Fleetowner 6616 Midwest2e
Fleetowner 6616 Midwest2e
Fleetowner 6616 Midwest2e
Fleetowner 6616 Midwest2e
Fleetowner 6616 Midwest2e

Vocational Profile: Growth plan

Aug. 4, 2016
At Midwest Floor Coverings, a smart approach to investments is paying off

“Making effective use of capital and available resources is a balancing act,” says Adam Jensen, CFO and operations manager of Midwest Floor Coverings. “In a growing wholesale delivery operation like ours ... we don’t want to miss an opportunity, but we also can’t overextend ourselves by trying to do too much at once.”

And for good reason—those types of decisions have been harder for the distributor of carpet, cabinets, counter­tops, and installation supplies. “We’ve experienced double-digit sales growth for the past four years, and we’re on pace to break $78 million in revenue in 2016,” he states. “There are many projects we’d like to take on, but it’s important to stay focused on serving our customers.”

Based in Salt Lake City, UT, where it operates a 300,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and distribution center, Midwest Floor Coverings operates from five branch locations and three distribution hubs, including two others in Denver (CO) and Boise (ID). Hauling 53-ft. curtain-side trailers to more than 3,000 accounts, drivers normally run in a 400-mi. radius around the company’s distribution centers.

“Many of our recent initiatives have been focused on improvements to our infrastructure and fleet,” Jensen relates. “We’ve been adding solar panels to our facilities to cut electricity expenses, refurbishing materials handling equipment, and upgrading our fleet to control transportation costs.”
Today, the Midwest Floor Coverings fleet consists of 13 tractors and more than 26 trailers. The mainstay of its operation are those curtain-side trailers, which Jensen notes make loading and unloading easier for a variety of types and sizes of products, including flooring materials, tile and rolled vinyl.

The company has upgraded its entire tractor fleet with new Peterbilt 579s, which are now leased from PacLease. “Moving away from ownership of an aging fleet with high maintenance costs to leasing makes sense for our bottom line,” he says. “Before, we were having major episodes with our trucks on a regular basis, which raised repair and rental replacement costs and meant more downtime. With new trucks, those issues are gone, and we’ve seen more than a 20% improvement in mpg over the tractors they replaced.

“Without new leased equipment,” Jensen continues, “we wouldn’t be able to accurately budget for expenses. In effect, instead of spending money on maintenance, we’re spending the same money on delivering our products. In addition, more reliable equipment is making a difference in keeping our drivers happy, and that helps with our retention rates as well.

“Like all businesses, our success depends heavily on a healthy economy, so we also stay focused on economic and other indicators to make sure we’re not caught unaware,” Jensen says. “For example, our sales team does a great job of watching changing trends in construction design, so we aren’t stocking inventory that’s out of fashion. We know what’s coming next, and we have the right product available at the right time.” 

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