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Welcome
to our second Murphy Green Notes!
We are pleased to share
the latest Murphy news with our customers, suppliers, visiting drivers,
employees and friends through this e-newsletter.
Everyone knows the
importance of treating customers well. At Murphy, we make an extra effort to
treat our visiting truck drivers well, too. At least once a month we receive
a call from someone who received a referral about Murphy from a visiting
driver or a local UPS driver who had a positive experience at Murphy!
Treating everyone,
including visiting drivers, with respect, courtesy and friendliness is not
just good business - it's the Murphy way of doing things.
In this issue, you'll
learn more about our latest green initiative: a new stormwater system that is
the first of its type in the city of Minneapolis
- and a model for other businesses! We also are proud of our three new on-site
rain gardens and the positive impact they will have on water quality. In
addition, we'll give you an update on our brokerage business.
While the economy is
a concern, we believe 2009 is an opportunity to step back and continue
working on improving our efficiency, quality and safety. We'll seek ways to
increase our service offerings, look at processes and make improvements that
will help make us stronger and better able to serve those of you who count on
us.
We've been here for
100 years and counting... and we're planning on another 100.
All of us hope to see
you soon!
Warm Regards,
Richard Murphy
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Murphy trend watch - keep
on truckin'
Many transportation
brokerage companies are struggling given the uncertain economic times,
combined with unstable fuel and materials costs, decreased consumer demand
and increased scrutiny on the bottom line.
But Murphy's
Transportation Brokerage Group has been able to weather the storm and keep
its brokerage operations moving with a focus on making win-win matches
between shippers and truckers.
According to Bob
Farah, manager of our brokerage services, maintaining good relationships
between truckers, shippers and customers has been the key.
 "We understand that truckers
have to fight for every dollar to make ends meet, and our customers need to
maintain an efficient supply chain," Bob said. "From the time of
pick-up to delivery, we are honest with everyone in the process. You will
always know where you stand with Murphy."
In the case of one
time-sensitive customer, we require the carrier to provide the driver's cell
phone number. Our dispatchers then monitor 24/7 for any delays that may arise
and immediately report deliveries into the customer system.
So what does Bob, a
28-year veteran, see in the short term for brokerage?
"At this point,
we are seeing some peaks and valleys - not a strong indicator either way,"
he said. "But there are some positive signs with available loads and
more trucks making a return with the dramatic decrease in fuel costs over the
past few months."
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What were all those
huge dirt piles doing at Murphy's Minneapolis
Campus?
 If you visited our Minneapolis
Campus last fall, you probably noticed large piles of dirt, deep trenches,
and heavy earthmoving equipment around the complex.
The end result of our
very own "Big Dig" is a new stormwater system that captures
and cleans the water that falls on our property - a win-win solution for the
environment and our business.
In 2004, the
Environmental Protection Agency enacted new regulations requiring cities to
manage the quality of stormwater. In response, the city of Minneapolis assessed all properties with
stormwater fees; for us, that meant $68,000 annually.
We consulted with
Wenck Engineers to construct a stormwater system with a retention basin and
three additional rain gardens to collect and filter 95% of rainwater that
falls on the campus. The project took six weeks to construct and is the first
stormwater system of its kind to be constructed on an existing property in
the Twin Cities.
The system is working
to collect and clean the stormwater runoff. And post-construction analysis shows
that the system will eliminate the stormwater assessment fee. From a
cost-benefit perspective, our break-even date is only six and a half years!
Our system has been
hailed as a model by the city of Minneapolis,
and this month, the American Council of Engineering Companies recognized
Murphy and Wenck with the Minnesota Engineering Excellence Award.
We thank the Wenck
team for their hard work. It just goes to show that when faced with a
difficult challenge, sometimes you just have to "dig" for a
solution.
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