Since 1997, Liquid Stone Concrete has made a name for itself providing ready mixed concrete to the south Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex area of Texas. With two concrete plant locations in Burleson and Midlothian, the company provides concrete for residential and commercial projects within a 25-mile radius of each plant. The company’s mixer truck of choice is the Kenworth T880. Liquid Stone Concrete currently operates seven T880s, with more on order. Additionally, a new T880S with a set-forward front axle was added to the fleet earlier this year.
“We started adding Kenworth trucks to our fleet a number of years ago,” says David Karmy, Liquid Stone Concrete vice president. “My father, Paul Karmy, who started this company, always made it a priority to provide our drivers with trucks that they would be comfortable in and enjoy driving. At the same time, it’s important to have dependable trucks with the maneuverability needed to deliver to job sites. The T880 meets those requirements and it’s why we continue to add them to our fleet.”
Liquid Stone Concrete utilizes six T880s to deliver ready mixed concrete to its customers, and one T880 to transport cement powder to one of the company’s plants. The T880s feature the light weight PACCAR MX-11 engine, rated at 430 hp and 1,650 lb.-ft. of torque. To improve the Kenworth T880 mixer weight savings even more, the company went with a 7-axle configuration to help maximize its gross combination weight of 80,000 lbs.
Ontime deliveries, minimal downtime
Since concrete has a finite amount of time before it needs to be poured, it is essential to run trucks that consistently make deliveries without delay. If a truck is sidelined due to mechanical issues, the concrete will go to waste.
“As you know, it gets hot down here in Texas in the summer months,” says Karmy. “With the high temperatures, we’ll start making deliveries early in the morning, and even then, we only have about an hour and a half to complete delivery after filling up the mixer with concrete at the plant. It’s important for us to operate trucks that we know will consistently make on-time deliveries. The T880 has been a dependable truck for us.”
When it comes time for Liquid Stone Concrete to service its trucks, the company sends its T880s operating out of the Burleson plant to MHC Kenworth – South Fort Worth, and the trucks operating out of the Midlothian plant to MHC Kenworth – South Dallas. The company currently has two Kenworth T880s on order with MHC Kenworth – South Fort Worth.
“The service I receive from MHC Kenworth is top notch,” says Karmy. “It’s played a role in our decision to continue to add Kenworth trucks to our fleet. The service shop excels at identifying issues and solving them in a timely manner so that they can get our trucks back on the road. The better we are at minimizing downtime, the more profitable we are.”
According to Karmy, the company’s decision to add Kenworth T880s is well regarded by its drivers. “I think it’s safe to say we have the nicest trucks on the road in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. We get compliments all the time on our Kenworths. Our drivers really enjoy operating them,” says Karmy. “The T880 is incredibly versatile and the maneuverability is hard to match. Our drivers tell me how nice it is to be behind the wheel of these trucks, and they especially appreciate the quiet and comfortable cab. I’m willing to bet we have a better driver retention rate compared to some of our competitors that are running other makes.”
