This spring Port Fuel Center in Port Wentworth, Georgia, held a grand opening party and invited Stop Watch magazine to the soirée. Sean Register, president of Port Fuel Center, presided over the festivities that included a band, bountiful buffet and a tent full of community members.
The truckstop offers parking for 80, ten diesel lanes, a CNG facility, a four-bay truck repair shop and a quick-serve food service option.
The truckstop is also loaded with technology geared toward speed including augmented checkout counters, kiosk ordering and displays that monitor traffic at the port.
Attention to Branding
It is clear as soon as you enter the travel center that a lot of thought went into every element of its layout and branding. The design of the new facility is built around a nautical theme. From the steering wheel restroom signs to the Wheelhouse Coffee corner, the branding is consistent, modern and professional. Design firm and NATSO Chairman’s Circle member Paragon Solutions designed the location.
Self-Checkout and Food Kiosks
Customers increasingly want speed and convenience, and the use of kiosk ordering and self-check-out lanes has become a must-have for retailers. Port Fuel Center clearly tapped this need by investing in tools and technology to increase efficiency. The checkout counter is huge and clearly designed to get customers in and out quickly. Food can be ordered from the multiple food ordering kiosks.
Alternative Fuels
In addition to a partnership with Go-Station to add electronic vehicle charging, the location partnered with Marlin Compression to open a high-capacity compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. The facility is one of the largest public access CNG stations on the East Coast. In addition to CNG, the new fueling station will offer a renewable natural gas (RNG) option to customers soon.
Hand-Washing Station
Darren Schulte, NATSO’s vice president, membership, frequently encourages truckstops to think about the trucking entrance. “During store visits, I am always surprised by how our industry typically fails to really welcome our core customer—the professional driver—into our stores,” he said. Register and his team must have been listening as the entrance from the diesel pumps has a big hand washing station. This addition let’s drivers know their needs are important.
Lockboxes
The rolling of the red carpets for professional drivers is reinforced as soon as you enter the doors from the diesel fuel islands with a wall of lockboxes. Above the lockboxes are live digital monitors that display up-to- the-minute stacking at each of the port interchange gates, potentially saving drivers hundreds of hours of idling time.
INVITE ME OUT!
I’d love to visit your location to see all that you are doing and share your story! Please send your invitation to atoner@natso.com.
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