Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Hines Trucking - Celebrating 70 years

Seventy years ago, J.D. Hines began Hines Trucking Company with a single truck. The company and trucking industry have seen plenty of changes during that time. Today, Billy Hines is carrying on the family trucking company, but the business has reached new levels and is gaining every day.

Billy Hines said his father, J.D., wanted to be a small business owner.My dad never wanted more than three trucks, Billy Hines said.Hines incorporated the company in 1976, bought out his father in 1979, and the company has grown continually over the intervening years. J.D. passed away in 1986, leaving the business solely in the hands of Billy Hines. The business today has several focuses, though its arguably best known in this area for the chip hauling business.

CHIPS

The chip hauling portion of Hines Trucking Incorporated consists of about 90 trucks. These go to mills around the area, ranging from PineBluff, Mountain Pine, South Eastern Oklahoma, North Eastern Texas, and into Louisiana.

For the most part, the trucks pick up wood chips from the various mills, delivering the product to paper mills. Hines said there are some deliveries to mills that produce wafer board.

FLATBED

HTI also has a flatbed division that hauls lumber from a variety of sites. Hines said the goal is to eventually have between 75 and 100 flatbed trucks. While theres certainly the positive monetary aspect of the flatbed division, Hines said theres also a people advantage for the company.

Theres just so many people who want to drive chip trucks, Hines said.

He said having several different trucking operations means he can attract some quality drivers in the area who simply have a preference as to the kind of truck they drive.

LOGGING

The logging operation is a relatively new portion of HTI. Hines said it started when Weyerhauser decided that they wanted logging crews to become more specialized in their field, focusing on safety and good practices within the cutting operations. Hines said HTI was encouraged to buy trucks dedicated for logging.

The trucks are distinctive  white with a green and yellow checkerboard.

Its all about safety, Hines said of the log-hauling operation. And it was a way to grow. Were about as large as we can get in chips in this area.

FIBER CLEANUP

HTI isnt dedicated only to the trucking industry. Hines said he also owns and operates a fiber cleaning operation. In this case, regulations in the sawmill industry created the demand and Hines saw the opportunity.

When wood chips and fibers are dropped on the ground, they become contaminated. There are rocks, large pieces of wood, dirt and other contaminates that make the fibers unusable. Sawmills are no longer allowed to simply scoop them up and dump them somewhere.

Hines can clean the wood so that its usable, usually as boiler fuel. Hines said the operation is portable. Companies can bring the material to the Hines property or the cleaning equipment can be taken to the mill.

THE FUTURE OF HTI

Hines said he never imagined when he took over his fathers business that he would eventually be employing some 140 employees, working with about 35 independent contractors and be building onto the companys office space to meet space demands. Management team members include Wayne Morrow, director of maintenance; Bruce Olney, operations, and Wendell Hoover, controller.

Hines said that at least part of the growth was careful planning.

Hines said the company has a fuel surcharge built into hauling rates that helps the company offset ever-rising gas prices. The rising oil prices have also hit in the form of higher cost for truck engines, tires and other necessities.

Nonetheless, Hines predicted that HTI will continue to prosper.

People who are surviving  like Hines Trucking  will grow, he said. He said theres a demand for hauling services, And well rally to meet the demand.

Hines said he never considered that he should have taken his company elsewhere.

Its a good place to grow a business, he said of Prescott. Its a good place to raise a family. An excellent place to be.

Theres no way of knowing exactly when the companys 70th anniversary is. Hines said he doesnt know what month his father started the business.

The solution? Hoover said the company simply plans to celebrate all year.