testing to see what the soil needs, the spreader will put the exact amount of fertilizer right where it is needed so there is no waste. WFC has a sister company called Continental Refining Company located on the opposite side of Somerset. They crush soybeans and use the oil and make biodiesel. The biodiesel is then used in all of the WFC equipment. And yet another sister company, the White Oil Company, distributes and sells the additional biodiesel that was made. That makes for a lot of transporting from here to there. The “doing more with what we have and being more efficient” mindset doesn’t stop there. Once the soybeans are crushed, the soybean meal is left over. That byproduct is then loaded on trucks and transported to locations in Kentucky and beyond and sold to pet food companies, livestock producers and others in the animal nutrition industry. These are the types of value-added services that Demetrios was referring to when he purchased the company and hired Curtis to oversee its growth. Today, WFC has clients across several states, hauling fertilizer to six of them, and the business is still growing. “There are fewer and fewer companies like ours, with so many offerings, and we’re filling in the gaps,” Curtis said. The customers are reaping the benefits from WFCs’ value-added services. Recently, a local farmer used the WFC drone technology to spray fungicide on his crop of corn. The difference in the harvest was noticeable, almost 30 bushels an acre more. Now that’s impressive. Today, there are nine WFC branches and 80+ employees, some are seasonal and quite a few have been there for 10, 20 and even 30+ years. A typical day for Curtis is not typical at all. In addition to being responsible for the day-to-day operations of nine different WFC locations, he is also buying fertilizer from vendors overseas, in Canada and in the U.S., which takes time, planning, logistics and so much more. “The daily operations require me on some days to put out fires and other days to work on projects to better our company. Every day holds something fun, different and exciting,” Curtis explained. “Transportation makes the world go around, it’s such a vital part of our economy and livelihood. I’m thankful to be involved with something that helps support my fellow man. Being a part of transportation and agriculture, which Kentucky Trucker | 9
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