Mid-West Truckers Association’s Trucker of the Month is Hetzels Overland Transport, Inc. of Effingham, Illinois.
Owned and operated by Stacey and Darrell Durbin, Hetzels Overland Transport started out in 1993 as Poverty Trucking by Keith Hetzel. Poverty Trucking was providing spotter and shuttle services in Effingham for local business and manufacturing. As customers demanded longer distance services, Keith started Hetzels Overland Transport. Business grew and the company added more trucks to handle the increasing demand for over the road work.
When Keith passed away, his brother Scott stepped in and ran the company operations. He hired Stacey Durbin in 2007 as a secretary to handle invoicing. Stacey had been involved in trucking for years and her husband drove a truck for another local company. Scott’s heart was in farming, not trucking, so in 2009 Stacey and Darrell purchased Hetzels Overland Transport and Poverty Trucking.
Poverty Trucking is still doing spotter services and shuttle service in Effingham just as it has since 1993. Hetzels Overland Transport has had 18-20 trucks since 2009 and still does today. One of the first things Stacey and Darrell took care of was upgrading all the trucks and trailers to 2010 or newer models. All of the tractors are Internationals. Just the fuel savings alone on the new tractors paid for the cost of upgrading all the equipment.
“We have almost all the same drivers when we bought the company, with very little turnover,” says Stacey. “We like to know our drivers and their families.” They also have a number of owner-operators leased on and pulling freight for Hetzels Overland Transport. With the many trucks and two companies, they have two full-time mechanics working on everything from DOT inspections to complete overhauls.
Stacey and Darrell are happy with the size of their company and are not actively seeking large growth opportunities. They primarily haul Midwest regional van freight in a 500-700 mile radius of Effingham. With the recent changes to IRP they may look at doing a few east-coast and longer hauls in the future.
Stacey manages the day-to-day operations and Darrell is the safety manager for both companies. They live in Dietrich, IL with their 17 year old daughter Alyssa and have twin girls Amber and Ashley, 21, who are attending Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Stacey uses Mid-West Truckers Association to get answers to her trucking questions and takes advantage of the many services provided by MTA. “When I have a question, I never hesitate to call the MTA office and quickly get the answers I need,” she says.
The Board of Directors of Mid-West Truckers Association expresses their true appreciation to Hetzels Overland Transport Inc, and Poverty Trucking for their 22 years of membership and salute Stacey and Darrell Durbin as our May Trucker of the Month.
Congratulations!
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