GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., August 7, 2006 Operating in the tough terrain and environment of the Rocky Mountains requires equipment that can be counted on to get the job done, no matter the conditions. For Girardi Towing and Heavy Haul, running durable and reliable Kenworth trucks offers a distinct advantage over its competition along the Continental Divide.
We™re one of the few towing companies for hundreds of miles around that has the kind of equipment that allows us to tow or haul heavy equipment over steep grades and remote areas of the Rocky Mountains, said Vic Girardi Jr., co-owner of Girardi™s Towing in Grand Junction, Colo.
The 32-year-old family-owned business operates in a five-state region along the Continental Divide ” Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona. The business is divided into three divisions: heavy towing and recovery, heavy haul transportation, and crane and rigging operations.
Girardi™s Towing operates a fleet with 19 Kenworth trucks. The company hauls heavy and oversized equipment with seven Kenworth T800s and four Kenworth W900Ls, and recovers trucks and other vehicles with six towing units two Kenworth W900Ls, two Kenworth C500s equipped with Century Rotators, and two Kenworth T800s with transporters. It also moves heavy drilling and pumping equipment for oil and natural gas producers using two Kenworth T800 picker trucks equipped with a 30- and 40-ton National crane, respectively.
A few months ago Girardi™s Towing responded to an accident on U.S. Route 160 in a remote area several miles south of Cortez, Colo., near the Colorado-New Mexico border. A liquid nitrogen tanker ran off the road and rolled over on to its side into the bottom of a ravine. With its Kenworth C500, equipped with tridem rear axles, all-wheel drive, a 600-hp Caterpillar engine, and a 60-ton Century Rotator, Girardi™s Towing winched the 40-ton tractor and trailer unit up and back onto the road and towed it intact to the owner™s facility in Salt Lake City.
If we hadn™t been able to stand it back up intact and tow it in, the hauling company would have had to hire an outside specialized firm to drill into the tank and pump the liquid nitrogen out before it could be moved, Girardi said. That saved the company a very large sum of money.
Girardi said his company can accomplish this kind of work because its Kenworth trucks are engineered to the application. He said when he and his brother, Daman, considered buying a second Kenworth C500, they met with engineers at Kenworth™s manufacturing plant in Renton, Wash., to determine the kind of suspension, drive train and frame that the truck would require.
Once our sales rep and the engineers at Kenworth understand what we want to do with our trucks, they always seem to know what kind of equipment we need to add to get it done, Girardi said.
Daman Girardi said when another towing operation went out of business a few years ago, they took possession of several trucks built by two other manufacturers. Those trucks have not been as reliable, he said. We had some problems with their cab interiors, which led to some downtime issues. Daman said just one day of downtime for its largest crane truck can cost the company as much as $1,100 in lost revenue.
Fortunately, Kenworth trucks keep things moving, Vic said. We™re always busy because we have a reputation of being reliable and Kenworth trucks definitely help us keep that reputation, he added.
Kenworth Truck Company, a division of PACCAR Inc., is a leading manufacturer of heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth is the recipient of five 2005 J.D. Power and Associates awards for Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Over the Road Segment and Pickup and Delivery Segment Class 8 Trucks, Heavy Duty Dealer Service and also Conventional Medium Duty Truck Segment and Medium Duty Dealer Service. Kenworth™s Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com. Kenworth. The World™s Best.
