Name: Paul Masters 

Title: Regional Manager

Tenure: 10 Years

Hobbies: Collecting Diecast Models, Photography, His Wife and Adopted Daughter

Bio: Paul Masters would follow his wife anywhere. When he met his wife, Julie, the two were working at the same company. It was love at first sight and both Paul and Julie knew that their lives would forever be intertwined. 

Which is why, when Julie began working for GSS, it wasn’t long before Paul found himself taking a job as a heavy haul truck driver for the company as well, and still remembers his first load hauled from St. Paul, AB. Canada to Las Vegas, NV.

“I’ve been driving a truck since I was 20 years old,” Masters said. “2007 is when I got into heavy haul truck driving. 

When he started working for GSS, his responsibilities included vehicle maintenance and vehicle inspections, being the shiniest truck on the road, and hauling various oversize loads, from D11’s/ heavy machinery, oil field, and coal mine related loads but mostly machine heads from Tehachapi California and Pensacola Florida to various wind farms across the country.  

It’s a job that Masters has loved for a long time and it’s one that he takes great pride in. 

“I love being the biggest truck on the road,” Masters laughed. “That’s always cool. A lot of people are enamored by oversized loads. They want to get a closer look at it. “I pride myself on having a well polished truck” . Nothing’s better than to have a clean truck driving down the road, a clean truck and trailer. It’s pretty neat.” 

Masters had a lot of pride for his truck, and for his job. But when he transferred from GSS to TP&L, he hung up his keys and became the Southern Regional Manager for the company. With that position, Masters oversees the day-to-day operations of several different yards, from Kansas to Oklahoma, Phoenix City, Alabama, and more. Luckily, he still gets to travel. He still gets to experience the thrill of the open road, and feels its a safer option than flying cause ” I can pull over if I were to have any engine troubles, whereas you ain’t pullin over with jet engine troubles”!   

The aspect of the job he thinks about most, is safety. And that’s one of the big reasons why he has remained with TP&L – they are also committed to ensuring the safety of their workers. 

“They’re genuinely concerned about safety,” Masters said. “We all are.  anybody in any type of leadership position. They’re genuinely concerned with safety issues. I mean, think about it; from the minute you get up in the morning and step out of the shower, you’ve got to think about safety until the minute you lay down in bed. Safety is paramount in just about everything you do, and at work for sure.”

Masters said another aspect of the job that he really appreciates is that his bosses don’t micromanage, yes there is oversight, but leave the day to day operations to managers.  Transportation Partners & Logistics hire the best employees and put them in the best roles; then, they leave the rest up to them. 

“In 2012, I came over to TP&L,” Masters said. “And Jim sent me to Florida to go run a crane. And I distinctly remember asking him, what if I don’t like this new job that he lined out for me? And he told me that, if I didn’t like it, he’d buy me a new truck and put him back on the road, if he wanted. But he was almost certain that I was going to like my new job with TP&L and I have. And I’m thankful to him for that. I’ll be forever grateful to Jim.” 

So if he had any advice for any new potential additions to the TP&L team; if he could tell any potential hires one thing, what would it be? 

“Stay the course, and the opportunities are endless.” 

Recently, various trainers within the TAKKION companies began the Global Wind Organization (GWO) certification process for three additional certifications. This is in addition to the two trainings that technicians were already certified in. 

The three certifications are for CoHE – Control of Hazardous Energy, ART – Advanced Rescue Training, and SLS – Slinger Signaler Training. 

“GWO is a globally recognized certification process,” said Brett Citrowske, the Director of Training for RENEW Energy. “Their goal is to create certifications that can provide training to all of the individuals that work on wind turbines across the world. For any wind company that’s doing work with the major players – some of the large OEM and tower providers – you have to have GWO certifications.” 

Takkion companies are already certified in two areas – Basic Safety Training (BST) and Basic Technical Training (BTT) – and these three newest certifications are just the latest standards that numerous TAKKION employees have become certified in. 

TAKKION’s Denver Training Facility is actually the first facility in North America to offer all of these certifications at a single location. 

