We’ve had of people download our Ottawa Kalmer Users Guide lately- have you?

Ottawa-Kalmar-Users-GuideAbout a year ago, we introduced a free guide on our website called the Ottawa/Kalmar User Guide. You can download it for free here.

This guide has been a popular download over the last year, but for some reason, it’s been really popular this winter. We’ve had several folks download it recently, and we wanted to give you a chance to do the same.

In the guide you’ll get three forms:

  • A pre operation safety checklist
  • A pre operation inspection list
  • An operator evaluation form

If you’re a safety manager, general manager, facilities manager, or owner of a distribution center, then this guide is for you. It will help you understand how Ottawa Terminal Tractors (aka yard dogs) can make your business more efficient and safer. We’re certain those are two hot buttons for many of you. This is a great conversation starter, if you’re just beginning to research Terminal Tractors. Take a few seconds and get your copy today!

With our leasing customers, and those who choose to purchase an Ottawa/Kalmar Truck from us, our sales manager Chris Troutt typically does an onsite training. In the future we may try and share a video from one of our sessions. With the permission of our customer of course.

If you’re beyond the research stage, the next step is usually an onsite demonstration of an Ottawa Truck. There’s no obligation.

P.S. In other news be on the lookout for our first ever Louisville Switching newsletter in February.

All of us at Louisville Switching Truck Services wish you a Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Louisville SwitchingWe take time most weeks to write about topics like reburbished Ottawa trucks, Ottawa truck parts, Cummins Engines, Insta-Chain Automatic Ice Chains, and even about our many services.

From time to time, we update you on members of our team, or retired team members who’ve been added to our Employee Hall of Fame.

We post blogs about local events, fundraisers, and Riverport Business Association activities.

We thought this week we’d put all that aside and just tell you and yours to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Take time to reflect on all the things you’re grateful for: the freedoms we have, the blessings we enjoy that others around the world don’t always experience, and the family and relationships which mean so much to us.

So eat some Turkey and dressing. Sure, have a piece of pumpkin pie too. Enjoy some catching up with those you love, enjoy some football, and last but not least, spur on the economy Friday—just don’t let us catch you on the news knocking people over at Target or Walmart.

From our family to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. We do our part to make Thanksgiving happen by supplying the trucks to a local turkey processor. Bet you didn’t realize that…

Refurbishing your yard dog could be a wise move in this economy

Louisville Switching Refurbished-Truck-At Louisville Switching we like selling yard dogs, or terminal tractors for those who like the technical term. When we sell a new Ottawa or Kalmar truck, we get excited. We get just as excited when we sell a refurbished unit—sometimes more excited because we know that we’re helping our customers even more in this tight economy.

Not every business can expend the cash to buy a new terminal tractor. So although we’ll gladly sell them, we realize that the used—or better yet refurbished route—is a wise decision for many businesses.

We put together a list of reasons why you might want to consider having Louisville Switching refurbish your existing truck, or have us find a used unit to refurbish for you.

So here goes:

  • Everyone is talking green these days and it doesn’t get any greener than using an existing piece of equipment as opposed to buying a new one. Enough said there.
  • If we can buy a unit at a good price, or use your existing one, then we can put some money into making it look and run like new. We can save you a lot of money this way, possibly half or a third of the cost of a new unit. Our position as a certified Cummins Dealer gives us a huge advantage in repairing or repowering the units during the refurbishment process.
  • When you buy a new truck you face new regulations, up-charges, and new standards. Older terminal tractors are not subject to these stiff regulations that the new terminals tractors are subject to. The cost savings here for remanufactured older engines are substantial over the cost of the newer engines.
  • As a shameless plug, a fourth good reason is that you get to work with the team here at Louisville Switching. We take great pride in our products—including refurbished ones—and our services. We’d love to show you what we mean if you’re not a customer already.

So there you have it. A win-win-win-win situation. I believe that’s a quadruple win.

