What is the Hale Trailer story–how did it evolve into what it is today?

How we came to have a presence in Maine is an interesting story. Almost thirty years ago at the age of twenty-five, Barry Hale started renting trailers out of his house in Southern New Jersey. Soon this expanded into buying and selling used trailers. He acquired some 1972 Gindy opentops and advertised them in a trade paper. Two businessmen well known to most MMTA members, George Parke and Wayne Chaffee, called him and brought the trailers (A.W. Chaffeee is still using them!). Other sales were made in the New England area over the next few years and when 48' x 102' wide trailers were made legal, Hale Trailer was waiting with a large inventory on the ground. One of the first customers was Merrill Transport of Portland, Maine. This prompted Barry Hale to make a trip to Maine in 1984 to see these customers and find out why they were coming all the way to New Jersey to buy trailers. The answer he got was that there was no trailer dealer in New England with a good supply of trailers on the ground. I was working for a trailer leasing company at the time and some of his contacts gave him my name.

He came to see me and we did a scientific marketing study that went something like this...Gary Bangor: "Hire me". Barry Hale: “OK”. We ordered some new Dorsey Trailers for the Portland branch. My first sale was to Cliff Pottle who came down from Bangor and bought eight of them. Things went well, lots of other Maine companies began renting and buying from us in Portland which prompted another exhaustive marketing study...Gary Bangor: "Let's build a big building". Barry Hale: "OK". We moved into our present location in 1989.

What are some of the key ingredients to Hale's success?
Barry Hale always says OK. Seriously, what I mean is we are not afraid to take a chance. In addition to stocking hundreds of trailers like 53' vans, refrigerated trailers, composite flatbeds, etc., we keep specialty trailers on hand like extendible flatbeds, dump trailers, Walking Floor™ trailers for trash, bark and chip hauling, tag-a-long trailers with air powered ramps, tanks, and more. Barry encourages us to look for future trends, then order equipment to fill the need that trend will cause. Sometimes we gamble and lose, but most of the time it works.

Hale Trailer has forged strong, long term bonds with the manufacturers whose lines we represent. There is a mutual respect and trust. This benefits our customers with strong warranty support and products customized for our market.

If I'm a potential customer, what are the benefits to do business with Hale Trailer?
Some obvious reasons quickly come to mind. First, our huge inventory. Since the marketplace changes quickly you can't always tell what your needs will be three or four months from now. If you land a new customer and need trailers now to handle the extra business, you don't have to order trailers and wait. Call Hale and buy or rent the trailers you need. If we don't happen to have the trailer you need sitting in Portland, chances are its at one of our other locations and your truck or one of our four full time drivers will bring it to you. If we are rented out of a particular trailer type and w have a new one in stock, most times we will license it (with the help of MMTA staff) and have it ready to go in 24 hours.

This large inventory leads to the second reason; price. We usually order vans in groups of fifty or one hundred. The small trucker who only needs to buy one or two can get the volume pricing of someone ordering dozens. Also, when you call or stop in to Hale Trailer your questions will be answered by knowledgeable professionals. Each department's salespeople in Portland have at least 15 years in the trailers business.

What issue(s) do you currently see as the most important to/having the greatest impact on your business?
Some critical issues would be the general decline of the forest and paper industry in Maine, the whole package of various Maine business taxes that stifle investment, and the lack of young mechanics entering the work force. One development on the positive side, the new Turnpike exit 7b comes right to our door.

What are the challenges your company faces that maybe your customers don't realize?
Keeping this large inventory is very expensive. Floor plan interest is the cost of the convenience of readily available trailers. Then comes the frustration of having 500 vans in stock but not the exact one somebody is looking for. For example: Customer: “I'd buy trailer A over there if only it was the color of trailer B and had a roll up door like trailer C and cost $10,000.” When I point out that I have such a trailer in stock right now for $10,000, sometimes the response is "What else do you have?"

What made you join the AMMTA and give an example of how your MMTA dues have added value to your company?
I joined 26 years ago. It was a different organization back then when ICC regulated common carriers were the major members. There was a staff of two in a small Portland office. The only benefit was socializing at a couple of functions every year. MMTA now produces benefits for Hale that are just not available anywhere else. I can sell a trailer in New York today, and the customer thinks I'm super man because i have a license plate in his hand the next day. Having the expert MMTA staff who can answer my customer's questions about laws and overweight permits contributes to Hale’s full service reputation.

An issue that came out at the MMTA long-range planning meeting in Bangor last month was that of service industry representation and involvement. What are your thoughts on this issue being a service industry member and a member of the Board of Directors?
prior to that meeting I though that service industry members were expected to be supportive of MMTA, but in the background. After hearing the feedback from member trucking companies, I now realize that more vendor participation in the direction of the organization is desired and needed. I will make more of an effort in that area.

What types of things do you hear your peers and/or customers saying about Maine's business climate and/or about the trucking industry in general?
We used to compete regionally, now many of us compete nationally and even globally. The high cost of doing business in the state of Maine has to change. When our competitors outside of the state do not have the same fixed costs as we do (as in excise and personal property taxes) the playing field is not level. Business never gets easier so we all have to keep getting better at what we do.

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