By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
As originally published in Texas Border Business newsprint edition October 2018
W&B Service Co. participated as one of the exhibitors at the Pharr International Trucking Expo. This event took place on September 29, 2018, for the first time. Events, similar to this had been celebrated in Laredo to the west and San Antonio to the north, but never before in the Valley.
This expo brought together outstanding companies serving the industry; it promises to grow much bigger. Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, MD said it once, “This is only the beginning.”
Texas Border Business spoke to Joe Smart, Vice President and branch manager in the Lower Rio Grande Valley for W&B Service Co., he said, “We have 21 locations scattered over four different states, and we have one in Pharr.”
He noted that W&B is a one-stop shop for all your transportation equipment needs. On top of that, they are a Carrier Transicold, Hyundai Translead, and Hercules body dealer with multiple facilities covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Their forte is parts, service, new and used equipment, and offering new and used trailers and refrigeration units. They don’t just sell it to you; they also service trucks, trailers, refrigeration units, and auxiliary power unit APU’s. That is why they find success in their multiple locations in Laredo, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and more.
W&B Service Co. is also known to be Carrier Transicold’s oldest and largest transport refrigeration dealer and the nation’s largest full-service Hyundai Translead trailer dealer.
Joe has been with the company for 26 years, and the Pharr location has been open since 1999.
He said that a lot has changed in this market especially since the new bridge in Durango opened, which increased truck traffic in South Texas. “But I’m going to say that probably the Lower Rio Grande Valley is probably the largest border crossing.” He continued, “Pharr and Laredo are larger than all the combined locations on the US-Mexico border. Many trucks cross here,” he stated.
W&B Service Co. is unique in this regard, they have approximately 200 mobile service trucks throughout their organization. They cater to their customer with absolute dedication. The difference between them and their competition, he says is, “We built our reputation on customer satisfaction.”
He pointed out, “We love our dealers, we love Carrier equipment, but our loyalty is to the customer.”
Precisely what kind of service gives you the lead in this business?“We like to say primarily transport refrigeration.”
He said that if the truck or a trailer breaks down, that can wait until tomorrow. However, if a loaded refrigeration unit breaks down, it must be fixed now. He said, “We’re on call 24/7. So, you have a customer that has $300,000 load of shrimp or $80,000 load of produce, it makes no difference. It’s got to be repaired now, or you lose the merchandise.” So, in a few words, W&B Service Co. rolls to wherever they need to take care of a customer.
What’s your opinion about this expo? “This is the first time that Pharr has done an expo like this one, and it’s a good start,” Smart said.
