Published: March 21, 2008 04:11 pm         

Practicing ‘safety first’: Groendyke Transport truckers establish award-winning driving records

Groendyke Transport started in 1932 in Beaver, Okla., but moved to Enid in 1936 and has been here since then. And they aren’t moving.

Over the years, while some companies around the nation have left their homes and gone elsewhere, Groendyke has remained in Enid and plans to stay here, said Gene Brown of Groendyke Transport. The trucking company celebrated its 75th year in 2007.

Groendyke drivers compiled nearly 80 million miles last year with a safety record of less than one-half an accident every million miles, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Groendyke mostly hauls chemicals and acids and refined petroleum products. A small part of the business is hauling bakery flour and other food grades.

They have nearly 1,400 employees and more than 1,000 are drivers, operating out of the 34 company locations around the United States. Groendyke encourages its employees to be involved in community projects and allows them to take time off work.

Groendyke has been approved at all 34 locations for national industrial standards. They must be certified and audited at each location and must do business according to those standards to be certified, Brown said.

“We adhere to a very high quality,” he said. “Not many trucking companies are certified to industry standards and we have been for a number of years,” he said.

The company also has a high standard for drivers, which may have something to do with the outstanding accident prevention rate the company records. All locations have certified driving instructors who ride with and approve each new driver. Experienced drivers require less training than drivers just out of truck driving school. All new drivers also come to Enid for orientation. There are also six field safety coordinators who evaluate new drivers.

They also provide training for product handling, teaching their drivers how to handle the caustic and sometimes hazardous products they carry. They also teach how to handle their equipment the loads they carry and safety equipment.

Some of the training is required by the Department of Transportation and some by their customers. Commercial driver’s licenses must have a hazardous material endorsement and they must carry a large amount of security material with them.

There are on-board tracking and communications systems on all the trucks and trailers. About 80 percent of all trucks and trailers are company owned, but some are owned by the drivers and permanently leased by Groendyke. All employees are Groendyke employees, Brown said.

“We’re still privately owned and we’re still in Enid,” he said.

John Groendyke, the son of the founder still owns the company and the third generation is also involved in the business. Groendyke is the fifth largest tank truck carrier and is in the top 100 of all companies. Brown has worked for Groendyke for 50 years and there are many other long-term employees with 30 years or more working for the company.

“A lot has changed in 50 years. We’ve gone from regulated to non-regulated but the culture and beliefs at Groendyke have not changed, take care of your employees, and take a long term view and bring value to the company,” Brown said.

Enid has many quality Groendyke employees who would be lost if the company moved to another location.

“John and the people who work here want to live here and don’t want to live in Houston. We have long-tenured employees of 30 years or more who would be lost if we moved to Houston,” he said.

Such a move has never been considered.

Brown said a story is told about owner John Groendyke commented that if he moved to the center of his business, he would move to Houston. But Groendyke commented “I’d rather buy a faster airplane,” he said.