If you live in the West, want to make good money and get home regularly, Nickel Plate Express (NPE) could be just the company for you.

"Our biggest selling point is that owner-operators can make a good living and still get home," says Mike Olufson, recruiter. NPE, based in Eugene, Ore., is a regional interstate truckload carrier of general commodities serving 11 Western states.

A whopping 75 to 80% of the business is along the Interstate 5 corridor between California and the Pacific Northwest, with the balance of the business in Arizona and the Intermountain states, according to Olufson. He says most drivers are domiciled in Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona.

NPE prides itself on being driver-friendly, he says. "We are 100% committed to the contractors. We continually strive to provide the best compensation package for our owner-operators. If they are not successful, we are not successful." NPE has 56 company trucks and a waiting list of company drivers. But on the owner-operator side, the company is aggressively recruiting new driving partners. There are currently 165 owner-operators (including a number of teams), and NPE would like to have about 185.

Hard-working teams can earn $200,000 a year, and solo drivers can easily top $100,000 if they work hard, he says.

"Because of the pay, it is important to note that we can afford to be selective," he says. "NPE has an excellent safety record and an enviable turnover rate [36% among O/Os and about 10% of company drivers].

"We have some of the best pay out there for owner-operators," adds Olufson. Freight, carried in 48- and 53-foot dry vans, is 95% no-touch. NPE offers weekly pay settlement and other perks, but what sets it apart is its attitude toward contractors, Olufson says.

A good example of this attitude is that the company is switching from regional dispatchers to personal dispatchers, because "drivers said they wanted to work with a dispatcher who knew what they had done, what they were doing and what they were going to do."

Olufson understands drivers well, having 37 years of experience in the industry including 13 as an owner-operator and two years as an NPE company driver. He says he knows how important it is that drivers are happy and successful. "They respect the fact that I have a business of my own and they are willing to work with me and what I want to do," says David Bowers, an O/O who has been with NPE for just over a year.

"Other owner-operators I talk to feel the same way," says Bowers, who runs about 2,500 miles a week. "I don't mean they will do what I want point by point, but overall, they really do work with the owner-operators. "If you want to run 48 states and see the country, this is probably not for you," notes Bowers, 47, who lives in Spokane, Wash. "But if you want to run the Western 11 or stay on I-5, it is great.

"The money is good, and here you are definitely a face. There are not many people here who would not recognize me when I come in the office," Bowers says. "I stay out a lot, but there are guys who live on I-5 who get home two or three times a week and every other weekend."

NPE has an outstanding safety record. It has received the ATA/Trailmobile Safety Award, which is issued in conjunction with the Oregon Trucking Association, for 10 of the past 13 years.

In the category "Common Carrier Over 3 Million Miles," NPE has placed 3rd four times, 2nd three times (most recently in 2000), and 1st three times. To place in the top three generally requires that the carrier have no preventable, recordable crashes in the state of Oregon for the year. NPE is a member of the Oregon Department of Transportation's Trusted Carrier Program.

NPE got its start in 1983 and has seen significant growth as customer demand has increased, resulting in a 10-fold increase in annual revenues over the past 10 years. The company recently moved into new facilities and is well-positioned for significant, controlled growth, Olufson says.

Requirements for drivers and owner-operators are a minimum of two years' over-the road-experience, a good driving record and a hazmat endorsement on the CDL. For recruiting information, call (800) 395-1395 or check out the Web site at www.npe.com.