Seasons Greetings to you, your family, and your company from everyone at Tandet. May you have a happy holiday and a healthy and prosperous year in 2006.

Of particular interest in this issue of the Tandet Expressway newsletter is an alert for all companies shipping to the United States using wood packing materials. New regulations come into effect in 2006 that could result in your shipments being refused. Please read the article for details.

We hope you find the Expressway informative. Please forward it to your associates, or better yet, add their names to our list using the form at the end of the newsletter. Have a great day.

Growing with Tandet

Abrex Paint and Chemical Ltd. of Oakville is a family run company founded in 1959. It found its market niche with the refinement of electrodisposition of paint that was used on farm equipment and office furniture. Today it has broadened its reach into the automotive industry and other sectors dealing with metal strapping, coils and the need for high heat resistant coatings. Abrex focuses on the Southern Ontario marketplace dealing with custom solutions and the high level of personal service this requires.

Dan Bailey, General Manager, and his wife Mary who manages the office, relate to Tandet because of their similar attitude to service. They have dealt with Tandet NationaLease in Oakville for over 20 years. Initially they would send their truck to Tandet for servicing - renting a replacement for the day if they had a lot of shipments. As their business grew, Glen Berg, Tandet Solutions Manager converted them to the Tandet Preventative Maintenance Program as a way to minimize unexpected breakdowns and provide better customer service.

The next step-up in service came a couple of years later as a result of an event that caused them to assess their methods of operation for the future. Abrex was faced with the challenge of finding a backup driver or alternate solution when their driver went on holidays. Glen proposed a short-term dedicated solution whereby Tandet would provide both the truck and driver for the holiday period. This worked out so well that Dan and Mary got to like their freedom from driver and insurance-related headaches. They wanted to concentrate their efforts on other aspects of the business and let Tandet handle the distribution issues.

Chris Brennan, a Tandet Dedicated specialist assisted in the transition with an assessment of current practices and consideration of options to ensure the program was set up to deliver the most efficient service to their account. In the end, a new Kenworth with a power tailgate was ordered to provide both reliable service and good imagery for Abrex - along with a professionally trained driver as part of the dedicated solution.

According to Dan Bailey, “Everything is running smoothly - with Abrex still setting client service standards and Tandet delivering on them. Growing into other Tandet services over the years has helped us grow our own business.” For more information on how Tandet can help you grow your business contact Glen Berg at 905-603-6275 or gberg@tandet.com or Chris Brennan, at 905- 603-6271 or cbrennan@tandet.com.

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Trade Alert - Wood Packing Material (WPM)

• February 1, 2006: Customs Border Patrol (CBP) will begin rejecting shipments (repacking non-compliant pallets and crates and re-exporting the non-compliant packaging) at the cost of the importer.
• July 5, 2006: Full enforcement. All wood packing material must be treated and marked. Non-compliant, regulated wood packing material will not be allowed to enter the United States.

• Shipments of new or used pallets will still be considered WPM and are subject to the rule.
• USDA has grandfathered in all wine crates for vintage years preceding 2006. This means that wine crates for any wine with a vintage year through 2005 are exempt from treatment and marking requirements. Wines of vintage years 2006 and beyond will be required to be in crates that have been treated and marked.
• Articles of wood that are manufactured to transport a specific non-regulated commodity (i.e. fuel gauges, armaments, ammo boxes) are not considered to be WPM and are not required to be treated or marked.
• WPM that are part of any bundle of imported lumber are exempted from the rule.

Fuel Program …
Local or Across North America

Come ride along with Tandet and take advantage of our Commercial Card-Lock Fuel Program that passes along our volume-purchase price savings to you. Fuel up 24/7 at the following Tandet branches across Ontario - Sarnia, Mississauga, Oakville and Kingston - or at any Esso commercial location coast-to-coast across North America.

