Con-way Freight Honors Jeff Langenhahn as America's Grand Champion Truck Driver

Local Plover Driver Tops All Competitors at the 77th National Truck Driving Championships, Becomes the First Grand Champion from Wisconsin

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Con-way Freight

Sep 25, 2014, 12:00 ET

STEVENS POINT, Wis., Sept. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), today recognized professional driver Jeff Langenhahn, for winning the Grand Champion title at the 77^th Annual American Trucking Associations (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships.

Langenhahn out-performed a field of more than 400 of the nation's best truck drivers to capture overall top honors for 2014. A Con-way Freight professional Driver Sales Representative for more than 25 years, he is the first Wisconsin resident to win the annual national competition, known as the "Super Bowl of Safety."

The trucking industry's largest and most prestigious safety and skills competition, the National Truck Driving Championships puts competitors through a rigorous test that challenges their knowledge of the industry, safety rules and regulations, equipment and driving skills expertise. The driving skills course tests a drivers' ability to judge distances, maneuver in tight spaces, reverse, park and position their vehicle exactly over scales, before barriers or around curves — all situations which drivers encounter daily in the performance of their duties. Each participant had to be accident free for the past year, and win their state championship to qualify for the national competition.

"We couldn't be more proud of Jeff. He's a true professional and a fine example of the best Con-way Freight has to offer," said Greg Lehmkuhl, president, Con-way Freight. "This was Jeff's fifth trip to the Nationals, and that certainly speaks to his persistence and determination to be the best. We're privileged to have him represent our company, and I extend my congratulations to Jeff and his family on a career-defining achievement."

The fourth Grand Champion from Con-way Freight in the past six years, Langenhahn also took first place in the twin truck driving competition and is a member of Con-way Freight's Distinguished Driver ranks, which recognizes employees who have achieved 1, 2 or 3 million accident-free miles.

"Being a safe driver is just something that's ingrained into my daily routine," said Langenhahn. "It means a lot to work for a company that cares about my safety and supports the competition. While I never expected to win the Grand Champion title, I'm proud of my accomplishment and of my fellow drivers who competed this year."

In addition to the recognition ceremony, Con-way Freight presented Langenhahn with a monetary award of approximately $50,000, a personalized tractor for his exclusive use and several other commemorative mementos marking his accomplishment.

At this year's competition, Con-way Freight fielded a total of 60 U.S. state champions. In the national competition, drivers face testing in three areas: a timed written exam, a pre-trip inspection test in which drivers have to find and properly identify safety defects on a truck within a given time period; and a driving skills test. Each driver competes in one of nine equipment classes: 3-Axle, 4-Axle, 5-Axle, 5-Axle Flatbed, 5-Axle Sleeper, Step Van, Straight Truck, Tank Truck and Twins.

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About Con-way Freight
Con-way Freight is the industry's leading less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation company, providing guaranteed, day-definite regional and transcontinental service with exception-free delivery, on-time service performance and faster transit times through a single, unified network of 425 operating locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Con-way Freight offers LTL freight transportation across North America and through Global LTL^TM delivery in the United States from around the world. Global solutions include international less-than-container load (LCL) ocean shipments from Asia through its OceanGuaranteed^® service; direct service to more than 30 Bahamian and Caribbean ports and domestic offshore transportation to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Con-way Freight is a certified FAST highway carrier and is C-TPAT/PIP-, ACE- and CSA-certified.

Con-way Freight is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $5.5 billion diversified freight transportation and logistics services company based in Ann Arbor, Mich. For more information, visit www.con-way.com/en/freight.

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SOURCE Con-way Freight