Reefer Service Anywhere, Everywhere Throughout North America

Introducing Thermo King SVC, Inc., – a new company committed to providing one critical service better than anyone else: reefer maintenance and repair to multi-state customers on a long-term contract basis. Located in Vernon Hills, Ill., Thermo King SVC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thermo King Corporation.

The company's Thermo Gard program offers a guaranteed maintenance agreement that is customized to meet the needs of larger fleets (typically 100 or more units) that travel regionally or nationally. (Smaller fleets may be referred to a local Thermo King dealer.) The program's price depends on the age, condition and operating hours of the fleet's temperature control units, and normally covers all service and repair. The work is done by factory-trained technicians at more than 200 Thermo King dealer locations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"Thermo Gard also gives customers state-of-the-art program tracking and report generation for all service and parts," said Gary Lemon, president of Thermo King SVC. "This is a real benefit for customers not normally set up to keep scrutinized records of their fleets at different locations."

In addition to guaranteed maintenance agreements, the Thermo Gard program also offers a national centralized billing service. Under this program, customers may bring their equipment to any authorized Thermo King dealer for service. Invoices are then sent to Thermo King SVC for processing. Once a month, these invoices are consolidated and Thermo King SVC pays dealers for all authorized repairs. One monthly, itemized invoice is then sent to each customer.

"With the centralized billing concept, a fleet has a single account it can access every where it goes – rather than dealing with a hundred different dealerships," said Gene Ellis, president, Thermo King of Northern California, Inc. "SVC is a real benefit to Thermo King dealers as well. It brings more work into our shops. We're now getting jobs that may have otherwise gone to independents at truck stops or other service providers."

Thermo Gard customers should also experience lower operating costs. "It won't be necessary to amortize a parts inventory or special shop equipment," Lemon continued. "In addition, they won't be allocating valuable floor space to service their reefer units and won't pay the salaries of specialized reefer mechanics. And the fixed price should allow for better expense budgeting."

Many of the industry's leasing and distribution companies agree. Container-Care Logistics, an intermodal logistics company based in Austin, Texas, recently signed agreements for both Thermo Gard guaranteed maintenance and centralized billing. "The entire Thermo Gard program lets us little guys grow into bigger guys. We no longer have to worry about laying out extremely large amounts of capital on a maintenance level," said Butch Stokes, general manager of Container-Care Logistics.

"Our fleet is spread across the East Coast and West Coast, so I never get to see it. I've got to count on somebody to keep an accurate record of what's going on. The centralized billing system gives us a loss history and maintenance record, so we're able to identify both problems and successes." More than 200 Thermo King RMN II refrigeration units will be covered under the Thermo Gard program.

Specifically, Thermo King SVC offers the following services to its customers:

• Single point negotiation for national accounts
• Long term guaranteed maintenance contracts with fixed pricing
• Prices based on a flat or graduated monthly fee depending on the average number of hours equipment runs per year
• Preventative maintenance, interim inspections and emergency repair service to increase reefer uptime and productivity
• Pretrip inspections, if customer requires
• Factory-trained and certified technicians
• Customized programs to meet individual customer needs
• Mobile "Uptime" service trucks to bring service to the customer
• Only genuine Thermo King or approved parts
• State-of-the-art program tracking system and report generation
• Centralized billing

"The key to the program is proper preventative maintenance. When it's done on a timely basis and by factory-trained technicians, it keeps equipment operating at peak performance and on the road making money," said Lemon. "One goal is increased customer satisfaction. With this in mind, we make the service as convenient as possible. Whenever possible, Thermo King dealer Uptime Service trucks will be sent to a customer's location, at a time that's convenient for them.

"Thermo King SVC has negotiated Thermo Gard contracts with some of the industry's largest companies. We're pleased that customers are recognizing the ease and convenience of this innovative concept."

According to Keith Petrovsky, president of Thermo King's Dealer Advisory Council, Thermo King SVC is a win/win situation for Thermo King's customers and its dealer organization. "As dealers, we're able to set contracts with customers for a number of years. These contracts help us better establish what kind of workflow we're going to have coming through our dealerships. In addition, we're able to develop more long-standing relationships with our customers. In fact, because the contract allows us to see them more often, we're able to learn their businesses a lot better. Essentially, they become not only our customers, but our partners."

One call to Thermo King SVC is all that is needed to get negotiations started on a guaranteed maintenance and centralized billing program whether a customer has one or more locations.