We recently talked with Garyn Walters, Fleet and Real Estate Manager with Morton Buildings based in Morton, Illinois. Morton Buildings began as a fence company in 1903 and has evolved to become one of the most prominent names in post-frame construction. Known for their pole barns, sheet metal buildings, and other customizable structures, the name Morton is now synonymous with farm buildings across the U.S. Garyn discussed the important role of Stellantis Fleet vehicles in the company’s continuing growth and success. Check out our interview with them below.
Our “Building Success” Interview with Morton Buildings in Driving Fleet Magazine
Stellantis Fleet: Who builds the Morton buildings?
Garyn: We have (roughly) 235 crews organization-wide from coast to coast, and they are all Morton employees. Each crew is issued a truck, a trailer—either a telehandler, or they also get a scissor lift.
Stellantis Fleet: How customized are Morton’s crew trucks?
Garyn: The trucks are highly customized for our needs. So, on the crew truck side, we spec a Ram 5500 Cabin Chassis. Those are ordered from Stellantis and go directly to an upfitter. We review it every year, make small changes or little tweaks on the bed itself, but that bed is our bed. The trucks come here and we send them out—we try to replace them around 175,000 miles.
Stellantis Fleet: I take it you’re running diesels on all those?
Garyn: Yep. They’ve all got the 6.7 Cummins® Turbo Diesel I6 engine. We just updated that transmission to the available TorqueFlite® HD eight-speed automatic transmission this year. It’s all heavy duty. We’ll put our ELD in them. And just a couple of finishing touches, maybe an extra decal here or there… they’re essentially ready to go.
Stellantis Fleet: Who monitors your fleet? And who handles the service scheduling? Are you using local Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep® and Ram dealers?
Garyn: From the cars up through that Ram 5500, they’re all leased through a Fleet Management Company. They handle the routine maintenance, sending them to local dealerships.
Stellantis Fleet: Why do you think that Morton ended up in the Ram family?
Garyn: My predecessor had 36 years here and started with a mix of Dodge, Jeep® and Ram trucks. So, from 2015 to 2017, there was a concerted effort to consolidate under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep® and Ram brands. Post COVID, when it was difficult to get vehicles, the relationship that we have with Stellantis has gotten even more solid. We’ve looked to see what other options are out there, but we’ve elected to stay put with Stellantis—because of the relationships … and also, because it’s been a good product.
Stellantis Fleet: Tell me about the Jeep® Brand vehicles in the fleet.
Garyn: We have about 220 sales consultants in the field today nationwide that sell our product, and they all are signed to Jeep® Compass vehicles. We started purchasing the Compass, I believe, in 2020. And it’s worked really well the last few years. And we are excited to see what pricing is going to look like on the Jeep® Cherokee. And for our executives or our field leadership, we’re migrating over to the Jeep® Grand Cherokee L.
Stellantis Fleet: Was it the fact that the Jeep® Grand Cherokee L just gives them a little more room or was it your Stellantis rep doing a great job?
Garyn: Well, they did a really good job. You know, we demoed one. I really liked it. And then pricing came in pretty darn aggressive on those. But ultimately, I left it up to our executive group. They came back and said, “Man, that thing’s really nice.” And it is. The Jeep® Grand Cherokee L really checked a lot of boxes. And from a resale perspective, we’re going to see a bump. Our Stellantis rep has done a really good job of maintaining the relationship. And almost on a personal level, I talk to him regularly. And his involvement with our fleet has really helped us to continue with the brand. He’s a phenomenal rep for me to have. He’s a lightning rod. You know, we ran into ordering issues over the last few years. We couldn’t get trucks, couldn’t get trucks from anybody else, couldn’t get any allocation. And he really helped us to get vehicles when we needed them. And so, his influence in the fleet has been really, really helpful and has been felt.
Build Your Own Fleet for Success
We want to thank Morton Buildings for taking the time to talk with us and for being a valued partner. Their story emphasizes what’s possible when your business has the right tools for the job. When you’re ready to build a fleet lineup that you can depend on, Stellantis Fleet & Business Solutions is here to help. Check out our fleet vehicle lineup at https://www.stellantisfleet.com/ to see which vehicles fit best for your business.
