LOUISVILLE. To help attract more military veterans to trucking industry careers, Shell Lubricant’s annual SuperRigs competition will host a gathering of veterans in partnership with job recruitment service FastPort at its June 9-11 event in Joplin, MO, this year.
“The military is a perfect fit for our industry,” Dave Waterman, North American marketing manager for the Shell Rotella engine oil brand, explained to Fleet Owner here during a press event at the 2016 Mid America Trucking Show.
Waterman – who said the admiration for his truck-driving grandfather, Charlie Michaels, got him into the trucking business – said showing military veterans “the vision” of what they can achieve with hard work in the industry is why Shell is hoping to broaden the use of its SuperRigs competition as a recruiting tool.
“We want them [veterans] to talk to people who put their heart and soul into this business,” he stressed. “Military veterans know about hard work and discipline; this competition [SuperRigs] shows them what they could potentially achieve applying those traits in our industry.”
Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy (at right) was on hand to emphasize the need to provide a “transition” for when military personnel leaving the service to rejoin the civilian workforce.
“My dad drove a truck and my cousin is right now driving trucks in East Tennessee. I even worked for Roadway and RPS at one time,” he said.
“We have over 1 million service men and women who all have high school degrees or their GED [General Equivalency Degree] who are all drug-tested and have character,” Murphy added. “They need an opportunity, a challenge, when they leave military life. They know how to take the initiative and know what it means to perform work with integrity. We need public/private partnerships like this to connect our transitioning soldiers, sailors and airmen, to jobs as truck drivers, technicians, and other positions.”
Shell’s Waterman also referenced the company’s ongoing effort to educate the industry regarding the impending introduction of the new PC-11 engine oils on Dec. 1, to be named CK-4 and FA-4.
Some of those ongoing “outreach efforts” Waterman noted include:
- The Hard Working Tour: A mobile exhibit housed in a 53-ft. double bump-out Kentucky Air Ride Trailer pulled by a 2014 Freightliner Coronado tractor provides a 3,000 sq. ft. “classroom” to help educate dealers and customers about the new PC-11 blends.
- New Oil Specifications Website: WhatIsPC11.com, launched in February last year, is now updated to provide the latest information about the next generation of engine oils. The site can now be found at WhatIsCK4.com and WhatIsFA4.com, as well as at the original domain.
- Preparing for API CK-4 and FA-4 Brochure: The new brochure explains how the new engine oil specifications do and do not impact on- and off-highway vehicles and equipment. It can be downloaded at the Fleet Info Center.
- New Oil Specifications Infographic: This infographic explains how CK-4 and FA-4 oils will deliver improvements in fuel economy, aeration control, and wear protection. It can be seen on Shell’s newly rebranded WhatIsCK4.com and WhatIsFA4.com site and the Shell Rotella Road Show.
- Shell Rotella Social Media: Shell expects social media to play a role in communicating information regarding the new PC-11 engine oil specifications. Videos, interviews and story links will be posted on Facebook at ShellRotella, on Twitter at @ShellRotella and Instagram at ShellRotellaT. In addition, Rotella.com will contain information as well.