Contact Chris today by phone at 502-550-6746 or use our easy online form to request more information.

If you’re just kicking the Ottawa Kalmar Truck tires so to speak, you might find our User and Safety Guide helpful. Or just give us a call because we love to talk about our favorite type of truck. This is how we make our living. We would love to hear from you and what your thoughts and ideas are. We look forward to hearing from you.

Ottawa Truck Refurbishment: before and after

We wanted to share a gallery of before and after pictures of a recent Ottawa truck refurbishment we completed. We think the end result turned out great and we’re proud to show off the hard work of our employees here. If you’re looking to buy or lease a new or refurbished Ottawa / Kalmar truck, please contact our office at 1.866.879.8659.

 

Refurbishment—what’s that word mean to you?

Refurbishment.

This word can start many varied conversations. What does this mean to you? To some it means a detailed cleaning of the interior and exterior. To others it means a little cleaning and some paint. To others still it could mean a fresh coat of paint on the same worn out parts.

Well, I will tell you what it means to us. As a dealer, we have enough Ottawa parts on hand to build a truck from scratch… almost. This is a stretch to illustrate a point. When our technician discovers a worn part he just walks to our parts room and gets the new replacement part and installs it. That’s it. This is what we do for our living. We work on Ottawa Trucks—every day. We have done this for 38 years. We know what needs to be done and we have the resources to accomplish that.

There is an old saying that if you fix up an old truck you still have an old truck. Well, we say if you fix up an old truck you can still do everything that you can with a new truck. And you still have happy drivers, attractive, dependable equipment, and a pocket full of cash that you didn’t spend. Holding on to your cash is paramount in today’s business environment. Why not save yours for other purchases?

Take a look at our refurbished truck page and see some before and after pictures of an Ottawa we recently refurbished.

Not convinced? We would love to talk with you about the purchase of a new truck. If you don’t need a new truck, we would love to talk with you about the purchase of a used truck in our inventory. If you don’t need a truck at all but you would like to talk with someone about Ottawa trucks, then call us because we love Ottawa trucks and we love to talk about them. If you are not interested in Ottawa trucks you can still call us because we love to talk about golf, church, family, food, and traveling. Give us a call.

Louisville Switching Ottawa truck before picture Louisville Switching refurbished Ottawa truck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our trip to Kalmar/Ottawa headquarters

Louisville Switching Ottawa/Kalmar dealerAs some of you may know, the Kalmar/Ottawa headquarters is located in Kansas. Last week, Chris and I went on a 2.5 day technical sales training class there. It was more of a refresher course to help us keep up-to-date with the latest technology that Kalmar/Ottawa incorporates into their newer trucks.

Kalmar/Ottawa has been the technology leader in the terminal tractor arena. This is why Kalmar/ Ottawa has always led the field and will continue to do so.

Kalmar/Ottawa focuses on research and development in every aspect of their business from investing in product development to being more efficient and sustainable. You can read more about their position on research and development here.

The research and development focus keeps us on the leading edge as well. This is confirmed by the number of new truck orders as our customers affirm our position as the world’s leader in developing and producing the finest terminal truck available.

If you’re looking for a new or refurbished terminal truck, please contact us and we can answer your questions and help connect you with a reliable, top-of-the-line Kalmar/Ottawa.

New Ottawa Trucks For Sale

In the market for a new Kalmar Terminal Tractor? Now may be the perfect time for you to buy. That’s because Louisville Switching Truck Sales has three new Kalmar trucks for sale, on-site at its Louisville, KY office.

One reason you might want to act fast? Since we have these trucks at our shop, they’re available immediately. That means you won’t have to wait 120 days like you would if you were to order one today. You can BUY one from us today, and have your Kalmar right away.

We’ll be bringing one of the trucks with us this weekend to the Mid America Truck Show. If you’re interested in purchasing a new Ottawa, this would be a great opportunity to come and check it out up close. We’ll be there to answer any questions you have and discuss the pros and cons of buying new vs. buying a refurbished yard dog.

