Spend any time around TLG Peterbilt and one word comes up a lot.
The TLG team uses it to describe their workforce. It comes up when discussing the company’s brand and the truck brand it represents. But where it really crops up constantly is when discussing the company’s go-to-market strategy.
The word is premium. And the way CFO Mike Headley puts it, it might be the most evocative word in the company’s vocabulary.
“Everything we do is ultimately about making our customers’ lives easier,” Headley says. “Yes, we sell trucks and parts and do all the things a dealer does, but I believe what separates us from competitors are the relationships we develop [with customers] and the premium experience we provide.”
Adds Director of Marketing Heather Caldwell, “We believe buying a truck is more than a transaction. Our reputation is built on our passion and we believe that translates to premium products that keep our customers on the road and industry-leading customer service.”
That value proposition has helped the company evolve into one of the largest and most decorated dealer groups in the Peterbilt dealer network and this year be named a finalist for the Successful Dealer Award for the third time (2018, 2019).
COO Melissa Larson is the third generation of her family to work in the business, which was founded by her grandfather Claire and uncle Glenn in 1987. Glenn remains CEO to this day and other Larsons can be found across the company’s eight-state network.
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TLG has grown by leaps and bounds since its founding, but Melissa Larson says the family values and focus on building deep relationships with customers that facilitate personalized, wholly rewarding business partnerships remain the bedrock of its culture.
The Larsons were truckers before they were dealers, Melissa says, and that understanding of what truckers desire and need from their partners is always top of mind.
“Today we have almost 1,500 employees but we still stay true to the values we had back then,” she says.
The company’s actions back that up.
TLG exclusively represents the Peterbilt brand — “which gives us the advantage of selling a premium product,” Melissa says — and supports it passionately. Beyond its conventional dealer offering (new and used truck sales, parts, service, mobile service, five body shops, in-house financing, 650-unit lease/rental fleet) TLG is constantly working with its customers and Peterbilt to create new, innovative services to further enhance the customer-dealer relationship.
TLG’s Guru is just one example.
Representing its 24/7 customer call center, mobile service fleet and fleet maintenance representatives, Guru is, as the name implies, TLG’s dedicated team of parts and service experts. Headley says the team works with customers to manage service events, schedule maintenance, monitor vehicle telematics, source parts and more.
And ‘and more’ isn’t just an expression. Headley says TLG trains its staff to seek out opportunities to bolster their customer service offerings. Trying something new isn’t discouraged, it’s cheered, particularly when it enables TLG to strengthen its partnership with a customer through a premium solution they couldn’t find anywhere else.
Headley cites a moment a few years ago where TLG embedded its own employee into a new customer’s call center as example of its whatever-it-takes mindset to provide customer satisfaction. The move was a first at the time but proved so valuable TLG has replicated “numerous times over,” Headley says.
“It’s about showing that personal touch that says, ‘We’re willing to invest in your infrastructure to not only help strengthen our relationship but also to ensure you have a positive experience,’” he says.
That quest for premium customer service is visible in TLG’s internal operations as well. Customer service acumen is prioritized when recruiting and factors heavily into the company’s robust training curriculum and workplace events.
“We probably spend more time on TLG culture than almost anything else that we do,” Headley says. “It’s part of our training, it’s part of our onboarding and I think it’s part of that continual reinforcement of ‘This is the way TLG does business.’”
Training and cultural reinforcement also has helped to advance a collaborative workplace where a premium customer experience remains supreme.
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“We don’t have silos within the company,” says Vice President of Parts Bob Chrisman. “All of our departments work well together and strive to do the best together for the customer.”
The company also recognizes what’s best for the customer can only be achieved by first doing what’s best for its employees.
That’s why TLG operates onboarding courses for new hires, mentorship programs for young/new employees, engages in career path development discussions at all levels, has active succession and leadership plans, and is regularly supportive in local civic organizations and charities.
In North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene wrought devastation in 2024, the company donated $100,000 to relief efforts while some employees drove from TLG’s Missouri stores to the region to support their teammates, customers and communities.
“We are always willing to help others across our network,” Headley says.
The Successful Dealer Award is sponsored by Automann, Interstate Billing Service, National Truck Protection and Premium 2000 and Procede Software. The 2025 Successful Dealer Award will be presented Sept. 30, at a private awards banquet in Nashville.
