WBE towing and incident management company providing above-and-beyond service for D/FW

Considering Marilyn Lane’s entrepreneurially laced upbringing, it’s no surprise that she jumped upon recognizing an opportunity to fill an automotive industry niche with a true focus on service. “I wanted to have a different kind of tow service, far exceeding the public stereotype of the industry.We have chosen to specialize in incident management rather than tow-away business – this is the image and public perception we desire,”said Lane, president of WBENC-certified Hollywood Transportation, Inc. dba Hollywood Towing.

“I enjoyed having the ability to solve someone’s problem and the satisfaction of helping people, particularly those in distress.”Lane got her first taste of the industry while working with her husband and son at their Garland, Texas-based collision repair business. In late 2000, she purchased a used one-ton conventional wrecker for use in the collision repair business, and two additional trucks soon followed.Today,her 7-year-old firm provides 24-hour, 365-days-per-year, light, medium and heavy-duty emergency response, incident management, accident recovery and towing services, primarily in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for private and commercial clients as well as law enforcement.The company serves the entire North Central Texas area with apportionments in eight states. In addition, Hollywood transports vehicles on its Landoll trailer for a contract client on the West Coast, and operates two licensed vehicle storage facilities with capacity for approximately 350 vehicles.The Hollywood fleet currently includes eight light-duty, rapid response,easy load trucks, 10 roll backs, two medium-duty conventional wreckers, three heavy-duty conventional wreckers as well as a tractor and Landoll trailer.

“We use the Landoll trailer often in incident management, hauling heavy cargo and/or compromised trailers,” Lane said.“We are on emergency rotation for Dallas, Rockwall and Heath Police Departments.We serve Constable Ben Adamcik, Dallas County, Precinct 3 with towing, impound and vehicle storage services.”

HONING A NICHE
In securing her position within the industry, Lane had toovercome stereotypes and public perceptions, fierce competitionas well as the challenges associated with a capital intensiveindustry. However, for Lane the obstacles only served asinspiration to succeed. “I have remained determined that anunwavering dedication to servicing the customer with a qualityoffering would propel us forward,” she said.

Soon after its formation, Hollywood Towing developed and embraced a system utilizing small rapid response trucks to clear an incident, restore traffic flow and return the officers to duty usually within 15 minutes.“The average estimated time of arrival is five minutes to the location and the incident is normally cleared within 10-15 minutes.

This system is used very effectively on a daily basis with the constables and has been demonstrated to other agencies in the Dallas area,” Lane explained.“It is of great interest to other agencies because it reduces traffic backup and associated pollution and secondary accidents,and allows the officer to return to duty much more quickly rather than waiting on a wrecker for an extended period of time.”Lane told Women’s Enterprise that the Hollywood system’s success is a true testament to the quality and dedication of its carefully selected, screened,experienced and continually trained personnel.

“In the realm of heavy incident management,we are unique in that we have gained a reputation for ability to recover equipment and cargo without destroying it.This is not the norm. Plus, many times our personnel have gone far above and beyond what was required to assist others,” she said.“I am so grateful to have such quality personnel associated with Hollywood Transportation.”Lane is also dedicated to providing her staff with a state-of the-art fleet. For instance, the company has actively upgraded its fleet to include an eco-friendly format comprised primarily of 2007-2008 trucks — accounting for upwards of 90 percent emissions reduction.

ROAD AHEAD
With a strong continued commitment to outstanding customer service by providing trained, certified drivers, operating state-of-the-art equipment, furnishing true ETA’s to meet the needs of private customers, commercial accounts and law enforcement — the firm has seen exponential growth both in revenue and fleet size.However,Lane has a goal of doubling the fleet and revenue again in 2008.“We also plan to implement our rapid response system on a larger scale to additional agencies in the D/FW metro area,” she said.

In addition, Lane plansto expand Hollywood’s tractor/trailer division by building alarger client base and transporting odd and unusual loads.“As a Christian, I give God all the glory for His leadership andguidance thus far in the company,” Lane said.“The growth andsuccess we have experienced have been through Him.”