01/17/2008

January 17, 2008

Mondovi, Wis. - After spending time with fellow drivers in the Asian country
of Nepal during a travel visit, Ed Main came to appreciate the good life of
driving for Marten Transport.

Main set off for Nepal to visit his daughter, a University of Tennessee
linguistics-major graduate currently working there. She had received two
scholarships from Marten.

When Main returned, he had a new appreciation for even the tiniest of
luxuries Americans so often take for granted. He also brought back
remarkable stories about his visit to Mt. Everest and his experiences with
his Nepali truck driving counterparts.

“The extreme of going to one of the poorest countries in the
world, then coming home to a top of the line truck for a class outfit like
Marten is unimaginable,” says Main. “I took pictures of our trucks here and
gave them out to the drivers there. They couldn’t believe the size of our
trucks. When they saw the dashboard gauges, they claimed it looks like an
airplane cockpit!”

Main commended these drivers’ ability to drive their “rolling wrecks” on the
winding dirt roads of Nepal. Looking at Nepal’s version of the standard
truck, Main says, “I often thought of our DOT inspectors and how they would
go crazy if they saw these trucks; their lack of safety equipment,
conditions, and all this stuff hanging down in the windows.”

Main says he was equally impressed with both the morale and
physical fitness of the Nepali drivers. Main described the contrast between
drivers there and here in America. “These drivers were all young and fit.
As you pass trucks on the highway here, you look up at the drivers and see
the number of bald, graying old men who are over weight and not physically
fit. Look at these Nepalis; life is hard here! I truly have respect for
these men who drive six and seven days a week, year round, in trucks with no
heat, air conditioning or power anything!” says Main.

Main took about 30 Marten hats, with its signature blue bird
logo, and gave them to some of his new driving friends in Nepal. “They may
not get the prestige that I do as a Marten driver, but I wanted them to have
a little piece of Marten to keep,” he says.

Marten Transport, headquartered in Mondovi, Wis., is a premium
supplier of time and temperature-sensitive transportation services.

For information on excellent driving opportunities on this side
of the world, call 800-395-3331 or visit http://www.marten.com
.