Ep. 135: Steve Mignardi – NACFE Board Chairman

Royal Jones, founder and CEO of Mesilla Valley Transportation, talks about growing into the company name, how he learned about the importance of aerodynamics and why horsepower is not the root of all evil. He also explains why you don’t have to use all the power just because you have it, and he talks about the importance of maintenance, how high fuel prices impact his operation, and the role of MVT Solutions.

John Verdon, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Nevoya, talks about the importance of persistence during transformational times, his tale of two careers and why doing hard things is interesting to him. He also talks about what it takes to build a trucking company from the ground up and about running freight in corridors where it makes sense.

Josh Fisher, editor in chief of Fleet Owner, talks about how the publishing world has changed, the impact of AI on publishing, and the evolution of trucking technology. He also offers his thoughts on how trucking is doing with these new technologies, the collaboration in the trucking industry and the benefit of having smart people stay in the trucking industry. And he gives his opinion on what he thinks is making the trucking industry stronger.

Vinny Riscica, e-mobility section manager at Con Edison, talks his passion for improving the livability of urban spaces, and why electrification is a key way to help reduce carbon. He also talks about what Con Edison is currently doing, the impact of truck electrification on the grid and the benefits of commercial electrification of the grid. He also explains the value of data in making informed decisions and New York’s Public Planning Commission’s proactive planning process.

Emily Long, events & partnerships manager at NACFE, talks about her career, her fame in a small mountain town for one week out of the year, and the importance of storytelling and trying to bring the right people together. She also talks about how by understanding and meeting people’s need you can make magic happen, her focus on issues that matter, and her love for unique convenings like NACFE’s data potluck and about her superpower.

Ep. 136: Matt Srnec, principal engineer at Thermo King, talks about why he got involved with TMC, what drives him to take on the work of electrifying refrigeration and about Thermo King’s early investment in electrifying refrigeration. He also talks about Themo King’s product portfolio including the company’s heating product and some of the challenges we’re going to see with refrigeration going forward. He also explains why he thinks we need to help fleets learn what they can to operate the equipment they already have more efficiently.

Ep. 135: Steve Mignardi, prior executive at Daimler Truck and NACFE board chairman, talks about his career including work as a truck technician, his time in Mexico and his love of trucks. He also talks about the importance of being resilient and shares his thoughts on what success will look like for NACFE and what people can do to help trucking be more efficient.

Dakota Semler, chief amazement officer at Xos Trucks, talks about his 10 years at the company, why the company pivoted to medium-duty trucks, and the company’s focus on markets that were going to grow and see tremendous conversion to zero emissions vehicles in the near term. He also talks about how he got into trucking, how he pivoted into electric vehicles and the beauty of the simplicity of BEVs. He shares information on the Xos-Windrose collaboration, and talks about the importance of constantly learning.

Tom Lincoln, national sales and service manager at Dana, talks about Dana’s claim to fame, Dana‘s place in the marketplace today and the company’s Fleet Council. He also talks about what he is learning from fleets, the downspeeding trend, how he looks at the future while dealing with the here and now, what’s going on with maintenance and uptime and how to handle the complexity of the market.

Derek Turbide, senior vice president of sales at Greenlane, talks about how he can bring what he learned from his time with natural gas to the battery electric side. He also shares how charging sites are selected, Greenlane’s Colton, California site, and the importance of making the charging experience better than the status quo. He also shares Greenlane’s near-term plans for charging hubs, the impact of federal, state and local policies and why now is the best time to be planning for the future.