When you think big rigs - think Easter or mom or Valentine's Day. From November to May, companies such as See's Candy and Russell Stover Candy keep fleets of big trucks busy hauling tons of chocolate and other delectables to stores and distribution centers around the nation. It's a sweet job, but someone's gotta do it.
"When people see our trucks, they wave or give us thumbs up," says Pat Ibarra, shipping manager for See's in San Francisco, Calif. Loaded onto trucks festooned with illustrations of all manner of toothsome delights, the Russell Stover and See's rigs attract fans wherever they go.
"You get recognized right away," says Ibarra who has driven for See's. "First thing they do is ask for samples, but our drivers aren't allowed to carry any, so then they ask for directions to the nearest store or maybe tell us their favorite piece of See's." Ibarra's favorite is the milk Bordeaux, a brown sugar cream with sprinkles.
Dave Shoemake, an 18-year, over-the-road Russell Stover driver, likens himself to the Easter bunny. He says since Russell Stover decorated its trailers with photo illustrations of open boxes of its sweets, candy lovers have been even warmer in their response. "It's a different feeling now. People pull up beside you and wave. Sometimes they even hold up a box of Russell Stover," says Shoemake.
A Taste for the Road
Like hauling fresh fruit, perishability is a major concern for candy haulers. Trucks are refrigerated to 65 degrees to keep chocolate from melting.
Russell Stover uses its fleet of 20 over-the-road trucks and 85 trailers to pick up and deliver finished product as well as to transfer ingredients between plants in the Midwest and South. "The trucks are refrigerated so the driver can look in the mirror and see the indicator. It let's you know the (refrigeration) unit is running and what cycle it's on," says Shoemake who drives out of Russell Stover's plant in Cookeville, Tenn.
"All I'm concerned about is that the temperature doesn't get above 70, 'cause if it does, I'd better be getting myself to a place of repair, laughs Shoemake. "If I didn't, I'd have chocolate running all over the place."
See's originally owned its trucks but changed its approach to shipping in the 1990s, says Ibarra. "We used to have three-axle, bobtail trucks that were totally insulated and had eight-foot liftgates," recalls Ibarra. The company switched to insulated trailers and turned its hauling operation over to Crescent Trucking, in Hayward, Calif., in the 1990s. "They're the only ones who can do what we do, the way we want it done," says Ibarra. "It was a cost- and insurance-saving move. Basically, we're not a trucking company. We make candy."
Unlike haulers of other merchandise, a delivery of See's typically goes in via the front door of a mall or store. "Many locations we deliver to don't have loading docks so we provide lift-gate service directly to the stores," says Ibarra. "We're one of the few companies that delivers pallet loads of product through the malls."
The pallets are specially designed - 28-by-36-by-50 inches - so they fit through the doorway of its stores. Its fleet of 50 trucks delivers most of the See's Candy shipping from plants in Northern California. The balance, says Ibarra, goes out by Federal Express.
Sweet Treat Sneaks
Temperature and logistics are just two of the challenges drivers face in the business of hauling chocolate. According to Ibarra, some would-be customers find the prospect of a truckload of candy irresistible.
"We've had people try to break into trucks to take a case or so off a pallet, even when the pallets are shrink-wrapped." He recalls an incident 20 years ago that is testament to the allure of candy. "We had a whole load of candy stolen in Los Angeles," recalls Ibarra. "When we found the trailer, it was empty."
Shoemake agrees hauling candy has its risks, though not always criminal ones. "We make so many different kinds of candy, but I've never had a bad piece. The most recent thing I had was, let me see, a French mint candy bar. Sometimes that stuff talks to you and jumps right in your hand and says 'all right, you know what you have to do'."
Owing to his expanding girth, Shoemake says he's had to cut his personal intake. When truckers appeal to him for samples, "I tell them I'll do you a favor and not give it to you. Between the chocolate and the driving, it makes your hips spread'," he says.
