A group of Lynden, Inc. employees moved dirt and painted in June to help build a fourplex apartment building at Rainier Vista in Renton, WA. More than 30 employees have expressed interest in helping with the Habitat for Humanity program. Three employees helped at a project in Seattle earlier this summer, and five more will be going back to complete work this month. More groups will be scheduled for projects throughout the region over the summer. “We just started working with the organization this year, and we will continue to schedule employees who want to participate throughout the year,” explains Jeanne Miller of Lynden, Inc. in Seattle. “The work is very rewarding, and we had a lot of fun, too.”
Photo: From left to right are Laura Foster, Elisabeth Wittenberg, Mike Woodham, Jeanne and Clark Miller.
Lynden drivers ruled the road at the May 21 Alaska Truck Driving Championships in Anchorage. Competitors were required to complete a written exam, a pre-trip inspection and an obstacle course. Tom Martin of Lynden Transport took first place in the Day Cab division and placed third overall, and Brian Ambrose of Alaska West Express took first in the Sleeper Berth category and finished second overall. Other top drivers were Lynden Transport’s Don Harrison who placed third in the Day Cab division and Jered Post, taking third in the 3-axle category.
Brian and Tom are now preparing to compete in the National Truck Driving Championships August 3-7 in Columbus, OH. Brian has driven for both Lynden Transport and Alaska West Express over the years, and he says he’s always been conscientious behind the wheel. “You have to be on your game every day. You can’t afford to have a bad day,” he explains. “I take pride in doing a good job, and although the competition will be tough in Ohio, I think I can handle it,” he predicts.
Tom is a 16-year Lynden Transport veteran. “I’ve always been competitive, and I enjoy testing my skills,” he says. This was his third year participating in Anchorage, and he said he’s excited about competing on a national level.
We will keep fans of the Lynden Facebook page updated with the results of the competition. Good luck, Brian and Tom!
Enhanced EZ Tracing and redesigned website puts customer in the driver’s seat
ANCHORAGE – Lynden Transport’s industry leading EZ Tracing system just got better with the addition of GPS mapping of shipment locations while in route over the highway. By clicking on a link on the Lynden Transport website, customers can monitor their shipments on a digital map that shows the truck as it moves from origin to destination. Lynden Transport is the only Alaska trucking company to offer this live tracking service to its customers. The company also launched a brand new website, www.lynden.com/ltia, redesigned based on customer feedback for easier navigation.
“We are very interested in customers’ ideas to improve service and value,” says Jim Beck, Lynden Transport President. “Lynden Transport has some long highway routes such as from Texas to Alaska and our customers requested that we provide more than depart and arrive status. With the new GPS live tracking maps we can provide multiple location updates per day.
“GPS mapping adds a dimension of transparency that puts the customer in control and assures them that their shipment will arrive on time,” Beck added. “We plan to expand our network to include freight moving on marine vessels so our customers can see the same visibility on the water as we now offer on land.”
GPS mapping example (click to view larger):
GPS mapping is the latest addition to Lynden Transport’s other recent service improvement, Predictive Delivery, which provides customers up-to-date delivery times for their shipments in major services centers in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Juneau and Ketchikan.
The EZ Tracing GPS mapping feature is automatically engaged each time a shipment is viewed through the EZ Commerce system. If you would like to sign up for Lynden’s free EZ Commerce program, go to www.lynden.com/ltia and click on the “sign up now” link, or call your local Lynden representative.
Lynden Transport is the trusted leader for trucking to Alaska. Its network of service centers is the largest in Alaska and provides extensive coverage with integrated truck, marine and air services. The Lynden family of companies combined capabilities include: truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, scheduled and charter barges, rail barges, intermodal bulk chemical hauls, scheduled and chartered air freighters, domestic and international air forwarding, international ocean forwarding, customs brokerage, trade show shipping, remote site construction, sanitary bulk commodities hauling, and multi-modal logistics. Lynden companies are repeat winners in the annual Quest for Quality customer service awards presented by Logistics Management magazine.
Related Blog Post:
Have you seen the new Lynden Transport website?
