Tiseo Paving works the Dallas Metroplex, paving roads for municipalities. The company says its fleet of 35 Kenworth heavy trucks helps keeps costs in line, helping it compete in the tough world of sealed bids.
Its core business is working with municipalities on road paving jobs, according to Louis Tiseo, the second-generation owner.
“It’s 98 percent of what we do,” he says. “It’s very competitive and sealed-bid work, so you have to control costs to get the business. Our Kenworths play a major role in keeping operating costs down, while giving our drivers a premium truck to drive. They really appreciate being behind the wheel of a Kenworth.”
The fleet of trucks complements Tiseo’s strategy of using four mobile batch plants to enhance efficiency.
“We’re closer to job sites,” Tiseo says. “When a project is a mile or less from a plant, we use our dump trucks to haul 10 yards of concrete to the job site, and our turnarounds are quicker. We also utilize 12 Kenworth T880s with Con-Tech mixer bodies for longer mixed loads. We run between 10 to 12 drivers who alternate among the vehicles.”
The company might have 18 to 28 projects running concurrently, each normally running 18 to 24 months for completion. “Our growth, on average, is between 3 and 5 percent a year,” said Tiseo. “That’s where we like it.”
Tiseo said his dad began working with Kenworth in Dallas many years ago.
“He knew Vic Salvino socially and met with Vic and Bob (Bowden) to discuss trucks. When Vic sold the Kenworth dealership to MHC Kenworth, Bob continued to work our account. We hit it off, and we’ve worked with Bob ever since. We think the world of him. He treats us fairly, has integrity, understands our business, and we lean on him heavily in the spec’ing of our trucks.”
Says Bowden, VP regional sales for MHC Kenworth:
“Tiseo Paving is all about quality and reliability. They have a perishable product in concrete and have to be on-point with their customers. If they have an issue with a truck, it can quickly develop into a major problem and a lost load. If that happens, you have to get the set product out of the mixer or dump, and that requires chipping the barrel or dump. That’s where Kenworth shines—reliability. And we have the MHC network in the Metroplex area—five locations, plus our mobile service fleet—to match the footprint of Tiseo. So we’re just a phone call away for immediate service.”
According to Bowden, the latest order of T880s for Tiseo features the PACCAR MX-11 engine, rated at 400 horsepower.
“They were using the PACCAR MX-13 engine, but the PACCAR MX-11 saves them roughly 400 pounds, at the same horsepower and torque rating,” Bowden says. “It’s a great engine for vocational applications. We matched that with an Allison transmission, which their drivers absolutely love. We also added the Bendix ESP for stability control.”
The Tiseo Paving fleet is easy to spot. They’re all black, with matching gray on the mixer bodies. “They truly stand out and we get a lot of great comments,” said Tiseo. “The look of the trucks doesn’t help us get any business since it’s a sealed-bid process, but the image that the trucks project means a great deal to us. We have a lot of pride in our company, and that shows in our trucks.”
Source: Kenworth
