We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: We can teach all that one needs to know about being a technician, or a manager, or a supervisor. We can teach the skills, we can teach the processes, we can teach the knowledge. 

We can’t teach integrity. That’s something our people have to be born with and, luckily, every single person that works for us has that in spades. 

Take, for example, Tyler Binnebose. 

Binnebose has only been working for Transportation Partners & Logistics for a short time but, in that short time, he’s already proven himself to be a leader; both in the field and off. 

He started working with TP&L just three months ago, after originally turning down an offer! But, his reason for turning the job down was an admirable one. 

“TP&L originally reached out to me 8 or 9 months ago,” Binnebose said. “But I’m extremely loyal when it comes to my work and my work ethic, so I was pretty loyal to the previous company and I wasn’t ready to move on.”

Integrity. 

But, patience is a virtue and the guys in charge at TP&L knew that if they were patient, eventually, Binnebose would come on board. Eventually, he did join the company, and his reasons for doing so were very simple. 

“To me, [the reason I joined] was because of the growth the company is going through, and their vision,” he stated. “As a leader, you’re always taught to look 6, 7, 8, 9 months or a year in advance. And I just couldn’t see that projection with my previous company. But with everything I learned through TP&L and knowing some of the senior leadership and knowing that the vision’s going out that far, and seeing their growth right now – I think that to be a part of this company was special for me. So, I made the jump over.” 

After some consideration, it was an easy decision. Binnebose has been working in the wind industry since 2007. About seven years ago, he said, he and his previous company built a project for TP&L in Enid, Oklahoma. He liked what he saw from the crew, and he took notice of how the managers did business. He was also intrigued by the company’s startup status. 

“You know, when you hear ‘startup’ or about a company starting from scratch, a lot of people get leery with that because there’s an excessive workload that comes with that,” he offered. “So there’s a passion that you have to have in order to fulfill that. I’ve done that [myself] in the past, with several projects and, to me, it was a challenge. It was stepping up for the challenge, and that’s what finally got me onboard.” 

He welcomed the challenge, and he’s always ready and willing to learn and grow as a professional. That’s exactly what he’s done as the company’s Senior Operations Manager. 

“I was a project manager in my previous role,” Binnebose stated. “And I came on board with TP&L as a Senior Operations Manager, so the roles are similar, but there’s a slight difference. I do feel like I’ve used some of that project manager skills as I’ve come into the operation side.” 

As the Senior Operations Manager, Binnebose has overseen immense growth in terms of employees. 

“In the past two months, we’ve probably added 40 individuals or so,” he revealed. 

He manages approximately 45 different people on his own team, which has been exciting but there have been some struggles. 

“The challenges that come with substantial growth?” he laughed. “You know, it’s the manpower, the tooling, what economy we’re sitting in right now, acquiring tools and sourcing equipment; it’s all been difficult. Each step we take, every turn we make, there’s a fight with [all of those things].”

Still, the job is an exciting one, and it’s one he’s excelling at. The reason for that, he says, is because he figured out ‘the secret sauce.’ 

“You have to stay engaged with the field and bring in people that are heavy hitters,” he revealed. “You build your base so that, when we do accept more growth, we’re prepped and ready for that in the appropriate timeframe. So, the secret sauce is staying engaged with the field, growing from the ground up with them, digging in, and not giving up.” 

Growth is something that’s important to Binnebose, both in his own career and in terms of the company itself. It’s always about looking forward. What’s next? What can they be doing to get bigger, brighter, and better? 

“I think what stands out to me is the fact that TP&L isn’t scared of the growth,” he said. “They’re not scared to get in and get dirty. They know that there’s an opportunity there, and they jump in and take it.”

That’s the company, but what about he himself? How has he grown? 

“I think I’ve grown and I’ve learned from who I’m interacting with,” he said. “Whether it’s Justin or Chase or Curtis; all of those guys I can immediately look up to. When they step into a room or they step on a conversation, you can tell that they’re intelligent. You know they’re not scared. You can just instantly look up to those guys. And I think working around that level and that caliber of an individual, you either have to grow up, or you get pushed off to the side. So, I think it’s unintentionally forced growth through their leadership style.” 

