Ryan Nelle is currently the Traffic Manager at Infra-Metals in Marseilles, IL. Ryan’s journey with Infra-Metals began as a CDL A Driver and now he is a Traffic Manager. Here is a little about his story with us.
Ryan is a self-taught CDL driver that took the initiative to study the Illinois CDL study guide on his own. He had experience driving semis helping farmers but not flatbed trailers. He applied with Infra-Metals Marseilles and was offered a Class A CDL job on a Friday. He took the CDL test on Saturday and began his employment as a Class A CDL driver in 2009 after passing his test with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
He began his training with experienced flatbed drivers with our company hauling steel beams. Our experience drivers taught Ryan the importance of safety, the business, and our customers. He was in training for about 3 months before he started driving on his own. Ryan continued to drive a flatbed and after gaining experience, became a trainer for new drivers starting with our company. He likes to see the experienced employees help the new.
Career Growth at Infra-Metals
After a few years of driving for Infra-Metals, an office position for the traffic department became available; Traffic Coordinator. Ryan applied for this position. His great attitude, knowledge and experience being a driver for our company was a great fit and he was selected. His new role as a Traffic Coordinator involved helping schedule drivers with their loads and routes to customers. As a Traffic Coordinator he worked all shifts and saw how each shift had different experiences and responsibilities. While working as a Traffic Coordinator Ryan saw that the warehouse needed help, at times, moving the flatbed trailers within company property. He suggested his help and trained to help drive a Spotter Truck. When the warehouse needed help, Ryan went out to move trailers to help the team.
Current Day-to-Day as Traffic Manager
In 2018 there was another climb for Ryan into the new role of Traffic Manager. As a Traffic Manger he is responsible for company drivers, traffic coordinators, outside carriers, and the fleet. He has an intricate part in coordinating with warehouse, sales & customers to schedule sale orders for delivery & receiving for our company. He not only helps his department but goes out to the warehouse to help explain why and how loads need to be loaded a certain way. He jumps in to help anyone at Infra-Metals without being asked.
Ryan enjoys keeping busy and likes to see the steel go out. He enjoys the changes that his new role has brought. He wants to learn, grow, and become more versatile as be climbs within the company. He believes everyone’s goals should be to get to the next level and/or take the next step.