Amidst ongoing challenges of increased regulations and struggles to find qualified drivers, Produce Supply Express Inc. looks to maintain a consistent revenue stream while serving its niche customer base. 

Company Vice President Lom Hutchins says that for the most part, the company’s annual revenues have held steady in the $10 million to $12 million range during the past few years. 

“We expect to continue in that same range this next year,” Hutchins says. “Eight to 10 larger customers generate probably 80 percent of our revenues.”

A family-owned and -operated business, Spokane-based Produce Supply Express has been serving customers since 1973. 

The trucking company provides long-haul shipping of both dry and refrigerated food products to 11 Western states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and California.

Hutchins says the company’s main customers are food manufacturers and distributors, such as Johanna Beverage Co., Tree Top Inc., and Food Services of America. The company picks up product from producers or suppliers and bringing it to distribution centers, which then deliver it to stores. 

 “The majority of our trips are to California and back,” he says. “The other big ones are Boise, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix.”

According to Hutchins, the company intends to stay small, expanding only as much as it needs to in order to match its customers’ needs. 

“Most of our growth is driven by organic expansion,” he says. “We try to grow with our customers.” 

Located at 4411 S. Grove Road, Produce Supply operates out of a building with 3,000 square feet of office space and 6,000 square feet of truck storage and maintenance space.

While the company has no immediate plans to expand, Hutchins says it’s always looking to hire additional drivers. 

“We have about 57 employees right now, but our hope is to keep increasing that number by 5 or 10 percent each year,” he says. “We see the same factors here that are at play in other labor industries, with the baby boomers retiring and a lack of younger generations moving in.”

John Hutchins, Lom’s father and president and founder of the company, adds, “Truck driving is not a glamorous job, but you can still make a good living at it.” 

John Hutchins, now 59 years old, plans to retire within the next few years and has been working to turn the company over to his sons, Lom and Jeff.  Jeff is the company’s vice president of maintenance.

“We have developed a reputation for good service, with drivers who are on time, polite, and respectful to work with,” John Hutchins says. “We’d like to see that continue.” 

Lom Hutchins says the company’s fleet includes 45 trucks and 60 refrigerated trailers, all of which were updated as of last year so that all equipment is at least a 2014 model or newer.  

“Our trucks travel about 5 million miles a year cumulatively,” he says. “Certain things like auto-transmissions and aerodynamic devices have been added to improve efficiency.”

Hutchins says soon trucks will include more technology, including self-maintaining engines that let mechanics know which parts need service when, predictive cruise control features that use outside data to determine the truck’s most efficient speed, and global positioning system mapping. 

He adds that by the end of next year, all trucks will be required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to have what is called an electronic logging device, which helps to track, manage, and share records of each driver’s duty status.  

 “It tracks a lot of things about the truck, including driver input. It’s also a handy way to track whether freight is in on time,” Hutchins says. “We’re waiting to evaluate which system works best for us, but we hope to install all of them this next spring.” 

With this new technology, he says, the company also needs to stay on top of added industry regulations.

 “There are many regulations concerning the safe storage and transport of food, as well as federal safety and environmental regulations,” he says. “Regulations are constantly changing, and in some cases, it has cost us tens of thousands to make sure our fleet meets those standards.” 

He says more new federal and environmental regulations are on the way, and most often that means increased use of sensor devices, which monitor functions such as exhaust-cleaning requirements. 

“With new technology comes added expense, yes, but the cost of vehicles will always be increasing,” he says. “The 2018 models and newer will all have the latest standards already integrated.”  

Currently, each truck has $25,000 to $30,000 worth of monitoring systems that track exhaust output, including sensors in the motor and filters. 

This equipment is updated every three or four years, and Hutchins expects costs of those updates will increase by 20 percent to 50 percent during the next few years. 

 “Overall, our goal is just to continue to provide good jobs, quality service, and maintain safety standards,” he says.