Jerry Watts with his soon-to-be camper, a retired Mickey ambulance boy.

HIGH POINT, NC ? SEPT/OCT 2021 ? The following email note was submitted to Mickey Truck Bodies by Jerry Watts of Chattanooga, TN:

?Dear sirs,
Yesterday, I acquired a 2001 E450 Ford Ambulance with 7.3L diesel engine that had been retired. Originally, it was manufactured for Trauma Hawk. The model of the ambulance body is 1YPE III. It now has 446K miles on it. WOW!

I am exceedingly impressed with the quality of construction and the extensive use of aluminum (especially the deck plate inside the exterior storage compartments).

My plans are to convert it into a camper and take my wife of 47 years [Dianna] to the Rocky Mountains. When someone says to me, “Man, you have a beautiful body,? I want to give the credit to Mickey Truck Bodies, not to myself.

Please tell me, just a general range, what would the body only have cost in 2001, or what would the comparable unit cost in 2021. It will make for a great topic for campground conversation in the Rockies.

Thanks for your time and thanks for taking quality in construction so seriously.?

Larry Jacobs, Mickey Truck Bodies? Customer Service Manager in High Point, NC, responded:

?Jerry,
We take pride in our products, and it’s always a breath of fresh air when an owner of one of our units expresses such appreciation for the work that we do. You will find that the structural integrity of our EV units cannot be matched by any other company in our industry.?

(Editor?s Note: Larry Jacobs did provide the new owner with comparable unit costs for a 2001 and a 2021 unit.)

Tim Davis

Tim Davis, Sr. Director Corporate Communications, has retired from Mickey Truck Bodies after 30-plus years with the company. He will continue to publish The Mickey Sprit, Mickey?s company newsletter for the remainder of 2021.

?Tim has played an instrumental roll in ushering the company?s communications program from the print to the digital era,? says Dean Sink, Mickey Chairman. The first issue of the present-day Mickey Spirit was printed on paper and called the ?The Quarterly Brew.? ?It was folded, stuffed into envelopes, and stamped manually and mailed first class to about 300 recipients,? according to Dean. ?It is now published and distributed electronically to a mailing list of over 5,000 Mickey employees, customers, suppliers, and other business partners.?

Tim was also part of the team that developed both Mickey web sites ? mickeybody.com and mickeyparts.com.

?As for his next phase, Tim has ambitious plans,? says Dean. ?He plans to learn how to swim; lower his golf handicap to single digits; and write his second novel.?

Tim will continue to follow Mickey Truck Bodies and all his friends via The Mickey Spirit and the company web sites, because, he says, ?Once a Mickey, always a Mickey.?

Antonio Mora-Vences, Van Body line (September 6); Wilfrido Tinoco-Perez, Beverage line (September 12); and Karl Rinebold, Northeast Fleet Services Center (September 26) recently celebrated their 5-year anniversaries with Mickey Truck Bodies.

Seventeen percent of Mickey?s full-time teammates have been with the company for at least 20 years. Twenty-eight percent of the entire Mickey team has been with the company for 10 years or more.

Matt Sink

By Matt Sink, CEO
For as long as I can remember, the Mickey tag line – our claim to fame ? has been ?Designed to work. Built to last.?

I?m reminded of the truth in that statement every time I hear a story about how one of our units is given a completely new life many years after it?s been retired from its original purpose. In this issue of The Mickey Spirit, for example, you can read about a 2001 Mickey ambulance body with almost 500,000 miles that?s being converted into a camper that its new owners will use to tour the country. According to the new owner, ?The quality of construction ? will make for a great topic for campground conversation in the Rockies.?

On another occasion, a 25-year-old 16-bay Mickey trailer was completely overhauled into a customized, fully functioning, multi-purpose Fire & Rescue vehicle designed to carry the equipment required for any type of emergency. The converted trailer includes custom shelving, ramps for loading and unloading equipment into the bays, fabricated slide-out panels, swing-out style doors and a rear bumper with three built in steps. Click HERE to read about that one.

