In January, Dustin Rhodes took over the position of Kaw River Railroad mechanical foreman. Since that time, Rhodes and his team member, Curtis Marks, not only went from a three-man crew to a two-man operation, they also were able to increase the revenue for their operations by an incredible one thousand percent by the end of June.
When asked how they were able to accomplish such an amazing turnaround in just a few short months, Rhodes said it was due to the will to want to make changes.
“We were more dedicated,” said Rhodes. “We didn’t sit around waiting for work to show up, we went looking for it. If you just walk the yard you can find a number of repairs that need to be made. We don’t have to wait for someone to tell us that there’s an issue with a car, some things you can tell by looking. It’s much more beneficial to catch the repairs that need to be made while the car is in the yard instead of something happening to it while it’s rolling down the tracks. It can save the Customer transit time and money if defects are caught and fixed at the right time.”
Garrett Bolyard, vice president of operations said, “Dustin was promoted in January and has done a great job. He’s very skilled and talented, and he’s Watco. He thinks about his team members and the Customers, doing the right thing for both. Dustin and Curtis have really taken ownership of their positions and done a great job of creating value for their railroad.”