Good deeds sometimes go unnoticed, but not in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai Chamber of Commerce awarded Lynden Transport's Soldotna Service Center with the 2010 Community Service Award for its many good deeds in the community.
Besides organizing a Toys for Tots drive and sponsoring an All American Soap Box Derby racer, the center and its employees have participated in the Soldotna Community Playground, the Kenai Peninsula Outlook Forum and the Peninsula Winter Games. Chamber President Penny Furnish says these events would not be as successful without Lynden's support. Lynden's Boyd Jorgenson and Kyle Fisher accepted the award from Penny and Tina Baldridge at the awards dinner.
Lynden Transport opened its new Soldotna Service Center last fall and is fast becoming a good neighbor in the community.
From the Lynden Archives: This article was originally written in March 2010.
Lynden Transport's website recently underwent a major change. After receiving feedback from customers and employees, conducting user tests, and scrutinizing our web analytics, our web team created a brand new design. We hope that it makes things much easier for our customers - both current and future.
Check out the changes and let us know what you think! If you have any suggestions or critiques please either leave a comment below or email Ryan Dixon, Manager of Online Marketing, at rdixon@lynden.com.
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New:
Be sure to check out the website whenever you have questions about trucking to Alaska or Alaska trucking!
Alaska West Express received the Alaska Safe Truck Fleet Most Improved Award at the Annual Alaska Trucking Association (ATA) Safety Awards banquet in Anchorage. The annual Most Improved Award is presented for the safety record based accident rates from the previous year to the current year.
"ATA is pleased to join with ConocoPhillips to recognize the achievement of Alaska West Express in improving their safety performance over the past year," says ATA Executive Director Aves Thompson. "Safety on the highway and in the workplace is the highest priority for our industry. Alaska West Express is a fine example of practicing what we preach."
"This is a total team effort by all managers, drivers and mechanics," explains Alaska West Express Safety Director Jim Maltby. "Our employees have worked hard and deserve all the credit." Terminal Manager Al Guettinger agreed. "I echo Jim's appreciation for our employees' efforts and greatly appreciate ConocoPhillips' interest in the transportation industry and its sponsorship of this award."
Pictured (from left): Wendy King, ConocoPhillips Vice President External Affairs, Steve de Albuquerque, ConocoPhillips Interim Manager of Safety, and Al Guettinger and Scott Hicks, Alaska West Express Terminal Managers in Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Like many, I was keeping updated on the terrible situation in Haiti earlier this year via the evening news. I immediately recognized the yellow "L" of Lynden Air Cargo's plane in Port-au-Prince. It got me thinking... Over the years, Lynden International has grown into a global company with offices on every continent. News of devastating events like the January earthquake in Haiti, and more recently in China and Chile, are always upsetting to hear about, but they hit us especially hard as we often have employees and partners working in these locations.
Last year our sister company, Lynden Air Cargo, began flying relief missions to Samoa and Indonesia to deliver medical supplies, food and other essential cargo after the earthquake and tsunami. Just a few months later, Lynden Air Cargo was one of the first responders after the Haiti earthquake, and it is ready to use its Hercules aircraft to aid other countries if future disasters strike.
On a smaller scale, our employees organized an effort to donate money to help Haiti. Lynden offered to match each employee's contribution up to $100 at all of the Lynden companies, not just Lynden International. In just a few weeks, thousands of dollars were collected; half was sent to Mercy Corps and the other half to the American Red Cross. A total of 80 employees from 11 different Lynden companies donated.
It's a big world, but it becomes much smaller when disaster strikes. We are reminded very quickly of our shared humanity. This spills over into business, too.
Good customer service is essentially taking care of people and their needs - whether it's helping strangers after a disaster or working with a customer on a complicated logistics solution. We think we're pretty good at both.
Randy Jackson
Executive Vice President
Lynden International
There were plenty of teachable moments at Lynden Air Cargo this spring when a a high school aviation group from Chevak, Alaska, toured the facilities. Seven students and Chevak Aviation Instructor Ryan Walker learned about Lynden's operations and then toured the company's management offices, warehouse, flight operations, ramp and aircraft and maintenance building.
