This week, Continental Express unveiled their latest specially wrapped truck honoring professional truck drivers and American farmers for their efforts in feeding families across the nation.
The wrap covering truck 1050 bears the words, “Feeding Families: One Acre, One Mile, One Load at a Time”, with a farm scene and the American flag-eagle wings signature to Continental Express’ Fleet of Heroes truck series.
Honoring the beauty of the agriculture industry, the truck’s image of farmland and a red barn—branded with the Ohio bicentennial logo—is not unlike the land surrounding Continental Express’ corporate office, where grain fields flank three sides of the terminal.
“Our story starts on a family farm,” said Continental Express Vice President, Brad Gottemoeller. “Continental celebrates our 40th anniversary this year, so we’re thinking a lot about those early days and how we got started. Our roots run parallel with farming, and it hasn’t escaped us that we could not do our job without farmers.”
Specializing in refrigerated and temperature-controlled freight, Continental plays a critical role in feeding American families by safely transporting food to grocery stores. Continental recognizes their 1,250 trailers are filled with goods each day largely from the hard work of the agriculture industry.
In addition to feeding families, both Continental Express and farms across the country are run by families.
According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, America has 1.9 million farms, 95% of which are operated by families. Although the country is home to nearly 2 million farm operations, the American Farm Bureau Federation reports less than 2% of the country’s population work on those farms and ranches.
“Semi-trucks are everywhere, on every US highway, all hours of the day. Yet, the truck driver can be overlooked. They are the ones putting in the hours and sacrificing home time for the sake of keeping our nation moving and fed,” explained Gottemoeller. “The hard work of farmers grows in fields all around, yet the people behind those fields can go unappreciated. Our hope is this truck thanks both groups of workers for putting food on America’s tables.”
Taking on the keys to truck 1050 is farmer-turned-professional driver Dale Hunt.
“Both sides of my family were farmers,” said Hunt, a now seven-year Continental veteran. “I grew up on a farm in the Greenville, Ohio area. We had 3,000 head of pigs—contract pigs—and 1,200 acres.”
Hunt worked on his family farm in high school and into adulthood, where he also juggled full-time factory work. After 30 years of balancing the two, Dale needed a change. He sold all but 5 acres of the farm, sought out his class-A commercial license, and took a job with Continental Express.
Although he only cares for a small amount of land today, the family farm set Hunt up for success in professional driving; backing and maneuvering farming equipment was early practice for pulling a 53-foot trailer. The farm was also a school in work ethic, a skill Hunt has certainly carried to Continental.
“We could not think of a better driver for truck 1050 than Dale,” said General Manager Jake Albers. “Dale takes incredible pride in a job well done. He’s detailed, punctual, and always professional with our customers.”
Despite the career change, at Continental Dale is still working hard to feed families.
“Everything you eat comes from a farm somewhere, and trucks bring it to a grocery or a store. The two go hand-in-hand,” remarked Hunt. “I feel honored that they chose me for this truck because of my background, but also in trying to do a good job for Continental in all aspects.”
In addition to rolling out their “feeding families” truck, Continental Express was recently named a 2024 Best Fleet to Drive For and celebrates 40 years incorporated this year. For more information on Continental Express, visit continentalexpressinc.com