“We now have our certification in the SLS, the CoHE, and the ART and I think that’s what makes us unique,” said Willie Knoerschild, the Senior Instructor at the Denver Training Center. “That’s what makes us stand out throughout the country. And it’s because of the support team that we have throughout the network of TAKKION and all of their entities; it’s the commitment from those companies to make us a world-class training facility.” 

And that’s exactly what the Denver Training Facility really is. Citrowske agrees. 

“What you’re able to see through the collaborative effort between TP&L, and RENEW, and Airway, and the individuals who work at the DTC is that it really was a team work kind of thing,” he stated. “There is no other location that has all of the GWO certifications that the DTC has. So, it’s a pretty powerful tool.”

Citrowske stated that TAKKION was approached by a few different customers that said they were looking to have specific certifications for their technicians and, in just a few short months, the DTC offered courses to achieve those certifications. 

But, Citrowske stated, this certification process was more than just reading a few handouts and answering a few questions. 

“When you get certified, there are a lot of different certifications that you can get,” he stated. “And with many of those certifications, you’ll take the material that another company has put together and you’ll apply that material, but they’ll kind of tell you how to present it. They’ll tell you all of the resources that you need and they’ll basically spoon feed it to you and give you everything that you need.” 

That’s now how the process went for these certifications. 

“Two of the different standards that we’re certified to do now – we didn’t have anybody that was able to lay that foundation for us,” Citrowske revealed. “All we had to go off of was the GWO standard. And so collectively, as a group – TP&L, Airway, and RENEW – we created all the material for it. We went through it, we demoed it, we shared it with the group and then we went and got audited under that. And the auditor actually said, ‘Hey, there’s not a lot of other companies that have these GWO certificates.” 

Citrowske said the reason they were able to accomplish this milestone is because they worked together as an entire TAKKION team. 

“That’s the exciting thing about it,” he said. “We had this huge accomplishment and we have a facility that… now nobody in North America has this set of specific GWO courses. And we were only able to achieve that through this collective group. And it really shows the power of working together.” 

Drew Edwards, the HR Coordinator of the Denver Training Facility, knows all about team work. In fact, the majority of his job is to ensure that people work together as a team. This accomplishment serves as a perfect example of the power of team work, and what can be accomplished when such skilled individuals come together to combine their skills for one common purpose. 

“This project had decades of experience between the people and the multiple companies under the TAKKION umbrella that came together to make it happen,” Edwards said. “I think it just shows the dedication and the finances that TAKKION wants to put into make sure that the training facilities they have within the company are topnotch; not just with their knowledge, but also topnotch with their trainers and making sure those trainers are equipped with every sort of certification that would cover any issue that might arise.” 

Knoerschild said that, as a trainer himself, he believes that his job is to empower the technicians and give them the skill sets that they need to go home safely at the end of the day. 

These certifications allow those technicians to do just that. Knoerschild said that the technicians are TAKKION’s greatest assets, and their safety is the number one priority each and every day. 

“I think we’re providing a great resource to the company,” Knoerschild said. “At the Denver Training Facility, we believe that one must not only know what harm is, what the dangers are, what the hazards are – but then also they need to know what to do when those hazards occur. My job is to ensure that our technicians have the skills and training to perform their jobs to the best of their ability and to safely get home to their loved ones.” 

Edwards said that when it comes to technicians, their secondary job is to be a blade technician or a maintenance technician or any other kind of technician; their first job is to be a lifesaver. 

“At the training center, our big mantra is to train for the expected, but to also prepare our technicians for the unexpected,” he said. 

The timeframe in which these certifications were achieved is absolutely incredible. And all parties involved agree that it only happened the way it did because of the teamwork between all of the agencies. 

“I’m really proud of the team,” Citrowske said. “As a training group, we haven’t had to collaborate together in a way that was both relatively high-pressure and on a short schedule, which required people to operate at a pretty high level. But each group had things that they contributed and we couldn’t have – we wouldn’t have – been able to achieve this without each one of those groups putting forth incredible effort.”

Elizabeth Espino is a natural born teacher. She has been for the majority of her life. 

Elizabeth began working for TP&L in May of 2022 when it acquired Harvest Energy Services. Originally, she worked in the field as a Construction Technician, but she quickly became a trainer, and most recently, Espino is working as a Certified GWO Instructor– combining all of the knowledge, skills, and experiences she has acquired throughout her career and her life. 

