PASADENA, Texas—Altom Transport continues to grow in the Gulf Coast, where the carrier boasts a burgeoning intermodal business, and nationwide. So, to make sure customers are staying apprised of its rapidly expanding capabilities, the Indiana-based company hosted an open house March 15 here at its Houston-area terminal.
“We’ve expanded our intermodal business, which is exciting, so we wanted to get our name out there and boost our business in the Gulf Coast,” Dennis Moriarty, Altom’s operations director, told Bulk Transporter. “Within the last 24 months, we’ve opened two facilities in Louisiana [St. Gabriel and Sulphur], and we expanded into the Detroit market, so we wanted to celebrate what we’ve accomplished.”
Altom expected about 100 people for the all-day event, which included BBQ from Willy T’s BBQ and Catering in nearby Deer Park, Texas, dueling crawfish boils, and tours of the carrier’s modern dispatch facility and intermodal yard—which is organized by a 17-ton Combilift Combi-SC straddle carrier for handling ISO tank containers.
“The Port of Houston is a huge port for the Gulf Coast, and the number of opportunities in both intermodal drayage and container storage, with container fit-outs, and associated ISO tank work, is huge down here,” said Larry Choate, Altom’s Pasadena terminal manager.
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Altom has operated out of the Pasadena terminal—originally built as a biodiesel production and storage facility—since 2007. The operation includes 70 company and owner-operator drivers on the domestic tank side, 30 intermodal drivers, and 11 maintenance technicians, as well as dispatching, billing, and safety personnel.
Fleet expansion
Petrochemical production is fueling Altom’s Gulf Coast growth. But the carrier also is expanding in Michigan, where it recently acquired the trucking assets of Warner Petroleum, including 47 tractor-trailers now aiding Altom’s Detroit-area marine delivery and fueling operations. “That addition bolstered our Altom Canada business, which is largely based out of Sarnia [Ontario, Canada],” Moriarty said. “We cross through Port Huron, so it works well. It’s only 60 miles away. Now we have 20 drivers from Altom Canada who live in the Sarnia market.”
Altom’s fleet now includes approximately 300 power units and 1,000 trailers, with 92 stainless-steel aluminum Polar Tank trailers expected to arrive this year.
“We are very proud of what we have,” Choate said. “Our ownership and senior leadership are committed to providing best-in-class service, and image plays a huge role in that, with our trucks and trailers, and the commitment Altom and Al Warren Oil make to refreshing our fleet. That contributes to our success from a cosmetic and marketing aspect, but also helps with everything down to roadside inspections.
“Clean, well-maintained equipment simply is safer to operate on the highway.”
Alternative considerations
Ryan Streblow, president and CEO of National Tank Truck Carriers, recently told Bulk Transporter that NTTC is laser-focused on the rise of alternative fuels, and their impact on bulk haulers, as a power source for tractors in the push for zero emissions, and in terms of transporting energy, whether as petroleum products like gasoline or diesel, hydrogen, or something else.
But Moriarty says Altom is sticking with its “core” business for now—and business is good.
“The petrochemical business and lubricants are not always for vehicles and so forth,” he said. “It’s also for machinery that requires lubrication, so I don’t see that changing so much.”
Altom also is side-stepping the rush toward battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell trucks, for now anyway. “There still are a lot of questions and variables out there,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk about compressed natural gas, but the first generation of those units didn’t fare so well, from what I’ve heard and experienced. So, we’re in a holding pattern for that and seeing what the best options are going forward.”
Safety focused
Altom also highlighted its Netradyne Driveri vision-based camera system during the open house, demonstrating for inquisitive customers the highly detailed level of safety data it delivers for drivers and managers. The carrier is outfitting is entire truck fleet with Netradyne’s forward and side-facing cameras.
See also: Netradyne updates, advances safety technology
Moriarty said they only have about 65 trucks left to equip.
“The data collection that these forward-facing cameras have is astounding, compared to an ordinary dashcam,” Choate said. “As you’re rolling down the highway, it has the ability to recognize red lights from green lights, and stop signs; and it’s calculating the following distance in seconds for vehicles ahead of you, and monitoring whether you’re starting to overtake the vehicle vs. the vehicle pulling away—it’s amazing technology.”
