September 7, 2006
AA Transportation
By Staff
Ron Ernenwein, the owner of AA Transportation, has often heard the comment, “You look like a young guy, how did you get here?” As a teenager, his family had a friend who was a successful real estate investor. Ernenwein became inspired by that friend and aspired to be in that industry. Just after he graduated with his associate’s degree from Quinsigamond Community College, Ernenwein immediately started to invest in the multi-family real estate market.
Over time, he learned how to buy houses with little capital available by utilizing low-money- or no-money-down mortgage programs.
For a short time following college, Ernenwein also worked for a Ford dealer. He had previously worked for the Weagle Bus Co. as a mechanic — he was a family friend. In 1992, he became a full-time maintenance director for the bus company. Soon after that transition, the Weagle family lost its largest contract, the Shrewsbury Public Schools, to a national provider. The family business had held that contract for 72 years.Ernenwein decided to stay on with Weagle to try and help the family through what would be a very challenging time. The family company was in a very competitive industry, where the lowest bidder always got the contract. As the company downsized, Ernenwein’s responsibilities expanded to include overseeing almost every aspect of daily operations.In 1996, the Weagle Bus Company was dissolved and Ernenwein was faced with another difficult decision — what to do now? As the owners of the company scurried to assign the school routes that they were contractually bound to fulfill to other companies, Ernenwein began to think that perhaps he should be in business for himself.All the pieces were falling into place; now Ernenwein just needed financing. He did not have the resources to take over the whole company of about 100 vehicles, nor did all the routes make good financial sense. After reviewing his real estate portfolio, the lending company approved him for financing 26 vehicles and he was in business. He began with just a few clients, like the Webster School Department and Assabet Valley Regional Vocational High School.Business was good and sales doubled year after year. It seemed like every year he added another major customer — like the town of Sutton, then the Lexington Metco Program, followed by Holy Name High School, Abby Kelley Foster Regional Charter School and Assabet Valley Collaborative.In March 2005, AA Transportation was awarded the contract to transport students of the Shrewsbury Public schools, adding 50 vehicles and 60 employees to the company, beginning in September, 2005. This was the very contract that the Weagles lost in 1992. Also in 2005, the company added the Southbridge Public Schools to its client list.At one point, while trying to improve the efficiency of the infrastructure and existing overhead, Ernenwein thought of adding a limousine division. He brought the West Coast trend of Hummer and SUV limousines to the Worcester area; this put the company on the cutting edge. To date that division has grown to total more than 10% of their sales. In 2005, the company celebrated nine years and Ernenwein now has 225 vehicles and 300 employees.Another question often posed to Ernenwein is “What is your secret to success?”Along with a whole lot of luck, Ernenwein lives by the philosophy of three key factors.First, he makes himself available for every customer who has a problem. He says an absentee management team does not work, nor can you run a company from the golf course, so he stays involved in overseeing the daily operations personally.Second, he treats every employee with respect and appreciation. He says that he never forgets one thing, “To provide good quality service, you need good quality, happy employees,” he says. “It’s not rocket science.”And third, he also has acts on every opportunity. “If you never get up at bat, you can never hit a home run,” he says. “I try to look at every opportunity and try to find a way to make it work.”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments