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18 • ROCK products • May 2015 www.rockproducts.com those looking to you to make sure you meet your obligations." One of his big concerns was fuel econ- omy and efficiency, and for that, he turned to Jeff Wood, his dealer at Leg- acy Truck Centers. Hawbaker's 225- to 250-vehicle fleet is comprised pre- dominantly of Mack trucks, including Mack Granite dump trucks. Mack has been at the forefront of GOH opera- tions since 1972. A big reason for that is the dependability of the trucks and the service provided by Legacy. Hawbaker finds they don't need to be retired as soon as other brands. "We're getting long years of service," Hawbaker said. "We can have them hang around for a pretty long time." The older trucks in the fleet are averag- ing 5 to 6 mpg, but Hawbaker believes his recent 30-truck order of 2015 Mack Granites will improve those numbers significantly. The company operates a limited num- ber of Allison automatic transmissions that have been favorably received by drivers but are heavy. GOH also field tested the new Mack mDRIVE HD transmission expecting the lighter weight will help the payloads, which average more than 24 tons. Hawbaker believes the new trucks will offer another advantage in solving an industry-wide problem: driver short- ages and the constant search for peo- ple adequately trained to operate the heavy equipment. "One reason we like the mDRIVE is the ability to simplify the driving pro- cess with an automated transmission," Hawbaker said. "I think we can bring in a wider range of drivers that would be able to operate equipment with an automated transmission as opposed to somebody who has to adapt to a 10-speed or 12-speed." Another advantage is the commonali- ty of the fleet. Drivers are comfortable HAWBAKER INC. Pictured left to right are Patrick, Dan and Michael Hawbaker. knowing that they won't have to adapt to a new brand every few years. Big Fleet When prospective new hires look across the GOH parking lot, the familiar Mack trucks are hard to miss – they're everywhere. "We don't have to educate people on how to operate a diverse col- lection of trucks," Hawbaker said. GOH has enjoyed 62 years of success, and Hawbaker intends to continue that positive momentum. He is particularly excited by the growth potential in the energy field as the nation pushes to- ward energy self-sufficiency. But, he cautions, there is no crystal ball that can predict what will happen with the national infrastructure legislation and state and federal funding for capital-in- tensive projects. Energy construction will continue at a slower pace. However, Pennsylvania Act 89 has and will continue to pro- vide much needed highway and infra- structure funding into the foreseeable future. Federal transportation funding is hopeful, but not to be counted on at this time. "Our continued focus is our internal efficiencies of round trip times and working out roundtrip hauls to avoid deadheading," Hawbaker said. "The enormity of our national infrastructure needs can be overwhelming. Priority one needs to be maintaining and bring- ing to standard existing roads and sec- ond to focus on the many transporta- tion capacity issues that are needed to increase the overall efficiencies of our economy." Those critical questions will be debat- ed at the national level but there's one guarantee Hawbaker can make: Those shiny red Mack trucks will be on the road every day, hard at work as GOH looks toward the future. s Information for this article courtesy of Mack Trucks.