The group is similar to the "Build a Plane" group Lynden Air Cargo hosted last year from an Alaska rural high school.
Ryan began teaching elective aviation courses at the remote Chevak High School last fall, including an advanced class to prepare students for a private pilot written test.
"Flying is such a vital part of life out here and it's a real opportunity for these kids to make a living and help their communities in Western Alaska," he says.
The school is planning to buy a Rans S-6 kit plane students can build as part of the Build a Plane program. Ryan is also part of an effort to create a new nonprofit to put flight instructors in village schools across Alaska. AVSTEM International - short for aviation, technology, science, engineering and mathematics - will seek financial support from tribes, native corporations, school districts and other sources.
"Learning to fly improves math and science skills and gives students career choices in an industry that buzzes overhead daily," Ryan explains. Ethan Bradford, Lynden Air Cargo Manager of Technical Services, says it's always rewarding to host students. "We had a great time, and we hope it was a good experience for these young aviation cadets."
This spring CH2M Hill needed a drill rig transported from Kenai to Prudhoe Bay within 48 hours. The catch: the rig consisted of 21 loads - all hot shot.
The Lynden crew in Kenai quickly mobilized for the two-day rush. Customer Service Representative Danette Goode and Operations Manager Boyd Jorgensen set to work on the load-out. Service Center Manager John Jansen handled details at the Prudhoe Bay Service Center.
"This was a super fast track move and, at 21 loads, quite a challenge," says Lynden Transport Account Manager Sam Amato. "We couldn't have done it without the efforts of Boyd and Danette."
Boyd, in turn, recognized drivers Jason Toliver, David Martinsen and Rusty Deckard for their dedication to getting the loads on the road. "They made sure everything arrived smoothly on-site," he says. Kenai Service Center Manager Kyle Fisher summed it up, saying "Great employees and teamwork are what make Lynden so effective in situations like this. Everyone has a positive attitude and is willing to work together to make it happen for our customers."
(One of the 21 CH2M Hill loads arrives in Prudhoe Bay)
Sam was at Prudhoe Bay when the first loads arrived and later met with the CH2M Hill team that had flown in to assemble the drill rig. "They came to us with a very time-sensitive project and trusted us to get it done," he says. "In the oil business, idle equipment costs money. They were extremely happy that Lynden was able to meet the challenge."
When the project was complete, Lynden moved the rig south from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski, Alaska, for CH2M Hill. The project required 26 loads this time, instead of 21, due to road and weight restrictions. Loads went from Prudhoe to the Fairbanks yard where Lynden split them into smaller sizes for the final leg to Kenai-Nikiski.
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How's your work commute? Sam Amato sent in this photo looking down the haul road (Dalton Highway, connecting Livengood to Deadhorse over 414 miles).
Billed as the newest voice in Texas music, Lynden International Import Agent Carl Fendley spends his days coordinating imports at the Houston station and his nights playing area clubs like "Numbers." His first single, "Best Part of Me," is in rotation on internet radio stations and is available on itunes, Amazon and Napster. Carl's music is a mix of honky tonk with a laid-back island sound.
He celebrates two years with Lynden next month and says, "I have been truly blessed since I have been at Lynden with the birth of my twins last year and a great supervisor in Vickie Gould."
Carl grew up in the small Texas town of Cleveland and taught himself to play guitar at age 7. In his teen years he played the local club circuit of Houston in a rock band. After the band broke up, Carl went to community college followed by a year off to work in the oil fields. He later joined the U.S. Army and it was during his four-year stint that he started to write songs.
After his discharge, he got together with his old band and formed "Solid Oak," an acoustic alternative rock band. In the following years, he played in other bands and is now trying to make it on his own as a professional songwriter. Listen in on Carl's website, www.carlfendley.com.
Carl and his wife, Amie, celebrated the first birthday of their twin son and daughter, Jagger and Jules, on April 27. Carl also has three stepchildren, Alex, Kyle and Lillie. "I just sent three demos to a Texas record label, but I'm taking things slow," he says. "My twins just turned one, and my duty as daddy comes first."