And that’s exactly how Binnebose likes it. It’s also how he leads his own team. 

“It’s the exact same way,” he said. “Head on. Don’t be scared to get your hands dirty, and lead by example. You know, you always hear that. But I think getting your hands dirty and being with the guys and showing them that we’re not scared and that we’re gonna grow and we’re gonna do it correctly and, most importantly, that we’re here for them – I think that’s the foundation of what we’re doing. Because if we don’t have good guys in the field and we can’t lead them properly, we’re gonna have big issues.” 

Luckily, Tyler Binnebose is a good leader. He’s a good manager. More than that, though, is the fact that he’s a good human being. And that’s something we can’t teach. But with him, we never had to. 

Harvest has been an incredible acquisition for Transportation Partners & Logistics. Harvest is an independent services provider of operations and maintenance (O&M) solutions to the renewable energy industry. With that acquisition, came multiple new projects and different scopes of work. 

Two of those projects are the Mesquite Four and Five Solar Sites. 

“It’s about 500,000 cubic yards of earthworks, in total,” said Nate Evans, the project manager. “We’ve got four scrapers there now, rather sizable machines, CAT 627 push pulls, along with support equipment. It’s quite a bit of dirt, especially being the first venture into earthworks for TP&L, and certainly exciting to see all that iron working.” 

Evans stated that, because of the acquisition, the civil scope is new to TP&L, but it’s not new to Harvest, which just emphasizes the benefits of acquisitions such as this. 

“I think these expansion opportunities show our clients that we offer more,” Evans stated. “I don’t know how many people know that we even do earthworks and grading, or that we’re capable of it. And so when we look at more projects down the line, we can now self-perform the civil scope and not have to give that out to subcontractors, which is a win-win for both our employees to keep them working,  and our clients as we can provide more competitive pricing doing civil in-house”. 

The project doesn’t just benefit the company, or even just the clients, either. It also benefits the community where the projects are being built, especially in terms of the economy. 

“We have hired a few locals for starters,” Evans said. “ When they start installing the solar panels, staffing will increase significantly – with a portion of that coming from the local labor pool. As far as the community benefit, as well, there’s something to be said about rental houses filling up, or RV lots filling up and the economical benefit that comes with that. Restaurants will see more volume; it’s kind of this whole chain reaction.”

There are a myriad of benefits that come from these projects and projects like them. Harvest has been an incredible acquisition for Transportation Partners & Logistics and will no doubt yield more exciting projects in the future!

Instinct. It’s something we don’t usually think about, because that’s the exact definition of instinct. It’s reacting to something without having to think about it. It’s doing something, it’s knowing something, and it’s acting on it. Peter Parker has his ‘Spider Sense,’ but we all, to some degrees, have something similar. When a situation occurs, and we’re forced to act, we do so without even thinking about it. Instinct comes in handy a lot of the time, especially when it comes to keeping ourselves or others safe.

At Transportation Partners & Logistics, we take our safety training courses seriously. You just never know when you may need to utilize techniques that could, quite literally, save somebody’s life. Whether they’re in the field or not, our technicians are trained in a variety of safety techniques to ensure that if and when trouble arises, our guys and gals can respond quickly, safely, and efficiently.

Such was the case recently when one of our technicians saved the life of a woman who was hit by a car.
It’s one of those stories that has to be seen, or read, to be believed.

Jarrett Terry was in Fort Worth, Texas. Just a day previously, he was in a safety training class for TP&L. He didn’t know how soon he would be utilizing the things he had just learned.

“I went over to Fort Worth just because I’ve never been there,” Terry stated. “So I was just going to explore for the weekend before I went to work on Monday. A friend was just showing me around town and on the way back to my hotel, we were getting in my car and there was this lady that was walking across the street. We didn’t really think anything about it, but then we heard a ‘BOOM!’”

That ‘BOOM!’ was a woman getting hit by a car.

