CASE STUDY – BURBANK EXPRESS

It’s all just another day in the life of Burbank Express, a Manitoba, Canada-based transportation company specializing in helping potato producers get their payload wherever it needs to go.

Whether hauling from field to shed, between sheds, or shed to processing plant, Burbank Express relies on Trinity trailers to serve customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“You deal with the roads. You deal with the climate. But you just have to keep going,” explains Jeff Jeanson, Burbank Express General Manager.

Founded in 2005, Burbank Express primarily hauls potatoes bound for Simplot’s processing plant in Portage la Prairie, about fifty miles west of Winnipeg. Key to their success is Burbank Express’ ability to maximize efficiency despite the often challenging conditions. It’s a team effort that includes dedicated drivers, dispatchers, mechanics and a fleet of more than 30 custom Trinity trailers with insulated bottoms, two-foot insulated top extension and top tarp.

This design allows Burbank Express to maximize each load while eliminating the risk of the belt freezing in Manitoba’s harsh winters. “We’re allowed take a lot more weight than a lot of places,” Jeanson says. “Trinity trailers don’t have a problem handling it.”

Even with the customization, it is Trinity’s standard features on the trailers that Jeanson and his team count on day to day. The lightweight design for example, allows Burbank Express to take full advantage of Manitoba’s higher — compared to most of the U.S. — weight restrictions.

“I don’t care if you’ve been in this business for 5 or 15 years,” Jeanson says. “You can load the same way for the same guy for years and all the sudden you end up with a load with more moisture content, and it can get you very close to being overloaded.” Trinity’s lighter bridge design, Jeanson says, helps ensure none of that weight is wasted on the trailer.

Trinity’s design also helps this 24-hour-a-day operation reduce repairs and increase uptime, according to Jeanson. “We obviously deal with different country roads and we like how the flexibility reduces cracking on the trailers,” he says. Less time in the shop means more time serving customers.

And Burbank Express serves a lot of customers.

During its 10 years in business, the company has more than tripled in size. This success, and the company’s dedication to its community (they support several local nonprofits and events) has earned Burbank Express a tremendous reputation in the industry. And since the beginning, Burbank Express has invested exclusively in Trinity trailers to help them grow.

“We like keeping everything the same,” says Jeanson. “The guys find them easy to operate and now that we’ve been established for ten years, having the same trailers makes it a lot easier to manage maintenance. We haven’t had any issues.”

Should you rely on a single trailer supplier?

Different transportation companies have different philosophies on utilizing a single trailer manufacturer or diversifying their fleet.

Burbank Express, like many Trinity customers, chose to use Trinity exclusively. This approach, according to General Manager Jeff Jeanson, has allowed them to build a closer relationship with the company while reducing hassles and overhead.

“We like keeping everything the same,” says Jeanson. “The guys find them easy to operate and now that we’ve been established for ten years, having the same trailers makes it a lot easier to manage maintenance. We haven’t had any issues.”