Plain Talk What Does It Take To Make A Buck? By Rob Buksar Not through our own doing we’ve all been thrust into the land of Third World sweat- shops and adversarial economics. Getting a fair price for an American reman unit is rapidly becom- ing amemory. Nevertheless, for those of us still surviving the game, cost eductions and the elimination of unnec- essary overhead is an ongoing crusade. Part or almost all of our major ex- pense is the cost ofa driver and deliv- ery vehicle. A drug-free, clean, hon- est, responsible, customer-minded delivery person who can handle a truck without hitting too much stuffis hard to come by. Finding a chicken in need of a root canal may be easier. Primo drivers are so much in demand all the major and minor trucking companies are more than willing to pay extraordi- nary employee packages to attract and maintain these folks on the payroll. Why? Because cartage companies are making more money than ever! Haul- ing the zillions of tons of freight coming in from Eastern Europe, Asia, and NAFTA countries have turned truck- ing into a major growth industry. Money is made in trucking by haul- ing someone else’s freight then getting paid COD or within 10 days. These payment terms are federal regulations with the Department of Transportation behind it to give it muscle. How would you like your cost flow guaranteed by federal law? Delivering our product is unfortunately a different story. The only money in reman has to come out of the “paid” sale of the unit. I know of no one who successfully sells starters and alternators who is able to charge extra for the delivery. The market won’t stand for it. So that very expen- sive driver, delivery vehicle, outrageous insurance and maintenance cost must come off the top of an already micro- margin remaining on domestic rebuilts. This is a real stinker, but does anyone have a better idea? A close friend of mine in electrical reman stumbled across this little gem I thought I’d share with you. He was able to cut his delivery cost in half by utilizing an outside contractor. You see, a new business recently opened in Black Oak, IN. This is close to my buddy’s shop. The new business is called, “The Alaskan Temp Cartage Company.” Their claim to fame is to be the remedy for drug-free, punctual, responsible, pro-active personnel dedicated to delivering merchandise cheap. They are subcontracting dog sleds and drivers for local winter de- liveries. The sleds and dogs are retro- fitted with roller blades for fair weather runs. This makes them a four-season delivery service. Alaskan Temps guarantees a 100 percent show up, vaccinated and de- wormed dogs, snappy public relations photos, and absolutely no bitchen from the drivers. Of course you’d never know they were bitchen because their command of English does not go be- yond the word “mush.” The cost of this service is $12 and 15 pounds of either whale or walrus blubber per day. I’ve been told, ifuti- lized, you’ll really enjoy not matching Social Security on the blubber. According to my source, there are only a few downside issues to the whole deal that really don’t sound that bad. Space must be provided on site for the drivers and dogs to sleep dur- MARCH 2001 ing the week. This isn’t a big deal but it isn’t without an itsy bitsy price tag. You will have to convince your long- term employees that walking through a parking lot full of dog crap and fish heads is worth the adventure. Further- more, if you have neighbors you’d bet- ter tell them not to “freak out” when they see scattered campfires with stout men dressed in furry snowshoes huddled around ~ chanting “mush-mush.” Almost forgot, there is one hell ofa lot of howling every time a siren goes off. Boy oh boy! What we go through to make a buck in this business. Rob Buksar is owner of Hoosier Electric Co., Gary, IN. Page 1 of 1