And did you hear the one about a 13-year-old Mickey beer trailer that was turned into a mobile food pantry? In the first year of its new life the rolling market distributed over 200,000 pounds of food to 7,500 households. Read about that one HERE.

Here?s another one, also about a ?retired? Mickey ambulance body. This particular unit was converted to a Mobile Library complete with custom bookshelves in the form of rolling carts that can be detached and used outside of the vehicle. It as an awning on the passenger side for shelter. The book mobile targets neighborhoods where children have little access to books and libraries. HERE?s that story.

All these stories, and many others just like them, are proof of the build quality and durability of original Mickey equipment. Maybe we should change our tag line to read: ?Designed to work. Built to last ? more than one lifetime.?

HIGH POINT, NC ? AUGUST 2021 ? Kevin Phillips, a seasoned procurement executive with 25 years? experience directing global supply chain operations, logistics, and inventory control in multiple industries, has joined Mickey Truck Bodies as Purchasing Manager. He reports to Tom Arland, President.

Prior to Mickey, Kevin was Supply Chain Manager for Enviva Biomass in Raleigh, NC, the world?s largest producer of sustainable wood pellets, a renewable alternative to coal. In this role he managed the purchasing function for five plants in the Southeast, negotiating supply agreements with the company?s top 50 suppliers across 14 countries.

?Kevin has achieved great success by leveraging strong negotiation and analytics skills to improve pricing, terms, and delivery while optimizing internal operations for maximum output at the lowest-possible cost,? says Tom. ?He is a welcome addition to the Mickey team.?

Aubrianna Amos

Aubrianna Amos has joined the Mickey team as Marketing Manager, reporting to Joe Rudolph, Vice President of Sales.

Aubrianna was most recently a Marketing Assistant with Endura Products, Inc. in Colfax, NC, a U.S. manufacturer of components for entry door systems. She was responsible for internal and external communication, public relations, product marketing, social media and web content, and event planning. She graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations, including course work in Audio-Video Production, Social Media Strategies, and Media Graphics.

?Aubrianna is an experienced marketing associate with a successful track record in the manufacturing industry,? says Joe. ?She will play an instrumental role in marketing the Mickey brand, products and services across all of our customer industries.?

Mobile Substation before (left) and after

Mickey Truck Body?s Northeast Fleet Services Center in Freehold NJ recently completed its biggest project ever by reconditioning a 1969 Westinghouse 3-phase Mobile Substation for Jersey Central Power & Light. The massive piece of equipment, used to provide electricity to the Barrier Island in south New Jersey in the event of a power outage, was reconditioned from the ground up with all new suspension, custom-made bracketry, new LED lighting, and painted to prevent corrosion from the salty coastal air in which it operates. Special thanks to newly promoted Shop Manager Kristopher Luppino, and Lead Technician Philip Johnson for their hard work and expertise on this project. Contact the Mickey Northeast Team (732-294-9912) for your next BIG project.

Karen Packard (left) Brittany Smith

Karen Packard and Brittany Smith have joined Mickey Truck Bodies as Human Resources Generalists in the company?s High Point, NC headquarters facility and its Northeast Fleet Services Center in Thomasville, NC. They are responsible for all aspects of human resources, and report to Heather Hankins, Human Resources Manager.

Prior to joining Mickey, Karen spent 24 years with U-Haul, starting as Executive Assistant in 1997 and rising to her most recent position in 2011 as Manager of Office Operations/HR Generalist in the company?s Falls Manufacturing plant near Philadelphia, PA, where she supported 210 employees.

Brittany was most recently Human Resource Business Partner for Atrium Windows and Doors at the company?s Welcome, NC location, where she handled all HR functions, including FMLA, Leave of Absence, and Short-Term Disability.

Tim Walker

Tim Walker, a member of Mickey?s Finishing Team in High Point, NC, celebrated his 15-year anniversary with the company on August 7. Randy Denton, a welder in Mickey?s Mid-Atlantic Fleet Services Center in Thomasville, NC hit the 5-year Mickey mark on July 25.

Seventeen percent of Mickey?s full-time teammates have been with the company for at least 20 years. Twenty-eight percent of the entire Mickey team has been with the company for 10 years or more.