6-23-08

Wistreich Purchases L&B Trucks in Westminster

By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer

            Carl Wistreich of Walpole is the new owner of L&B Trucks, a Westminster VT company that sells and services Daimler brands Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star trucks.

            A family business founded by Luke and Diane Bazin nearly 30 years ago, L&B has grown from one to 55 employees with a second location in Westfield, Massachusetts.

            Wistreich, 41, spent several years in a large New York City law firm before a legal client, C&S Wholesale Grocers, then based in Brattleboro, persuaded him to join their staff over nine years ago.  Through several positions with C&S, including sales, mergers & acquisitions, operations and legal and human resources, Wistreich not only learned the grocery business but also learned a lot about the trucking industry that C&S relies on so heavily.

            “Since I began with L&B in early May, I’ve had to learn a lot,” Wistreich laughed last week in his Westminster office, “But luckily I had a thorough business education with C&S, and I had had broad exposure to most aspects of the trucking industry.”

            One of former owner Bazin’s goals in selling the company was to pass it on to a new owner that would understand and continue the “family atmosphere” he sought to cultivate in growing the business since opening it in 1979.  It took him many years to find that perfect candidate in Wistreich, and Wistreich feels fortunate that the two met.

            “I hope that our customers will continue to think of L&B Trucks as the best source of service and parts by the best people,” according to Wistreich. 

            But he knows the challenges for truckers are growing and those that service them will be busy and will have to keep on adjusting to the changing business climate.

            “In the fist place,” says Wistreich, “there have been new regulations tightening emissions standards in 2004, 2007 and there will be more regs in 2010.  The result has been that the latest diesel fuel spews fewer particulates into the atmosphere, but it also yields fewer miles per gallon. That has meant new, more efficient engines have had to be developed and new training has been necessary to keep our technicians up to date. The 2010 regs will be even tougher, and we’ll do all we can to help our customers comply with them.”

            Rising fuel costs also heavily impacts truckers, and manufacturers are responding with more aerodynamic vehicles, more efficient engines,  and small, self-contained power units to save fuel.  In fact, recently L&B has been retrofitting a number of trucks with small “Tripacks” on large diesel cabs that can power heating, air-conditioning and electricity in a cab while the trucker is resting instead of using the truck's main—and fuel hungry—engine to power them.  Such “tripacks” and similar products can cost up to $8,000 per unit installed but can pay for themselves in fuel savings in a year or less.

            The downturn in the economy has also meant that trucking companies and other L&B customers such as towns and businesses with just one or two large trucks are seeking to maintain their trucks a few more years rather than to purchase new ones as quickly as they might have in prior years.  Hence the truck parts and repair business have, for the moment, helped offset the dramatic decrease in new and used truck sales even though with the high price of diesel some truck owners have had to even cut back on maintenance.  When and if diesel fuel costs stabilize, sales may return to better levels. 

            Complete information on L&B Trucks is available at www.LBTRUCKS.net.

            Wistreich lives in Walpole with his wife, Amy, and three daughters.

                                                --30--