Think about having a profitable profession. Maybe you’re a bodily therapist. Possibly you’re a public relations specialist.
Then you definately resolve to shift gears and run a trucking and logistics firm.
That’s precisely what Lisa Andrade Gonima and Andrea Andrade-Ahumada did after they stopped their day jobs to take over their father’s enterprise — Del Rey Specific — in 2014.
They’ve spent the final decade rising the corporate and making an attempt to turn out to be the state’s greatest and most secure firm for drivers.
Andrade Gonima and Andrade-Ahumada’s mother and father, Rey and Silvia Andrade, began the corporate 40 years in the past with a single truck.
Rey Andrade was a long-haul truck driver and the sisters keep in mind his lengthy journeys away on the highway. As they grew up, so did the corporate, they usually recall appearing as dispatchers of their household house, recording truckers’ info on a notepad close to their landline.
“Our mother and father constructed this enterprise with one truck. That one driver was our dad,” Andrade Gonima mentioned. “We have now a lens of respect and admiration for the women and men who drive the vehicles.”
When their mother and father had been able to retire, the sisters took over the corporate in 2014. Andrade Gonima left her work in public relations to be Del Rey Specific’s CEO and Andrade-Ahumada moved from a bodily therapist place at a hospital to the corporate’s president.
The household has labored on the enterprise collectively and grown it from a 12-truck operation in 2014 to a thriving enterprise with greater than 40 vehicles and 45 drivers now. Through the pandemic, Del Rey Specific started working with H-E-B on native runs.
It’s been a significant partnership that has allowed the corporate to study and develop. Now, they’re receiving nationwide recognition as a spot for ladies to work within the transportation trade.
The San Antonio Report sat down with Andrade Gonima and Andrade-Ahumada to debate their experiences and their work in transportation and logistics.
The dialog has been calmly edited for readability and size.
What’s it like working within the trucking trade?
Andrade Gonima: Primary, as we began to get into the trade, we realized not lots of people, particularly management, appear to be us. We are able to go to conferences and we undoubtedly don’t appear to be the remainder of the room, proper? For us, it’s thrilling, as we have a look at our firm having simply been acknowledged for ladies in transportation, it’s about what confidence can do.
Andrade-Ahumada: Seeing that a few of the drivers that had been employed by us at the moment are having their very own tools and with the ability to present the chance for them and their household, it’s fulfilling. One thing that I labored for, like bodily remedy, is all the time serving others, like my sufferers, and so a part of leaving was lacking out on the reference to the households that I constructed.
As a result of now we’re a bodily therapist and a PR skilled sitting in a gathering with logistics consultants. It’s because of competence and our capacity. What we’re actually pleased with is our driver-first tradition, how we grew up and realized all the talents, all our experiences have introduced us to this second.
However right here, we’re only one enormous household.
What was it like transitioning out of your earlier jobs into your work main a trucking firm?
Andrade Gonima: I feel to me, the worry was why are you working in trucking? I wasn’t certain how our drivers had been going to react to me, a a lot youthful feminine.
The largest shock was as soon as we began connecting with them, they realized how severely we took this. They noticed the adjustments we had been making. I keep in mind having a security assembly, and we ended up speaking about psychological well being. It has been so rewarding.
We knew we had been persevering with a legacy that our mother and father began. Was I excited in regards to the scent of diesel and getting in vehicles? No, however my mother and father began one thing, and I wish to proceed this.
Andrade-Ahumada: My sister is extra of the chance taker. So I used to be simply considering, ‘What do I have to study? What do I have to do?’
So I began researching. I bought concerned with a program by way of the Texas Trucking Affiliation referred to as Rising Leaders, I went there to study.
It was type of intimidating to be the one feminine, solely Hispanic feminine, there in that setting.
I used to be all the time only a therapist, and by no means in a administration place, however H-E-B has been a fantastic associate. I’m capable of attain out to anybody on their staff they usually can clarify issues to me.
It’s been rewarding as a result of our drivers see us as mentors for his or her kids. To see their schooling and the way a lot they worth that for his or her kids. That’s been superb.
What are the challenges you’ve run into alongside the way in which?
Andrade-Ahumada: Being a supervisor, with the way in which we’ve grown, we nonetheless wish to hold that shut knit household really feel, however we additionally know that we’re enterprise. We try to set these boundaries. We have now to consider that now, as we develop, the right way to be a sustainable enterprise.
Andrade Gonima: I’ll be fully susceptible and clear on this one. It’s hiring the appropriate individuals for an administrative [role] and studying what it’s wish to must cope with [Human Resources]. A number of small companies, you inform them, ‘You’ve bought to be ready to do all the things.’
We do have consultants, however I feel the problem is simply placing that staff collectively and, as a result of we’re smaller, ensuring that we’re organising everybody for fulfillment.
It’s about managing individuals and personalities.
After we realized the challenges that we had been having they usually had been simply rising pains, we employed an operations supervisor, and that was a sport changer for us. That was an thrilling day when our [Certified Professional Accountant] mentioned, ‘You all are prepared to rent an operations supervisor.’ I felt like overcoming that problem and attending to that time was price it.
What’s it like working as girls on this trade that’s historically male dominated? Do you’ve gotten any recommendation for different girls who’re curious about getting concerned?
Andrade-Ahumada: I’ve a daughter that’s a first-year in school proper now, and she or he is such a planner, and making an attempt to determine what programs, what diploma she needs to get. I’m telling her, ‘Have a look at my plans.’
My plans had been to enter bodily remedy. I by no means thought that I used to be going to be in trucking. Being a girl, particularly being a mom, making an attempt to stability each issues, I simply need you to know you do discover the appropriate staff and the appropriate firm. It’s doable to achieve success at each. So I feel it’s vital for us to supply that to our workers and our staff.
Andrade Gonima: It’s additionally issues like this [article] for individuals to see what that appears like. If we’re shy or don’t wish to actually rejoice these sorts of recognition, I feel we’re simply doing a disservice to the younger girls coming behind us.
It’s about recognizing that ladies convey a lot to any firm. I can go on and on in regards to the adjustments that we made that I feel, as a result of we’re primarily a woman-run staff.
We’re making Texas roads safer, as a result of, as moms, as girls, we wish to run the most secure trucking firm doable. That’s completely one among our targets. That doesn’t simply profit our drivers, that advantages the group and the people who find themselves using alongside our vehicles.
It’s not one of many conventional careers you hear, , drugs, regulation college, these sorts of issues. However provide chain and logistics, it actually strikes the world and with expertise and all of the adjustments, it’s an thrilling trade. So we would like extra girls to see themselves in it.
What tendencies do you see within the trucking trade proper now?
Andrade Gonima: Persons are all the time asking me in regards to the driverless vehicles and the way scary that’s. And so we’re maintaining an eye fixed, after all, on expertise, however we have already got tailored a lot expertise.
Nothing could be doable if a truck didn’t get it to its vacation spot. Sooner or later, plenty of what we’re speaking about, plenty of what we’re listening to about is that security element, the right way to transfer issues extra effectively and faster.
We’ve already seen how expertise can typically change the look of it. When digital logging gadgets, after they went from paper now to paperless, monitoring hours of service, that was an enormous second for trucking.
Then it was the cameras. We have now cameras in our vehicles for security. We’re utilizing AI, I don’t know if individuals understand it. The trucking does use plenty of AI with the cameras, as a result of we’re not sitting there taking a look at all that footage.
I’d say the tech half is an enormous a part of our future.
Andrade-Ahumada: The drivers are youthful, they’re desirous to spend extra time with households. Being cognizant of that, that’s an enormous change.