“I turned around, looked real fast and saw that a truck had its headline hanging out,” Terry remembered. “The lady was just on the ground and I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ So I ran over there.”

Terry stated that there were a bunch of cones near the area, presumably from a construction site. So he decided to take a few of the cones and set them around the scene, to avert cars from getting close.

“I threw the cones out in the lane to get the traffic to go the other way,” he said. “That way I didn’t have to worry about them. Then, I had some people stop and I had them call 911. Then I got her in the recovery position, just so she wouldn’t move. And then we just sat there and waited for the ambulance to show up. I was like, ‘I know everything’s gotta be hurting.’ I can’t really move her around. So I got her in the recovery position to rest and just calm down, and told her the ambulance was on the way.”

Terry had just learned about the recovery position, and the steps to which you should assist somebody, the prior day. Never did he think he’d have to apply his knowledge so quickly.

“Luckily, I didn’t have to perform CPR or anything (though he knew how), because she was still communicating,” he said. “I just got her in the position and had her stay there. She kept trying to get up and move around and I just said, ‘No, stay there.’”

When somebody is the recipient of a traumatic event such as getting hit by a car, they tend to go into shock. This means they may try to move around while not thinking clearly. Their adrenaline is running high but they’re not making good decisions. Especially in the middle of busy traffic, this woman could have been even more seriously injured had she kept moving around. Luckily, Terry kept her still and, even more importantly, he kept her calm.

Not only did he save the woman, he also made sure that the driver of the vehicle didn’t get away.

“[The driver] pulled into this parking lot while I was trying to get somebody’s attention,” Terry said. “But then I saw him, like, start to back out and try to leave, so I ran over there real fast and said ‘Nope!’ and got the driver’s license plate number. Then he pulled back into another parking spot. I think he was thinking about leaving, but he didn’t.”

That’s not something TP&L teaches in its safety courses. They teach first aid, CPR, the recovery position and more, but they don’t teach a course on making sure criminals don’t perform hit and runs.

Everything else, however, was information that he had just been given.

“We went over all that in the training,” Terry said. “I’ve kind of heard it before, but since we just went over it, I just knew what to do. And that helped a lot. Because if it wasn’t for that, then I would’ve just been like ‘Uh, what do I do?’”

But Terry knew what to do. At least, he knew what steps to perform. TP&L can teach the technique. What they can’t teach is integrity. Terry could have just easily gotten back in his car and driven off. But that’s not the type of person he is. TP&L taught him the techniques. The integrity? That was something he was born with.

“Everything just clicked,” he said. “Like, I don’t really know how to explain it. It just clicked. And that’s the first time that’s ever happened. It kind of took me a second to realize what happened. But then once I realized that, everything else just kicked in.”

Call it intuition. Call it integrity. Call it instinct. Whatever you call it, it all means the same thing, which is this: The technicians at Transportation Partners & Logistics aren’t just good at their jobs. They’re good, period. If integrity is doing the right thing even when nobody is looking, then our technicians, as evidenced by Jarrett Terry, are second-to-none. They have integrity in spades and they are exactly what is good, and what is right, about Transportation Partners & Logistics.

Transportation Partners & Logistics is proud to announce that Clint Murray has been promoted to the position of Regional Manager.

The news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who knows him. Clint has been with TP&L since its inception, coming on in 2015 and serving as the Site Manager for TP&L’s Pueblo site for the last 6 years. In fact, Clint’s history with Jim Orr, TP&L’s Founder, dates back more than 20 years. 

“I started working for Jim when I was 18 years old,” Clint said. “We worked at another company in Casper for 20-some years. Eventually, we weren’t happy there with the way things were going and we all decided to leave. Everybody went their separate directions, Jim started TP&L, and I had other business ventures in Casper.”

Clint said that he’s always loved the work that he does. He’s worked as a broker, a truck driver, he’s worked in craning and rigging, and more. His love for all of those different aspects eventually brought him back to Jim and the company that he started. 

