For Spectra Premium Industries (SPI), the Boucherville, Que.-based maker of auto components, a private fleet is more than just transportation-it’s a powerful public relations machine. “The truck is our corporate image on the highway,” explains fleet manager Jean Barrière. “The average person may not know what’s inside our trailers, but he’ll feel better about our company’s name on the side if our equipment appears well maintained. A white truck looks good when it’s white.”

On the inside, a clean truck tells drivers that managers respect their place of work,” says Barrière. “I like to hear our drivers talk about ‘their’ truck. They treat it as if it were their own because in a way it is. Each driver is assigned a specific vehicle. If a driver is absent, his truck stays parked and we assign the work to one of our for-hire carriers.”

Barrière’s maintenance staff includes a full-time washer, and the mechanics have been known to cover the pedals with rags when they work in the cab.

There is a trade-off for the drivers, however “Their appearance must be impeccable,” Barrière says. SPI supplies a uniform and tie, and expects drivers to be clean-shaven when they show up for work each day. “Our drivers are professionals and understand the image we want to project as a company,” he says. “It’s easier for us to expect that of them when we show the same respect for the equipment they use.”