2010 Truck Dealer of the Year
w i n n e r
of Dealer theYear
20 10
Of Beltway Companies
Jack Saum
Truck Dealer of the Year
Adding locations, empowering his staff and embracing green technology both in vehicles and in his facilities allows Jack Saum, chairman of Beltway Companies, to survive and thrive.
By: Denise L. Rondini | Editor | drondini@rrpub.com
hen asked what the strengths of his dealership are, Jack Saum, chairman of Beltway Companies and this year's American Truck Dealers Truck Dealer Of The Year says, "Our people, our footprint, our business philosophy and the products we represent." Successful Dealer recently spoke with Saum about those subjects and more. Here are excerpts from our exclusive interview.
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very difficult months for us. Each month is short anyway and then we had those terrible snowfalls here in the East where we lost additional days. When we do our planning we look at breaking even in a 20-day month. We make money in 20-day months, but when we get down to a 17- or 18-day month, it is very difficult. Our peak year was 2006 and we made $130 million. Last year we did about $60 million, which I guess is a reflection of the industry as a whole.
SD: What has business been like for Beltway Companies recently?
SD: What do you see for your dealerships looking forward into the future?
Saum: We were able to make money 10 out of 12 months last year and I attribute a lot of that to the expansion that we did during the 2000s and the ability to spread our overhead over six locations rather than one or two. Last December and this January and February were
14 | SUCCESSFUL DEALER | April 2010
Saum: We are optimistic that we have turned the corner. One bright spot we saw was that some fleets realized the cost of the 2010 emissions and while most indicated they were going to sit on the sidelines through 2010 and see what the economy did, we were able to sell 250 trucks in December and January.