2 Houston shops provide more diesel technician jobs, vital service

I recently had the opportunity to visit Schneider’s two diesel technician shops located in Houston, Texas — 1415 Penn City Rd. and 1700 Central St.

The Penn City Rd. and Central St. locations are approximately 30 minutes south and southeast of the Universal Technical Institute (UTI) campus in Houston. Schneider opened the first Houston diesel technician facility in 1988. We have had two maintenance facilities in Houston since 2013:

The shop on Penn City Rd. primarily supports the Schneider Bulk Division (tanker trailers)

The shop at 1700 Central St. supports the Houston Van Truckload Division and the Houston Intermodal Division.

Each Houston shop location plays a vital role in the area and to trucks traveling throughout the United States. When visiting the shop, you may find the layout to be similar to other Schneider shops located around the country. This universal layout makes it easier for shop leaders, technicians and drivers to navigate when traveling from shop-to-shop.

Houston’s diesel technician leadership team

Houston is rich in leadership. Both locations are managed by Chuck Masterson, who has been with the company for 23 years. Chuck started as a level 2 diesel technician and worked his way into various positions in the company, such as Tractor Technician Sr, System Technical Trainer, Maintenance Team Leader, Account Service Manager and Shop Supervisor. Chuck has worked in Indiana, Utah, Ohio and eventually ended up back where he started his career in Texas as the Shop Manager.

Schneider’s Houston shop also has Shop Floor Leader Matt Battista, who works closely with Chuck and has been with the company for more than 18 years. Matt is a technical graduate from UTI. He started out as an Diesel Technician l and has been promoted to Maintenance Team Leader. We’ve highlighted his career path video previously.

A bright future for Houston diesel technicians

When visiting the shop, I like to learn what the goals are for that specific location. Houston is looking to the future and assisting with associate development. It is an ongoing plan for our technicians.

We work with each technician to create Individual Development Plans to assist them in achieving their career goals. Schneider continues to invest in new tooling for the shops and training opportunities for the technicians.