Arrow Trucking suspends operations, but talks reported

[Craftsman]

Arrow Trucking Co., the 61-year-old Tulsa-based flatbed carrier, has suspended operations indefinitely, laying off employees and stranding scores of drivers around the country by cancelling fuel credit cards, company employees and drivers said.
After closing down the company phone system Tuesday morning and not accepting cell phone messages throughout the day, the company issued a statement from CEO Doug Pielsticker at 6:21 p.m.

“The company has been in negotiations with its principal lender,” Pielsticker said.

“Those negotiations are continuing, but the lender has elected to proceed with securing its collateral. The company is communicating with several interested parties and continues to seek a prompt resolution.”

One of Arrow’s lenders is Daimler Financial Services, which owns the company’s Freightliner trucks.


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20091222_54_0_Employ24561

[AndyA]

1. The family that owns this company is named Pielsticker.

The father, Jim, died a few years back in a private airplane crash. By all accounts, he was a great guy who treated all of his employees as if they were family.

The son, Doug, took over operation of the company at that time and is generally considered to be much less of a man than his father, to put it nicely. Doug lives in a mansion, drives a Maserati, and his second wife has a Bentley. Doug divorced his first wife after she caught him in the act of having sex with the Nanny.

The former Nanny is now the current wife.

People who worked for Arrow say the company has been mismanaged for a long time by its executives, and they said drivers were unhappy with the new Maserati parked out front, while maintenance of trucks was neglected.

There are reports that armed security guards protected the Pielsticker mansion yesterday and last night.

There are many, many local businesses trying to help the abandoned truckers get home for the holidays. There are several big trucking companies located nearby, and are offering free rides home to Arrow drivers on their trucks. Others have offered to go 200 miles one way to pick up drivers and bring them home if they're within that radius. A job fair is being set up for next week for all former Arrow employees. One local trucking executive has given out his personal phone number for drivers looking for assistance or a job.

So, bad timing, but many are trying to help. As for the Pielsticker family, it's pretty certain the father is spinning in his grave over this, and we can only hope their holiday is severely tarnished due to their inconsideration of others.

This family certainly has enough money that they could have taken care of payroll for a couple of weeks, and made sure all drivers were at home before they were shut down. I fear there's some seriously bad karma ahead for these folks. (And it will be well deserved.)

Edit to add: local video http://www.newson6.com/Global/category.asp?C=121535&clipId=4407238&autostart=true