“In 2015, I decided to come start working here,” Clint said. “And then Jim asked me to start managing the Pueblo yard and taking things here. And it’s been a good ride. I’ve been here in Pueblo, Colorado for almost six years now, running this facility here at the Vestas factory, and that’s what led us to where we are today.”

And where he is today is not only managing the Pueblo yard, but also the entire Rocky Mountain region. The job is a little different, a little…more. But it’s a job that he has absolutely proven himself to be the right man for. 

“As Site Manager, I just managed the day-to-day operations here in Pueblo,” Clint said. “I took care of everything here, took care of the Vestas customer, and it was basically just this one site. As Regional Manager, I’m going to be spread out everywhere. We’ve got jobs all around the country in different locations, so I’ll be taking over several yards.”

Clint said that there’s an upcoming Vestas project in Snowflake, Arizona that he will be in charge of. There are also jobs coming up in Minnesota and Wisconsin that he’ll be managing; all while remaining the Site Manager for the Pueblo location. 

It’s an exciting time to be a part of the TP&L team, and Clint, especially, is excited for the challenges that come with his new role. 

“What excites me the most is the direction that this company is going in, and how fast they’re moving,” he stated. “But we’re growing while still maintaining the quality of work that we’re known for. We’re still very heavily driven into safety, but we also know what portion of the business we want to be in. And that’s one thing I’ve always liked about Jim; if he wants something, he goes and gets it.”

That’s not the only thing Clint likes about Jim, however. The two have a friendship that goes back 20 years, and it’s a friendship built on mutual respect and admiration. 

“Jim is one of the smartest people I know,” Clint said. “He’s just a great person, and he’s very intelligent. He makes a plan and he goes after it and it just works out. It works out because of the time and the amount of dedication that he puts into it. Jim always has a plan. He’s never been a fly-by-the-seat guy. When he makes a plan, he’s very informed and he talks to people that help him progress that plan. So it’s just really easy to jump in there and follow him because he knows what he wants and you know what he wants. And he always brings in other people to hear their opinions. He’s always asking people, ‘What can we do to better this company and to better our employees?’ And that just makes it really easy to work here.” 

Jim isn’t the only reason for the company’s success, however. The TP&L team is made up of incredibly talented, intelligent, and driven people. Including Clint. 

“The people that we have working here are the finest in the industry,” he beamed. “Everybody that works in senior management is a top-level person, and the technicians are top-level employees as well. There are no slackers here. And that’s what makes it great to work here. It’s great to work with people like that. It’s great to work with people that have your back. And it’s great to work with people that have that amount of knowledge in a lot of different fields.”

Clint Murray is proud to be a part of Transportation Partners & Logistics. He was proud when he first started working for the company back in 2015, and he’s even more proud now, as one of the company’s Regional Managers. 

But, even more than that, Clint says he is proud to be Jim Orr’s friend. 

“It’s just a privilege to work for him,” Clint said. “I always tell Jim that I wouldn’t be where I’m at in my life if it wasn’t for him. Period. No questions asked. That’s how much respect I have for him and his entire family; his dad, his brother, his sisters, and the boys. I enjoy working here. I enjoy being a part of what these guys are doing and I’m very thankful to have this opportunity to move this company forward in the direction that we all want to be in.” 

Transportation Partners and Logistics is proud to announce that Deedee Pietzsch, the Director of Rail Logistics, is celebrating 10 years of service! 

Deedee said she’s “been here since the beginning” and that she got the job after being hired by one of TP&L’s original partners. A coincidental text message led her to be employee number five.

A current employee at the time stated to Deedee, “You have the operational skills, the organizational skills, and the work ethic, I can teach you the railroad piece.” So, she did, and immediately it was very interesting to Deedee. “You don’t ever really think about how things get from one place to another until you’re actually doing it. And when it comes to moving these wind turbines, it’s just fascinating.” Deedee noted.

“My background is not in transportation or logistics at all,” Deedee laughed. “I was in hospitality for years, but a lot of those operational skills and duties transferred over to this industry.” 

Deedee said that right before she began working for TP&L, she was running an appraisal management company, which seems unrelated, but that job gave her tools to effectively manage others. 