Espino grew up in a small town in Kansas and went to Kansas State University to pursue a degree in agriculture. 

“I studied plant and soil sciences with a focus on biotechnology, rather than crop production,” Espino stated. “As an undergrad, I worked with genetics and GMOs for the USDA. When I graduated, I became a K-State Research & Extension Agent for my home county. I worked as a public educator for the whole agriculture and natural resources sector, and I really enjoyed it. I was able to get into crop fields, offer local programs and teach kids and adults. I have a background in education that has supported my career as an instructor.” 

Following that chapter, Espino left her hometown for a time and began working as a laborer in the wind industry. 

“I literally started from the bottom,” she laughed. “And I began seeking new opportunities as a laborer. And then I got hired on with Harvest after a period of being laid off.”

Espino said being laid off was hard, but she expected it. When she began working at Harvest, she knew there was potential that she could get laid off from that job as well, but she had a plan. 

“I came to the training [for Harvest] and I really liked the training and atmosphere at the Denver Training Center (DTC); intuitively, I asked if there was anything I could do in the meantime while people were getting laid off,” she said. “I emailed the right person, and he gave me a heads up leading to an opportunity to stay at the training center. I was doing curriculum development in which my past experiences working as an extension agent came in handy. I literally just started working from the bottom and I worked hard and worked my way up to being a trainer and I just love it.” 

Espino could have just rested on her laurels and hoped that maybe she wouldn’t get laid off. The wind industry is a growing one, but it’s also an ever-changing one. Espino saw an in, however, and she pitched herself to the right people and she has proven herself to be a valuable commodity. This is especially impressive given the fact that there are not a whole lot of women working within the wind industry. But before anybody can claim she was the benefactor of ‘Diversity,” Espino is quick to point out that it was not her gender that got her a job – it was her knowledge and her skillset. 

“I don’t really look at it as being a woman; I just think of it as working hard and setting an intention and focusing on what you want,” she said. “I do recognize that there are not a lot of us here, and I want more women to feel comfortable in the industry and to be able to speak up and do what they want to do with the industry, and with their careers, because there’s a lot of opportunity. I had a female foreman and she was younger than me and she inspired me to go out and get better. I also worked in an all-female crew as well, but that was really rare for us.” 

Espino doesn’t just want to be seen as an example for women within the industry; she wants to be seen as an example for anybody – anybody who wants to work hard, anybody who wants to carve their own path, anyone who wants to take their destiny into their own hands. 

She loves this industry and she is grateful to be a part of it. 

“I think it’s the well-roundedness of it all,” Espino said. “There are technical aspects to it, and safety aspects. We cover hydraulics, mechanical, electrical modules.  We also cover  first aid, fire awareness, manual handling, working at heights and so many other topics. The organization we are affiliated with is Global Wind Organisation (GWO.)  I am currently  working on the course development of GWO Slinger Signaler, which is similar to rigging and signaling. That’s been a challenge for me lately, but I have a lot of support from my coworkers and my managers. It’s been a great mix of everything and I’m never bored.” 

Espino likes the work that she does but, even more than that, she likes the people with whom she works. 

“My favorite part of the job is the people I work with. The training team has been incredibly supportive of my growth and are significant mentors in my life,” she said. “I also enjoy the techs that come through. I love making them laugh or them making me laugh, hearing their crazy stories, and learning from them.  That’s my favorite part of the job; the people.” 

Along with the whole training team; one of her most impactful mentors is  – Eric Wilson. 

“His story is amazing and he is such a great asset to the company,” she said. “He is a great leader and his work creates numerous jobs.  He  has a lot of insight and a lot of experience in the wind industry. He’s definitely a trailblazer.”

Espino, herself, is a bit of a trailblazer. She’d never admit it, but her colleagues have said it of her. She works hard. She bets on herself and, more often than not, those bets pay off. She has proven herself to be a phenomenal trainer, a phenomenal teacher. But, even more than that, she’s proven herself to be a kind, loyal, thoughtful person who tries to better herself, and others. She works with her brain but she leads with her heart, and you can’t teach that. 

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!