About 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.

We also like to take this opportunity to let our employees and our customers know how much we appreciate them. The people we work with really are the life of the business, and we have the best. We are grateful for the loyalty of both our employees and our customers, and we look forward to continuing to build those relationships as we enter the New Year.

Hopefully the excitement of the holiday season will linger awhile as we enjoy time with family and friends over the next couple of weeks. 2012 holds the promise of a happy and successful business year ahead.

Louisville Switching wishes you a joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

We 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…

I was prepared to share my thoughts if I could have found him. He was hidden behind a mountain of new Insta-Chains sets and parts that had just arrived. I don’t know how long it took to unload this shipment, but it had to be a while. Even longer to put it all away.

The sides of the building are bulging at the seams with all of this stock that we have now. No need to worry though, because as soon as we have the first snowfall or the roads are covered with ice, these chains will be leaving as fast as they came in.

Here is a thought to consider. You can avoid the rush by ordering now, and you will be prepared when the bad weather arrives instead of being one of those that is stuck in a ditch wishing that you had already installed them.

If you are not sure how they work, then check out this video. They are amazing to say the least …

I think I will make another attempt to find Butch and make sure that he is still able to get out of his office. I better take my lunch with me. This may take awhile.

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.

We recently refurbished a 1995 BMW 325i convertible and wanted to share some of the particulars that went into the refurbishment. Although we don’t have after pictures to share at this time, we will be posting pictures in the near future, so keep checking back.

This BMW is bright red and has 104,000 miles on the odometer. As part of the refurbishment process, we have replaced all of the upholstery. The car has been through the body shop and had any dings repaired as well.

The interior has had a detailed cleaning and any and all mechanical issues have been dealt with. It drives like a dream.

Last weekend a complete stranger approached me and remarked, “What a beautiful car!” I agree with him. The car is for sale now, and we will probably advertise it in the spring—that is as long as I don’t decide to keep it for myself!

We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, check out our vehicle sales page for other cars and trucks we have in stock and ready for sale.

Last winter, Louisville Switching completed installation of our very first ice chain system. This installation was performed on a fire truck that operates in a rural part of Kentucky. The fire station needed the truck to be able to maneuver safely and quickly in almost any weather condition, especially snow and ice.

Check out videos from the instillation here.

Although it’s only October, you know as well as I do that the weather in our area can be very unpredictable. It can snow in March and be 80 degrees in November. However, as you’re also probably aware, it’s better to be prepared for the worst around here. Especially if you operate an emergency vehicle or other service vehicle, you need to make sure that you’ll be able to get where you need to go, no matter what the weather conditions are like.

Automatic ice chains are truly a time, money, and life saver because they allow large trucks to maneuver through snow and icy roads safely.

Here are just some of the key features and benefits of automatic ice chains:

• Fit 1/2 ton trucks and up to class 8 trucks
• Operate in forward and reverse with increasing traction during acceleration and deceleration
• Far outlasts conventional chains because you only use them when you need them
• They turn on at the flip of a switch
• Spark resistant chains are available for gasoline and propane delivery trucks
• They are D.O.T. accepted—applies to all states with chain laws
• Reduces risks, incidents, and costs

Ice chains are ideal for: school buses, ambulances, fire trucks, semi trucks, tour buses, transportation buses, garbage and waste trucks, snow plows, utility vehicles, and even personal pick-up trucks.

You can use our simple online form to request more information about installing automatic ice chains for your vehicle.

Everyday, UPS and FedEx trucks show up at our shop and take packages to our clients all over the state, the region…even the world.

We’ve recently been getting more Internet inquiries for parts on our website. Since we stock and distribute over 25,000 SKUs, we’re happy to be getting these online requests.

You know the old saying, “How much is enough?” Well, just a little more. We’d love to ship your next Ottawa truck part or Kalmar truck part. It doesn’t just stop there, though. We can handle your needs for Interstate batteries, Insta-Chain automatic ice chain parts, as well as rebuilt engines and rebuilt transmissions from Jasper.  We’re also a Cummins Engine dealer, and thus sell Reman Engines as well as individual Cummins Engine parts.

Since most of our parts are custom truck parts, it’s never made a lot of sense to have a full e-commerce online fulfillment option. We figure you’ll have questions during the buying process, so we have two dedicated people at our company to answer those questions, get you exactly the right part, and get you back up and running quickly. Butch Troutt, Inside Sales Manager, and Connie Gossett, Parts Counter Representative, spend their days meeting our customer’s needs. They are very responsive and have a heart for customer service.

We can make things easier on you by creating some simpler online forms requiring less information. Of course, you can still always pick up the phone. We like the interwebs, but we still know how to talk and ask good questions.

Here are some interesting facts you might not know:

• We’ve recently added Maxxima LED lights for trucks and trailers.
• The farthest location Louisville Switching has shipped a part to was in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• The smallest locations we’ve shipped parts to have been several Carribean Islands and The Azore Islands.
• We’ve also shipped in the United States as far away as Maine and California.
• Our hydraulic hose equipment should be in operation in a couple of weeks, but we still have a selection of all of the Ottawa hydraulic standard hoses in stock.

October’s Riverport Business Association’s (RBA) meeting is one worth attending. Several great influencers around Louisville will be speaking at the event.

First up, Mayor Greg Fischer will speak to the RBA, covering a wide range of topics including Louisville’s current bridge issues.

JCPS Superintendent, Donna Hargens and Greater Louisville Inc. President, Joe Reagan will also speak.

Western High School Principal David Mike and Chef Jon Vernak invite you to have a free lunch prepared by Western’s Culinary Arts Program students. No RSVP required!

The RBA board will also present committee accomplishments and objectives.

Here are the specifics. We hope to see you there!

When: Thursday, October 6, 2011
Where: Western High School
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Louisville Switching offers many services beyond refurbishments, rebuilds, and new sales of Ottawa/Kalmar trucks. In fact, our cartage business, Robinson Cartage, is a division of Louisville Switching and offers many benefits and services to our customers.

Robinson Cartage started with the Greater Louisville area cartage authority. Our cartage services have grown to include customized cartage services for our customers. Years ago, authorities to perform trucking services could be purchased incrementally. The last authority that you could get would be for a metropolitan area. “Issuing authorities” was handled by the government, so you can imagine how smooth, convenient, and logical that process was. I don’t think that you can even get a metropolitan authority anymore.

Needless to say, our cartage services have grown over the years to include customized cartage services for our customers.

This service is great for short runs, especially if you need to move large equipment like backhoes, bulldozers, and similar equipment across town. Or, if your equipment suddenly breaks down and you need it transported somewhere for service, we can help with that as well. Steve, our dedicated driver, is an experienced professional when it comes to hauling equipment.

Check out some of the other out-of-the-box services we offer and contact us if our cartage services could be of service to you.