WILLIAMSPORT, Md. – Dot Transportation Inc. (DTI), the affiliate trucking company of Dot Foods, North America’s largest food industry redistributor, looks to add 20 drivers to its fleet in Maryland this spring.
The company is seeing business pick up quickly as the nation’s restaurants and schools re-open and expects that trend to continue throughout 2021.
“We’re growing our driver workforce at all Dot locations across the country right now, including Maryland,” said David Hess, Dot Foods Maryland Director of Transportation. “Our goal is always to provide the best service possible to our customers, and do to do that, we need to have the drivers in place to get our customers their orders with the speed and accuracy they expect.”
Dot’s Williamsport distribution center is looking for 20 regional company delivery drivers and has both touch-freight and no-touch freight jobs available on a variety of schedules. Maryland drivers service customers in an 11-state region east of the Mississippi River and north of Georgia and are home two days a week or more.
For those looking for even more schedule certainty, there are also 4x4 and 6x3 schedules available. With those options, drivers know their schedule for the entire year and work a set four days on/four days off or six days on/three days off.
“I started on the 4x4 schedule,” said Maryland DTI driver Jason Miller. “I have a family and knowing when I’d be home and when I’d be out was really enticing to me with my first driving job. It’s good money, but for me, it’s more about getting home as often as possible. Anything I’ve needed, management and dispatch have bent over backwards to help me out.”
Miller found a second career as a truck driver after losing his job of 19 years when the paper mill he worked at shut down. DTI’s schedule options initially attracted him to the company, but the benefits package sealed the deal. Dot drivers receive a best-in-class medical benefits package valued at over $22,000, a 401(k) company match and profit sharing, along with paid vacation, sick and personal time, and holidays.
“The benefits are much better than at my previous job,” explained Jacai Bass, another Dot Foods Maryland driver. “Dot also has wellness programs and does a biometric screening that lets you earn money from the company for your health savings account. I love that extra money.”
Bass came to Dot from another distribution center and initially worked in the warehouse at the Maryland distribution center. He decided to start the company’s warehouse-to-driver program because of the increased earning potential.
“DTI paid for my CDL,” said Bass. “I make great money as a driver and get paid for every part of the job—driving, breaking down my loads, doing pick-ups, when I’m stopped. No job is perfect, but I don’t think you can get much better in terms of driving jobs. I have a different perspective on it, because I’ve been on the other side of the dock, too. The people here are great—other drivers, dispatch, management, everyone. You’re treated well, and there’s respect and tolerance for everyone.”
Dot Foods and DTI navigated a challenging 2020 without making any layoffs, despite business dropping substantially when the country shut down last spring. In fact, Dot has never had a layoff in its 61-year history. Now, the business is growing again as volume quickly picks back up, and leaders are preparing for a booming 2021.
Terry Stump started his driving career a few months before the pandemic, making a switch after two decades in real estate. In the early days of COVID, he saw a lot of fluctuations in the amount of work he was receiving.
“I wasn’t worried about my job, though,” Stump explained. “We haul our own products, so the industry is recession-proof, in a way. People always have to eat. There will always be a need for food. And at Dot, We’re like the special forces of truck drivers. I don’t just get behind the wheel. Regional Company drivers like me—we do it all. When I’m out on the dock breaking down loads, I’m getting my exercise in, and I love that. It breaks up the driving part of the job.”
Dot Foods and DTI are always working to create the best possible work environment for employees. DTI’s fleet includes the best equipment and technology available. Our trucks are late-model automatic Volvo® and Peterbilts that are serviced by our in-house garage teams. The Maryland distribution center is currently completing work on a new break room facility with top-of-the-line amenities for drivers.
Robert and Dorothy Tracy founded Dot Foods in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, in 1960, and the company remains family-owned-and-operated today. Dot employs more than 6,000 people at 13 locations across the country. To learn more about driving careers at Dot Transportation, visit DriveforDot.com and follow @DriveForDot.
About Dot Foods and Dot Transportation