H&M Trucking. What is it, who is it and are they worth looking at?
by PD McCloud
H&M is a relatively small trucking company based in Omaha, NE. Run by one owner, Randy Mueller, and one Executive Vice President, Dale Cook, it is a premier company operating both 53' van trailers and double bottom hopper trailers. The majority of the tractors it uses are late-model, or new Volvo's, International ProStars, with a few of the new Peterbuilts thrown into the mix. All equipment is fully maintained by H&M's own quality shop and/or the related manufacturer operated shops.
From a personal standpoint:
When I stepped into a truck for the very first time as a driver-trainee in 2000, I had no idea of what was ahead of me. Over the next 14 years I would drive for some of the more well-known companies like CRST, Prime Inc, CR England, JB Hunt and Boyd Bros., but until 2014 I knew nothing about being a driver with a company that really cared, and showed it cared.
My very first contact with H&M Trucking was in the middle of June, 2014 when after talking with one of its own drivers for nearly 2 weeks, I went online and filed an application. That application was submitted on a Saturday, so I figured I wouldn't hear from anyone for a few days. Less than 30 minutes after filing the application I received a phone call, not from a recruiter, but instead from the owner, Randy Mueller.
Impressed already, we talked for nearly an hour on the phone (luckily I was parked at the time). During that conversation, he told me about the company and it's hopper division. Mostly though, we talked about me. Randy wanted to know who I was, where I'd been, where I wanted to be and what I wanted out of a company. All in all, he showed real and sincere interest in not only me as a driver, but me as a person. Here was a company owner, worth millions of dollars, taking the time to get to know someone who applied for a job on a day when he could have been out golfing or enjoying his Saturday doing something else.
I don't want to suggest that Randy is a salesman, but frankly, he sold me on the company's interest in me, not as a seat-filler, but as a real human being. On that day we agreed to continue the process of getting the i's dotted and t's crossed. I was still employed with another company at the time, but Randy assured me this was not a problem. H&M scheduled for me a DOT physical at a location convenient for me while still employed with another company. I didn't have to quit my job to go to an orientation where everything would be done with no promise of a job (like most companies), which would have left me unemployed if H&M chose not to hire me.
I Flunked My DOT Physical!
My glucose level was over 200. This meant I was diabetic, or at least possibly a diabetic. Almost every company I'd ever heard of would have ended the hiring process upon hearing this and sent me packing to get things right and try again another time. However, H&M took a different look at the situation. Upon speaking with Randy about it, he assured me this would not be a problem. We'd just retake the physical when I came to Omaha. In the meantime, he give me ideas and suggestions that I could use to help lower my glucose level.
A few days later I got the call offering me a job, even though my physical was still needed. They had completed all the other processes of hiring while I was still employed with the other company. I expected to be provided a bus ticket from Birmingham, AL to Omaha, NE but was instead provided a rental car ( a nice big one too) to make my way to Omaha. On July 7th, 2014 I began the three-day orientation process, including the DOT physical I had previously flunked out on. Using Randy's suggestions, I was able to get my glucose level down to a legally acceptable reading. The orientation process was not interrupted by background checks and all the other FMCSA required information that is mandatory in the hiring of a new driver This had already been completed, while I was employed elsewhere.
In A Nutshell
I took the seat of a brand new International ProStar ( not what I had hoped for ) on July 10th and began my career with a new company that made big promises. Like always, I was waiting for the bottom to drop out from under me. I expected at some point, all those promises and great things I felt about H&M would begin to dwindle away. They didn't! And, to this day, over three years later I am still finding that my first impression, when Randy first called me, is still the same impression. I'm an owner/operator now and still am amazed at how well the personnel at H&M treat me. I get great miles, though now I'm being payed a percentage of the freight rate and mileage doesn't affect me in the same way it did as an employee, still, the compensation is tops in the industry.
Is H&M Worth Looking At As A Potential Employer? YES!
If you want a company that really cares, then yes, H&M is definitely worth looking at.
Some of the benefits of driving for H&M Trucking:
Dry Van - A dedicated, late-model truck (drop and hook loads) Hopper - A dedicated truck and trailer 44.5 cents per mile starting pay, plus earn 4.5 cents per mile additional bonuses Additional HAZMAT pay of .02 cents per mile Clean inspection pay, with Level 1 inspections paying $100 Annual pay increases Rider and pet policy Truck amenities like power inverter, XM Radio, refrigerator, in-cab scanning and Omnitracs communication (Qualcomm)
Here are some of the requirements:
No serious or disqualifying traffic violations within the last three years including:
Excessive Speeding 15 Miles Per Hour or more above the posted speed limit. Improper or erratic lane changes Following Too Closely
25 Years of Age or older No more than three moving violations within the past three years and no more than two moving violations in the past one year. (>3 in 3 years ,
