Independence Day arrived early this year at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville when Red Classic unveiled its patriotic MACK Anthem sleeper cabs at the country’s largest annual heavy-duty truck event in late March. Red Classic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated and provides transportation, logistics and fleet maintenance solutions.

“We went to the show with excitement around the new tractor design, but the reactions really surpassed our expectations,” remarked Brooks Dauterive, Marketing Manager for Charlotte,
NC-based Red Classic, a Modagrafics partner for five-plus years. 

“A colleague said it was a spectacle. Everyone was coming up to our booth, taking pictures of the truck and us taking pictures of them with it. We also received compliments and feedback from veterans at the show. That was special since the theme and goal of the new design is to honor and support active and retired military.”

Dauterive said Red Classic had Modagrafics do the patriotic theme on a portion of their dry-van trailers in 2016. Run on Arlon SLX Cast Wrap vehicle film and printed on a Roland digital press before being laminated, the entire process takes 21 hours to complete, from artwork set-up through packing. Installation takes one week.

“We tasked the Modagrafics design team to create something consistent with the design we used two years ago. They came back with a few options that were on track with what we envisioned,” recalled Dauterive. “The installation went really smoothly and the results were on par with expectations. It’s been a big hit with our teammates, everyone from our drivers to the maintenance technicians and all the way up to our leadership level.” Dauterive said more patriotic trailers in the fleet will be on the road this summer.

“We received a lot of feedback via social media and it’s become a great recruiting tool. We’re honored to support our troops and this is one of the most visible ways to communicate that appreciation.”