Hoglund Transportation opened in 1947 with Stuart Hoglund as the original owner. Gordy Hoglund the current owner and one of Stuart’s seven children, was born in July of 1949. Gordy and his older brother Wayne bought the company from their father back in 1984 and decided to split the company a short two years later in 1986; this resulted in Gordy becoming the sole owner of Hoglund Transportation.
There isn’t much that Gordy hasn’t seen happen in the school bus world; from no power steering and small maximum passengers of 48 and 54. To current automatics that have an average maximum from 77 to 84. We even have a few newer buses that can transport up to 90 people at a time! As the cost of fuel rises the type of bus you have and its fuel efficiency is becoming more and more important. He has even helped with the changes such as designing a new type of school bus hood. The hood he designed allowed for better visibility of the smaller students in front of the bus, and made it more streamlined.
I spoke with him on April 24th, 2012 and he answered some of my questions I happened upon in my hunt for stories. Here are a few of them.
-ME- Why does it matter what type of school bus you buy?
-GORDY- The students safety is the most important thing and having the best bus possible, in my opinion is the best way to go about it.
-ME- Why do you prefer using International school buses?
-GORDY- “We have had such good luck with these; Doug Olson a mechanic at Hoglund Transportation for 20 years now has only needed to rebuild one DT International engine in all his time here..” They also have the best part replacement system in the school bus industry meaning less down time then others.
-Me- What do you think about the new electric buses?
-GORDY- A thing to come, but they are too expensive right now.
He is a smart man and one I am proud to call my grandfather! I have very little experience compared to him and he is always willing to take time out of his busy day to answer my questions. If the readers ever have any questions or comments about what is on the blog; I will do my best to find the answer for you if you just leave a comment about it.
Thank You,
Haleigh
4 comments:
You should be a professional interviewer.
Wonderful post.
nice job haleigh; i enjoyed reading your interview with your grandpa.
Julie pratt
It is great that a company can stay family owned and operating efficiently and employ so many employees that are committed to the success into the future.
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