Whatever you’re in the market for, we hope to see you at the Truck Show this weekend. Take a look at the pictures of our new trucks below and if you have any questions, let us know.

Louisville Switching Ottawa trucks for sale Louisville Switching Ottawa trucks for sale Louisville Switching Ottawa trucks for sale Louisville Switching Ottawa trucks for sale

Prefer to preserve your cash and still have a practically new Kalmar/Ottawa Truck—take the refurbished route

We all know the economy has been tough the last several years. Are we turning the corner? Your guess is as good as ours. So in our mind, it’s still a great time to buy used and to refurbish. Or why not let us re-power and refurbish your existing truck. Are the frame and cab good? If you’re thinking about going that route, it’s one of our specialties. It’s in our bailiwick as they say. Our sweet spot. It’s almost our favorite thing to do, besides play golf.

There are many benefits to working with Louisville Switching Truck Sales to acquire or refurbish a used Ottawa. We’ve listed a few below:

  • We have a constant stream of incoming used trucks.
  • We know where to find used trucks.
  • We have a loyal customer base that looks to us to sell and service their used trucks.
  • We keep a constant watch for used trucks.
  • Working with us to buy or lease a refurbished Ottawa saves money up front.
  • Working with us to refurbish a used Ottawa terminal tractor allows you to avoid some of the regulations that are required for a new engine and truck.

We recently finished a refurbishment of an Ottawa, and we have provided some before and after pictures below.

Dead set on a new unit? We can sell those too.

Louisville Switching before picture Louisville Switching before picture

Louisville switching after picture Louisville Switching after picture

Download Our Ottawa/Kalmar User’s Guide

Ottawa-Kalmar-Users-GuideLouisville Switching has been in business for more than 30 years. We’ve learned a lot and have grown to become one of the most trusted sources for leasing and selling Ottawa/Kalmar trucks. We’ve compiled some of what we’ve learned into a user’s guide, created especially for safety managers, facilities managers, logistics managers, or current Ottawa/Kalmar users. This guide offers ways to help you reduce workmen’s comp claims and increase the efficiency of your yard operation. The Ottawa/Kalmar User’s Guide includes:

  • A pre-operation safety checklist
  • A pre-operation inspection list
  • An operator evaluation form

The Ottawa/Kalmar Truck User’s Guide will help you:

  • Create a safer operator experience
  • Keep tabs on your Ottawa/Kalmar Truck for maintenance purposes
  • Train new operators to be proficient prior to field use
  • Increase efficiency in the use of your Terminal Tractors

Download the guide today and let us know if you have any other questions—we’d love to hear from you. Once you fill out the registration form you’ll be added to our monthly newsletter so you’ll stay connected with us on a more regular basis. Enjoy the guide!

Our new service truck is making it’s rounds now

At Louisville Switching Truck Sales, service is very important to our customers and thus very important to us. Our mobile service trucks and parts/delivery truck make it possible for us to service customers on site. Sure there are still times when it makes sense to haul your truck back to our service bay, but many times service can be done in the field.

Our new mobile service truck is unique in it’s ability to change oil through a closed loop system. The truck vacuums the oil out through a connector hose and then refills it. It’s equipped with oil tanks on each side of the truck for this purpose. We were excited about our new truck and we hope our customers will be as well.

Another part of servicing customers, is delivering parts when you need them most. Our parts and delivery truck is also pictured below. We’ll put some miles on this truck keeping our customers stocked with the parts they need.

What type of parts do we sell?

We’re glad you asked. We sell Insta Chain Automatic Ice-chain Parts, Interstate Batteries, Ottawa Truck Parts, Cummins Diesel Engine Parts, Jasper Engines and Transmissions, Weller Reman Truck Parts and many other misc Truck Parts,

If you’re in the market for any of these, we’d love to earn your business.