Kalmar moves the conversation on cancer

In October 2020, Kalmar held a unique auction for two new Kalmar Ottawa terminal tractors, each wrapped in a special pink ribbon themed decal, with the proceeds of the auction going to the winning dealers’ chosen charities. The response from the dealer network was so enthusiastic that a second event supporting autism awareness was promoted earlier this year.

The success of these events and the ubiquitous nature of cancer encouraged Kalmar Ottawa to revisit this theme for its latest charitable campaign.

Once again, Kalmar Ottawa built two factory stock units with special metallic pink wrapping and dealers were given the dealer net price for each vehicle at the start of a special reverse auction in early October. The only condition was that the winning bid must be higher than the dealer net price, with the highest bidders having the opportunity to donate the difference to the cancer charities of their choice.

Determined to succeed

This year both trucks were won by Utility Trailer Sales of Colorado, whose president Travis Martin says the company was especially determined to succeed in the auction having missed out in 2020.

“One of Kalmar’s strengths is the marketing and advertising activity it undertakes and it is constantly reaching out to the dealer network,” he says. “We were keen to capitalize on the work done to promote breast cancer awareness and we now have the perfect vehicles for our in-house rental department to spread the message.”

Utility Trailer Sales of Colorado has been in business since 1965. A full service dealership, it focuses on over-the-road semi-trailer sales as well as Kalmar Ottawa yard tractors, servicing customers across the US.

Importance of early awareness

Everyone knows someone who has suffered from cancer, which emphasizes the importance of early awareness. This is Utility Trailer Sales of Colorado’s first major charitable initiative and Martin says they are committed to promoting cancer awareness over the next number of years.

“We have relationships with many local and national fleet managers and we plan to get the trucks in front of these customers continually over the next 3-4 years,” explains Martin. “The vehicles will be visible to hundreds of drivers and operators every day across private yards and shuttle yards.”

“We were keen to capitalize on the work done to promote breast cancer awareness and we now have the perfect vehicles for our in-house rental department to spread the message.”

In addition, Utility Trailer Sales of Colorado will work with the Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation - which has an essential needs program that issues 70-80 grants a month to people whose treatment is impeding their ability to meet their basic needs - and Valley View Foundation’s breast care facility.

“These campaigns are a valuable publicity exercise for our dealers and participation was even higher this year,” says Doug Queen, vice president solutions sales, terminal tractors. “They enable us to reach new areas of the dealer network and allow dealers to connect with some parts of their customer base for the first time.”

In these challenging times when dealers might not be able to meet customers face-to-face, this interaction is particularly valuable.

In addition to providing the wrap for the trucks, Kalmar asks the winning dealer(s) to work closely with its marketing team to maximize the positive impact on the charities they chose to donate the money to.

Kalmar plans to run three charitable campaigns in 2022, one of which is likely to focus on veteran foundations. “We also are considering about half a dozen other causes to support,” concludes Queen.