle transport. Through multiple shifts, these five-car flatbed trucks run the two-mile leg, back and forth from the plant to the railway, around 30 times a day. The rigorous schedule places a lot of wear and tear on the trucks that drive the route, however, this same turn-and-burn routine provided the perfect scenario for Jack Cooper Transport Company to put the STEMCO Trifecta™ Pre-Adjusted Hub Assembly to the test.
Up to the Challenge
“It was an ideal situation for us to give it a shot,” said Alfred Burt, VP of Fleet Maintenance and Shop Operations for Jack Cooper Transport. “It’s city driving, multiple twists and turns on the axle, all over a 24/7 runtime that’s spread over three shifts per day. There’s an extensive load placed upon the bearings and a lot of work on the steering wheel for each driver. They’re moving a lot of metal every day.”
This presented an opportunity for STEMCO to partner with Jack Cooper Transport to real-world test the Trifecta. Together, we decided to equip three of their trucks with Trifecta to compare how it fared with standard parts in terms of installation, performance, and maintenance.
“Zero Problems Across the Board”
For Gerald Thornton, Maintenance Manager for Jack Cooper Transport, the outcome was quite remarkable. “I’ve used the STEMCO Trifecta Pre-Adjusted Hub for a year on three of my most ‘highly abused’ units. This hub has given me zero problems—across the board—on three units for over a year. I put them through the most extreme wear-and-tear, from the summer heat in Texas, to freezing cold winter and ice. They’re holding up phenomenally.”
Reduced Downtime
Thornton also credited Trifecta™ for enabling his service techs to reduce downtime and boost overall maintenance efficiency for the specialty transportation and logistics provider. “Realistically, it’s about 50% easier to install this hub assembly than any other one I’ve used or personally put on,” said Thornton. “All the human error is actually taken out of the process. I’m watching my technicians install this and it’s pretty amazing to see their expressions like, ‘Wow, it’s on that fast? What else do we have to do?’ I just laugh and say, ‘Nothing at all. You’re done!’”
Building Relationships, Ensuring Results
At STEMCO, it’s responses like these that motivate us to keep building quality relationships across the industry, and to continue providing the commercial vehicle industry with products that perform exceptionally, last longer, and save customers money. The success of Trifecta is no different. We’re thrilled to have since expanded Trifecta to now include the “N” trailer spindle application. This expands the STEMCO portfolio to cover the vast majority of commercial trucking and trailer wheel end applications. We welcome the success, but it’s not about us. It’s all about Making the Roadways Safer.
That’s been our motto since 1951. Our core values of trust, training, and support mean that we are committed to doing what we do best; creating exceptional customer experiences through world-class manufacturing and engineering of fleet-tested, innovative wheel end products.
Keeping Promises
When all was said and done, Jack Cooper Transport said this when reflecting on the experience as a whole: “The fact is, if I didn’t trust STEMCO, we wouldn’t be using them today,” said Burt. “It’s been a great relationship. Trifecta did exactly what STEMCO said it would do. For us, no issue is a good issue, and that’s what we’ve had with this product. I’m very satisfied with it.”
For more information on Trifecta™ Pre-Adjusted Hub Assembly, click here. Or, feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
