Pulling for Pink Panthers

By Reagan Payne

Pink isn’t a color one might quickly associate with the trucking industry, but it’s a prominent shade with one of the fastest growing companies on the road.

It all goes back to the love and respect the founder has for a beloved family member and one of his favorite things.

Nemanja (Nemo) Delic was wracking his brain searching for a name to differentiate his fledgling trucking company from others when he found inspiration from a popular movie (and it’s not the one you might think given his name).

Continuing his family’s bloodline in transportation, Delic took inspiration from his grandfather’s favorite movie: The Pink Panther. Pink Panthers, Inc. even has a ringback tone that plays the film’s theme song.

“My uncle was a driver in the military and drove a truck. My oldest brother got into the business, around 22 years ago,” Delic said. “First, I started out in California just working on the asset side. Then, I went into the logistics brokerage side. Ever since then, I just kind of stayed in the industry.

“It’s kept me intrigued because there’s always so many different avenues you can take in this business. That always keeps you on your toes.”

In terms of growth, this company has nearly doubled in its number of power units, from 50 now up to 90. The growth came from true integrity and a little help from HireMaster.

“HireMaster has been able to provide us with good, quality leads in the areas that we needed to fill voids in,” Delic said. “Even from generating just one lead, they could have three or four more potential drivers that they are friends with and be brought to us from good word of mouth.”

Delic, the president of the company, takes on most of the leads himself. This helps him tackle one of the biggest obstacles in hiring within this industry: turnover.

“As the owner of the business, I like to be the first person that a lot of these guys have a first impression with,” Delic said. “I tell them all the same thing: ‘I’m not trying to waste my time, I’m not trying to waste your time. What I’m telling you is coming from the top down. I’m telling you cold, hard facts about the organization and not beating around the bush or trying to sell you some story. If it works for you, it works for you. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. No love lost on my end.’

“I get guys that call me all the time and they tell me about what they’re currently doing and I have to say, ‘Hey, I think you have a pretty good deal where you’re at.’ For this reason and many others, our turnover is extremely low. The reason we end up parting ways with people is usually safety reasons.”

With safety at the forefront of what Pink Panthers, Inc. does and a President eager to speak to each and every applicant, this company is here to stay.

Reagan Payne is a writer for Wright Media. She can be reached at rpayne@wrightmediacorp.com.