How is Central Refrigerated Service?

[SMB]

I have a buddy of mine that is going to Central Refrigerated Service Sunday andf of course he didnt do any research on them, so any info on them would be great! I'm tring to find out if they are an allright company before he goes.

[SMB]

Nobody has worked or works for Central?

[Sealord]

Do an archives search of 'em here, at layover.com, roundable.truck.net, ooida.com, newbiedriver.com, and safersys.org.
Personally, I'm not into reefers.
I believe CRS is owned/run by Jerry Moyes' (Swift) daughter and is Dick Simon under new colors. BOL

[Bigmon]

They have a dumpy office in Fontana,CA. They advertise every weekend in the paper claiming there O/O's make 162k a year.

Think of it as Swift in a different color. They do have some nice looking Volvo's though.

[Jackrabbit379]

I believe CRS is owned/run by Jerry Moyes' (Swift) daughter and is Dick Simon under new colors. BOL

I knew that Central Freight Lines is in cahoots with Swift,but Central Refrigerated is the old skunk trucks? :shock: I didn't know that. I wondered what happened to the skunk trucks.

[west_coaster]

Speaking of the old skunk trucks, my first truck with Gordon was an old Dick Simon truck. 99 Freightshaker FLD, not a bad ride. As far as Central Refrigerated goes, I know a guy who has been with them for a few years. He seems to like them quite a bit. He gets home when he wants to, but mind you it's not too often. Also he said that as far as maintenance goes, they keep up pretty good with the trucks apparently. Other than that I have no idea. Still wear my "free hat" that I got from their recruiter!

West_Coaster

[shadowsknight]

From their own website:
http://www.centralref.com/AboutUs/history.jsp

Central Refrigerated Service, Inc. was formed in 2002 as a subsidiary of Central Freight Lines, Inc. In April 2002, Central Refrigerated acquired a substantial portion of the operations and assets of the bankrupt estate of Dick Simon Trucking. On December 31, 2002 Central Refrigerated Service, Inc. took to the road independent of Central Freight, highly motivated to secure a respectable reputation of it’s own.


That still makes them a subsidiary of Swift.

[cockroach]

Search for my old posts.

Stay away from the owner op thing.

[kjbprd]

as far as i understood they were no longer affiliated with swift as of a year ago or so...i could be wrong...they don't seem like too bad of an outfit compared to the rest of the big reefer carriers...looks to me like every time i pass by their terminal that they're pushing that lease program as hard as england is these days

[glasman2]

Ya they push OP. I talked to 1 of there drivers today. Told me he's never home, ( so if you want home time something to think about ) said they push the lease option and that he went that route. Said in 3 years he maybe unloaded 18 boxes, and this year he made $100,000.


Something just didn't smell right when I was talking to him, so I thanked him and said good bye.

[Bumper]

Said in 3 years he maybe unloaded 18 boxes, and this year he made $100,000.

He probably has. Just too bad that half of that went into his lease payment and another 20 percent into fuel, etc etc etc.

[jonekatz1]

Central Refer is owned by the same group as Swith transportation. they have new EQ RUN 65 MPH and offer a lease purchuse program.

[Bumper]

they're pushing that lease program as hard as england is these days

To be fair, I would say that all of the big companies push their lease programs. Its a big money maker for them. John Christenson only has lease drivers now, no more company owned vehicles, so I would say they push theirs the hardest of anyone! You either lease or dont work for them.....

[Skullitor]

I've talked to a few Central Ref drivers and they say it's a great place to work.Many ex.CRE drivers work there as well.
Skull 8)

[Timerider315]

I know that there is a central refer down the road from CR England in salt lake city utah and that if the students fail at england they go sign on to central refer to get another try at being a truck driver, I considered them once until I knew they were affiliated with Swift and decided id quit truck driving before id go with them, I want nothing to do with swift and any of their affiliates myself but they may do you good. Good Luck

[Skullitor]

I know that there is a central refer down the road from CR England in salt lake city utah and that if the students fail at england they go sign on to central refer to get another try at being a truck driver, I considered them once until I knew they were affiliated with Swift and decided id quit truck driving before id go with them, I want nothing to do with swift and any of their affiliates myself but they may do you good. Good Luck

Central IS NOT Swift. Total different outfit.
Skull 8)

[mikey4069]

[greg3564]

I know that there is a central refer down the road from CR England in salt lake city utah and that if the students fail at england they go sign on to central refer to get another try at being a truck driver, I considered them once until I knew they were affiliated with Swift and decided id quit truck driving before id go with them, I want nothing to do with swift and any of their affiliates myself but they may do you good. Good Luck

Central IS NOT Swift. Total different outfit.
Skull 8)

However they are closely alligned with them. Central buys all their trucks through Swift. Let's also not forget that the guy who ran Swift into the ground, Jerry Moyes, owns Central.

[mikey4069]

He didnt run swift into the ground he just got caught doing insider trading .

[greg3564]

Central IS NOT Swift. Total different outfit.
Skull 8)

Might as well be- This was taken from a press release back in November when he was attempting to buy out Swift. PHOENIX, AZ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 06, 2006 -- Swift Transportation Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: SWFT) confirmed today that it received a letter from Jerry Moyes, the Company's largest shareholder, a current Director, and a former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Swift, proposing to acquire all of the Company's outstanding common stock in an all-cash transaction at a price of $29.00 per share.

This from Heavydutytrucking.com- His company, Swift Transportation, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is the leading public truckload carrier with more than 18,000 power units and another 3,000 owner-operators. Yet it is only part of the Moyes empire that also includes Central Refrigerated and a majority interest in Central Freight Lines.

I think it's safe to say that Central Ref, Central Freight and Swift are pretty heavily intertwined.