New TMC Chairman Kevin Tomlinson Laments Technician Shortage
This story appears in the Feb. 23 print edition of Transport Topics.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kevin Tomlinson acknowledges that he and his fellow technicians might share some of the blame for the trucking industry’s technician shortage.
“We always feel that we want our children to become — or do better than — what we do, so we try to push them away from our industry,” said Tomlinson, named chairman of the Technology & Maintenance Council on Feb. 18. “It’s really too bad, because I love this industry, and it’s allowed a great living for me.”
Tomlinson, 55, director of maintenance the past nine years at flatbed carrier South Shore Transportation Co. in Sandusky, Ohio, said the shortage of technicians entering the market is the organization’s most pressing issue, one that by itself could keep him busy all year.
But there are plenty of other issues to address; he’ll also be working on growing the organization’s membership, monitoring federal emissions standards and working to improve fleets’ asset-utilization and tire-deployment strategies.
And former chairman Kirk Altrichter said Tomlinson likely will need to add TMC’s strategic plan, the future truck project and a “plethora of regulatory issues” to his agenda.
That’s a lot to tackle, but those who know Tomlinson said he’s jovial and easygoing, the kind of guy who rolls up his sleeves and takes on whatever comes his way.
“He is one of a handful of rock-solid, nice guys in the industry that can make friends with anybody,” said Tomlinson’s former boss, Keith Tuttle, who also is vice chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association. “He’s a brilliant guy with a tremendous ‘get it done’ attitude, always willing to help, no matter who or what time.”
Tuttle, founder of Motor Carrier Service in Northwood, Ohio, where Tomlinson once worked, said he has the same demeanor in dealing with tough issues at work as he does singing with his wife, Beth, in the church choir on Sunday morning.
“Kevin is the first guy you want to call for doing a volunteer project that nobody gets the credit for, because that’s not why he did it,” Tuttle said. “From the top industry executives to the guy out of school just getting paid to turn a wrench, Kevin’s passion for this business — and for others — will make him an outstanding chairman.”
With a grandfather who owned trucks and a father who drove them, Tomlinson always knew he’d be working in the industry.
“When I was born, I knew I was going to be in the trucking business,” he joked.
He has been a technician since 1979, when after completing tech school he took his first job as a mechanic with a Cummins dealership in his native state of Illinois.
He worked at Munson Transportation Inc. in Illinois for about 15 years before joining South Shore.
“I guess my No. 1 priority is to make people understand how great of an industry this really is,” Tomlinson said. “We are here to make this world a better place; we’re not here to be mean and make people afraid to share the road with us.”
In his spare time, Tomlinson said, he loves to play bass guitar but says he sings better than he plays.
Tomlinson and his wife have been married for 26 years. The couple has four children, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. They live just outside Toledo, Ohio, “a stone’s throw from Lake Erie,” he said.
“Kevin has a great sense of humor,” said outgoing TMC chairman Dan Umphress, vice president of maintenance and fleet services for A&R Transport. “He’s not afraid to be out in front of people. He can walk into a room full of people and make a friend.”
Umphress believes that Tomlinson will spend a lot of time working on one of his passions, the annual TMC SuperTech competition.
“He’s a smart guy and, in my opinion, very analytical,” said Doug White, vice president of maintenance for Dunbar Armored Inc. “He looks at situations and doesn’t jump the gun but thinks them through and looks at resolutions.”
White said Tomlinson is fun to be around and “always good for laugh.”
South Shore President Cole Hanley said Tomlinson is “always positive. I’ve never seen him angry or even showing any frustration.”
Hanley added that Tomlinson has a lot of commitment to his craft, which will bode well for his TMC tenure.
“I don’t think he’s ever really away from work,” Hanley said.
