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Billings Towing and Repair in Big Sky Country

Don Blyton Sr. started D.J.’s Towing, a towing and repair shop in Laurel, Maryland in 1984. Within six years he grew the business to include five lightduty trucks, one medium-duty and one heavy-duty truck. Several years later when he began thinking about moving back to his home state of Montana, he found a Montana company for sale that was also named D.J.’s Towing.

In 1998, Blyton purchased the assets of D.J.’s Towing, which had been renamed Billings Towing and Repair. After operating both companies for two years, he sold the Maryland company and moved some equipment to Montana.

Today Billings Towing and Repair operates two flat-bed carriers; a light-duty wrecker; two medium-duty wreckers; three heavy-duty wreckers; a tractor/repower unit; a heavy haul towing unit; and a step-deck trailer. The company also has support equipment, including a bobcat, loader and air bags.

“Our first flat-bed truck was a 19-foot Jerr-Dan aluminum on an ’88 Ford Super Duty Chassis. It served us well,” said Blyton. “Our newest unit is a 2005 International 4300 with a Jerr-Dan steel carrier with a 21-foot deck. It also serves us very well.”

Blyton has long been sold on the value of Jerr-Dan equipment, and as he thinks about upgrading his heavy equipment, Jerr-Dan is high on his wish list. However, he has decided to wait for business activity to stabilize before upgrading his fleet.

Although Blyton has gone back to his Montana roots, he also returns to Maryland periodically to attend the American Towman Exposition – the Tow Show – in Baltimore. In addition, he has attended two Captains of the Industry dinners held in conjunction with the Tow Show.

The Captains of the Industry dinner is a conclave that brings together the industry’s top business leaders, largest tow fleet owners, tow truck manufacturers and association leaders. The group’s open forum facilitates discussions on the latest industry trends and issues, including sharing information, techniques and best practices.

“The sharing of information on unique and once-used methods of towing or recovery through the Captains of the Industry dinner has been the biggest benefit,” added Blyton. “Also, it’s great to meet different people and observe how they improve the industry’s image by raising awareness of how dangerous or complicated a recovery/tow can be.”

Blyton also believes that to survive in a down economy, towers need to eliminate or minimize unnecessary expenses while maintaining an aggressive business sense. And customers must be the service provider’s main concern.

“Without customer service in today’s market, you won’t be in business long,” cautioned Blyton. “A lot of tow rates are being cut to try to maintain business, but I don’t agree. We try to achieve a most reasonable rate, yet still maintain a profit on every tow. We’ve also aggressively sought new avenues of towing, including motor clubs.”

Harriet Cooley, TRAA Leader and Educator

Harriet Cooley, Executive Director of the Towing and Recovery Association of America (TRAA), is an educator at heart and a strong advocate of lifelong learning. Since joining the TRAA in 1993 as Director of Education, Cooley has worked tirelessly to enhance professionalism within the towing industry.

Cooley holds a BFA Education in English, has done postgraduate work in Psychology and Adult Education, and has spent most of her professional career in educational activities. For the past 13 years, Cooley has been Director of Certification for TRAA, where she has served as Executive Director since 1998.

“I see my job as an educator,” said Cooley. “The Association is in a unique position to educate towers on what they need to be compliant, how to become better integrated with their local business and community leaders, and how to raise their company profile and be seen as an important resource in their communities.”

Cooley is proud that TRAA has the only national certification for towers. She wrote the Cooperative Agreement that TRAA received from the Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration to develop a National Driver Certification Program for tow truck operators in light-, medium- and heavy-duty modules. Since the certification program was implemented in 1995, TRAA has tested more than 13,000 drivers nationwide.

She is also instrumental in TRAA’s current effort to develop a national training standard that will be incorporated into the National Driver Certification Program. This will be a huge step in unifying the towing industry and will serve to elevate it among other responders including law enforcement, fire, EMS, Transportation and Public Safety.

TRAA also created the Law Enforcement Vehicle Identification Video and V-ID card. This system of communication between law enforcement personnel, dispatchers and towers has resulted in enhanced efficiency by helping ensure towers arrive at an incident scene with appropriate equipment. Cooley was instrumental in the concept and is most grateful for the efforts of the safety committee and Tow Times for its evolution.

The TRAA’s 13th Annual Legislative and Leadership Conference held a panel discussion of industry leaders in March to discuss important issues, including updated training standards and tower invoicing to improve payment communications. Panel members included towers who have succeeded in securing payment based on liability coverage in insurance policies, and others who have used videos, DVDs and photos to illustrate their invoices.

Approximately 100 top industry influencers attended, including towers, manufacturers and insurance representatives. At the conference, Jerr-Dan also made a financial contribution to support the association’s mission.

“Jerr-Dan strongly supports the Towing and Recovery Association of America’s efforts to continually share best practices and improve the industry’s professionalism,” said Brent Yohn, Jerr-Dan Vice President and General Manager. “The towing industry plays a vital role in our communities, and we endorse TRAA’s work with law enforcement agencies to improve efficiency and safety at the incident scene.”

Cooley is proud of TRAA’s work in the towing industry. “We are the organization that helps everyone connect as a team – law enforcement, EMS, hazmat, fire departments and towers,” she explained. “Our members serve important roles and TRAA helps unite these groups.”