Deedee first began working as a rail analyst, focusing on day-to-day operations of implementing the rail schedule for a customer of TP&L. The tasks included waybilling, tracking and tracing trains, ordering train symbols, and notifying the customer and yards of train movement. She also worked as the inventory manager for TP&L’s yards, as well as all other yards the customer had product in.

“Now that we’ve grown and have so many yards with so many components on them, our Rail Team has grown to four. I have a dedicated Inventory Manager,” she stated, “a Rail Analyst and a Fixture and Rigging Manager now, too.” 

In her new role, she is now managing the overall rail schedule and equipment allocation/storage for the customer’s wind business.

“There are dedicated train sets that just carry the blades for the turbines, dedicated train sets just for the tower sections, the nacelles and the hubs, etc. Every one of those trains that are running; I manage the entire schedule for our customers.” 

It’s not just logistics that Deedee manages, though; it’s also people. 

“Stepping into this role, I also began managing people, which I never had to do before,” she revealed. “So that is a whole other set of skills and mindset to do that. And we all work from home, so we’re not together in an office. We’re not able to be together every day, so it’s important for me to keep that engagement up with them. Luckily, two of my three guys live within about 30 or 45 minutes of me. We all live close together, so once a month, at least, we’ll try to get together for lunch. Sometimes it’s a working lunch and sometimes it’s just a regular lunch, just so we can get together.” 

Deedee cares deeply about her employees and about her customers. 

“It’s like a family,” she said. “We take care of each other. We look out for each other. We help support each other.”

Congratulations to Deedee for 10 years of excellence. Here’s to another 10 years! 

When Jim Orr co-founded Transportation Partners & Logistics, he needed somebody to work with the numbers. He needed somebody with intelligence and integrity; someone who could multitask various projects and solve countless problems that would undoubtedly arise from a company with such lofty undertakings. He needed somebody who could manage the finances of the company who manages the transportations, logistics, equipment, and cargo of countless windfarm and oil & gas projects throughout the United States.

He found that person in Shana Anderson.

Anderson is celebrating her 10th year at TP&L and, in those ten years, she has proven herself to be pivotal to its growth. As the Vice President of Finance and Administration, Anderson does it all.

“Obviously [the work I’ve done] has progressed over the years,” she said. “It started out as me just ‘doing the books,’ and then as we’ve grown as a team, I’ve been able to delegate some of the work. But it’s making sure the books have accurate and precise data. Our operations side is making all the magic, and it’s up to us to organize here on the accounting end so it all makes sense. I handle the tax side, too. With every endeavor that we take on, there’s a new line of taxes; whether it’s county, city, state, payroll-wise, sales tax, property tax, personal property tax, and more. We’re just making sure that, from a business side, we are absolutely taking care of everything and that we have no holes.”

Anderson also manages multiple insurance claims. She organizes the company’s health benefits and is the
liaison for the Human Resources Department to the employees and the top-level executives. She’s not just in charge of finance and administration for TP&L, either; she also handles those same duties for some of its sister companies and side-entities. She wouldn’t take on this responsibility if she didn’t love the job, however. And she wouldn’t work as hard as she does if she didn’t respect and admire the people with whom she works.

“I align with the characteristics of integrity that TP&L has,” Anderson said. “Jim [Orr] honors everything that is right and just; that’s the way he does business and I can align with that. It’s very easy to team up with someone or something that has the same characteristics and beliefs that you have. This business started on a handshake and that’s really unheard of in this age, even ten years ago. And I think that speaks volumes to Jim’s character and the belief that somebody else has in his integrity. There’s been a lot of growth throughout these ten years and I believe that never saying no is the reason for our ten years of success. We never say no. We say yes and then, on the backend, we figure out how to make it happen.”

Shana Anderson took a chance when she said ‘Yes’ to Jim Orr all those years ago. But it’s a chance that paid off in spades and it has made her a vital component of Transportation Partner & Logistics and all of its subsidiaries. Congratulations on ten years, Shana. Here’s to ten more.