by Tarah Kesterson
Camrett Logistic’s Director of Volvo Operations, Wes Mabe, talks with the company’s fleet manager about their heavy duty electric tractors.
Do you know what it takes to build a tractor trailer? Some of the Virginia Clean Cities team had the opportunity to learn more about the logistics behind the scenes of this manufacturing sector at Camrett Logistics. The Camrett team showcased what takes to store, organize, assemble, and transport the hundreds of pieces that go into that truck.
The Camrett Logistics team leads the Southwest Virginia Maritime Association and at a meeting Virginia Clean Cities learned that 20% of their truck fleet is fully electric. Heavy Duty electric is not a common site in Southwest Virginia so we made the connection to learn from their expertise in this field. President and COO Cameron Peel and Director of Volvo Operations Wes Mabe agreed to a call to talk about the successes and challenges surrounding these giant electric trucks and extended the invitation to get a first-hand look at their fleet and operations. It was one VCC happily accepted.
Camrett Logistics has been serving customers for over 30 years and is strategically located along the Interstate 81 corridor in Southwest Virginia. They have facilities in Dublin, Radford, Buena Vista, Wytheville, and Bluefield. They employee over 180 people and manage 1.5 million square feet of warehouse space. Their largest customer business partner is a major OEM manufacturer in the New River Valley. The two warehouses VCC visited were both full of parts that go into building the tractor trailers produced in Pulaski County. In one warehouse, Camrett staff were assembling kits that included multiple parts they warehoused going into specific carts for final assembly. The second held larger truck parts that leave the warehouse on a planned schedule to meet production requirements.
A look inside the warehouses at Camrett Logistics reveals the multiple parts and pieces they receive and store for their customers.
The electric Class 8 trucks Camrett uses for transport were constructed just down the road in the Volvo facility they support. The trucks help Camrett align with internal sustainability goals and also support business with customers that have carbon reduction goals. The trucks average about 200 miles in range and take 90 minutes to charge at the fast charging stations they installed upon purchase. The fleet manager says most charge at the end of the day and again around 2:00 p.m. for a second run.
Camrett Logistics installed these charging stations for their electric heavy duty trucks.
While the routes are specifically designed for the electric truck capabilities, it makes it hard to get them much further than the Wythe County line due to a lack of heavy-duty electric vehicle charging infrastructure. These trucks also come with a much higher up-front cost. But, the Camrett team says they have seen technology improvements in their newer trucks and, once they started driving them, their truckdrivers prefer them (they’re actually hiring truck drivers if you’re interested!).
A safe and closed course gave VCC staff the opportunity to drive the truck—which was very easy to operate and, despite the size difference, wasn’t much different than operating your personal vehicle. It was a quiet and smooth ride. Because of their commitment to having positive environmental impacts in the region they serve, Camrett is part of the U.S. EPA Smartway Transport (registered trademark) Partnership contributing to the 397 million barrels of oil and 170 million metric tons of CO2 the partnership has avoided successfully avoided annually.
Their commitment to this community goes beyond the environmental impact. It is also evident in a banner with their logo displayed at the arena where the local hockey team plays in Wytheville, on little league jerseys, and at community events that enhance the areas they call home.
So the next time you’re driving on Interstate 81 or pass a Volvo truck, think about the people and processes it took to just prepare it for assembly.