Each truck has a fuel card that monitors date, time, location, odometer reading and fuel amount by truck unit so you can track its fuel efficiency. One card works at any of the participating Tandet or Esso locations.

In addition to savings on fuel costs, Tandet locations offer the convenience of service options with some limitations by location. Even your accounting is simplified by having your fuel invoiced weekly from Tandet NationaLease - potentially one supplier for everything from your equipment lease and maintenance to fuel requirements.

How good can the savings be? Considerable if you are buying retail! If you are on a volume program now, call us for a Fuel Savings Analysis to learn just how good it is. From your past statements we can determine how much you would have saved if you had been on the Tandet Fuel Program. You get proof before commitment to make it an easy decision. Call and book your fuel savings analysis and get more information on the Tandet Commercial Card-Lock Fuel Program. In central Ontario contact Glen Berg at 905-603-6275 or gberg@tandet.com. In Eastern Ontario contact Greg Loveland in Eastern Ontario at 613-741-0986 or gloveland@tandet.com.

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Straight Rental Appreciation - with a 10% Discount

We appreciate your support year round and want to express our gratitude - so we are extending a 10% Appreciation Discount on all straight truck rentals from December to February from any of our rental offices - Cambridge, Oakville, Mississauga, Peterborough, Kingston, Ottawa. Take advantage of this special rental price while you send one of your fleet trucks in for that extended servicing you have been putting off – or give a value-added service to your clients with quicker delivery times through an extra delivery vehicle.

Spring bookings for rental vehicles are already heating up. If you get a seasonal surge in business demand in the spring, it is advised that you pre-book your long term seasonal rentals to ensure you get the premium Tandet rental trucks your drivers deserve.

To book your rental, call your closest Tandet Rental office today. Call 1-888-TANDET8 (1-888-826-3388) for the office nearest you, or e-mail gnicholson@tandet.com.

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Named to Dean’s Honour List

Devin Bailey, Apprentice Technician with Tandet Cambridge, received a letter from the Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology advising him that he has been named to the Dean’s Honour List. “This is an honour reserved for a very few individuals who have met the extremely high standards established for this special recognition,” said Mr. C. Jensen, Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering Technology. “Your efforts have been recognized and are appreciated, especially by those faculty members with whom you have been most closely associated in the Basic Truck and Coach Technician program.”

Devin joined Tandet two years ago and started the apprenticeship program in September, 2004. This program involves three years of classroom, generally once a week, plus 5000 hours of on-the-job training and experience.

“Congratulations Devin – we are very proud of your accomplishment,” said Kirk Tilley, Vice President of the Tandet Group. “Vehicles are becoming more sophisticated and require mechanics who can keep up with the technology. The successful completion of pertinent courses such as the apprenticeship program Devin is taking supplement the continuous internal training sessions we conduct with our training staff and suppliers. Tandet is very committed to continuing education in encouraging more people to embrace the mechanical trades to support our future growth.”

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Parking lot safety – for both trucks and cars

When entering a parking lot you are more likely to see all the hazards that surround you as you arrive. By taking a little extra time at that point to back into your parking spot instead of driving in nose first, you are better positioned to see all the hazards in front of you as you leave the parking spot later. This way, when backing-out you don’t have to negotiate difficult-to-see vehicle and pedestrian traffic, which can sometimes be very hard to do. It even works in your own driveway at home - try it!

Contest entry: “Be proactive, do not learn safety by accident”
John Olson , Logistics Division dispatcher in Sarnia has submitted this safety slogan that can be used as a sign or e-mail sign-off.

E-mail your “Safety Tip” for a chance to win an iPod entertainment unit.

Submit entries to safety@tandet.com

The contest is open to employees of Tandet and our clients.
Every submission will receive a ballot. You may make multiple submissions.

The contest ends December 31, 2005
Prize model may not be exactly as shown.
The winner will be announced in the 2006-1 issue of Expressway.
Some of the safety tip submissions will be published in future Expressway issues.

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