The Tierra Companies, a leader in midstream energy services in Central Texas, is a trusted partner to producers, refiners and commercial end-users within the Eagle Ford Shale. Tierra Transportation, a division of The Tierra Companies that provides crude oil trucking and logistics, is expanding its workforce and developing specialized employee recruiting and retention programs to better service customers doing business in the Eagle Ford Shale.

"We are proud to serve our customers involved in the Eagle Ford Shale and to help drive economic development in the San Antonio community as well as the state by providing steady, well-paying jobs," said Glen Gonzalez, CEO of The Tierra Companies. "We have recently grown our workforce by 30 percent and we continue to offer positions for drivers, maintenance supervisors and data analysts as we continue to grow and expand our services."

Focusing on crude oil transportation services to producers who have historically been underserved by larger transporters, Tierra Transportation has delivered energy and value for its customers since 2002. With its fleet of trucks and trailers specially outfitted with quality control technology, safety equipment and pumps designed for lease crude hauling, Tierra Transportation's dedicated team of 80 employees hauls between 12,000 to 15,000 barrels per day of Eagle Ford Shale production. Tierra Transportation also hauls refined products for area refiners.

A specific strength for Tierra Transportation is the company's ability to leverage the resources of its sister company Tierra Marketing to deliver distressed and specialty barrels. This service is particularly valuable for producers and end-users in the Eagle Ford Shale who are looking to increase their volumes but do not have resources in place to identify or transport the barrels.

Tierra Transportation has built a blue-chip customer base of steady, repeat customers, including Anadarko, Shell Trading, Enterprise Products Partners, Flint Hills, OGO Marketing, Goodrich Petroleum and NuStar.

In its effort to provide outstanding service to its customers, Tierra Transportation is in the process of hiring drivers and other staff. With that, the company has embarked on a print, radio, billboard advertising campaign and has seen unprecedented success with recruitment. Further, Tierra Transportation has increased its presence and participation in job fairs throughout the region. While some competitors have lowered screening standards for drivers, Tierra has raised its standards to ensure the highest quality and the safest performance standards. Presently, the company employs the highest number of drivers in its history and continues to have opportunities for growing its staff and business.

In addition to drivers, Tierra Transportation has hired specialized diesel mechanics who work on its customized equipment that the company owns versus leasing, like many of its competitors. The mechanic staff has quadrupled since 2002, ensuring that safe and efficient equipment is available to Tierra's driving staff. Further, Tierra Transportation has been given the Department of Transportation's (DOT) highest rating when it has been audited for the past three years.

To help lead its Equipment Maintenance Group, Tierra Transportation is currently hiring a Maintenance Supervisor at the company's headquarters in Converse, Texas, just East of San Antonio. Job duties for the Maintenance Supervisor position include managing mechanics, ordering products and supplies as well as developing maintenance efficiency programs.

In addition to the Maintenance Supervisor position, Tierra Transportation is also hiring a Data Analyst. Key responsibilities for this multi-faceted role include fleet optimization, quality control for crude gathering, project management, compliance reporting, streamlining maintenance schedules, and enhancing fleet information technology (IT). As with all jobs at The Tierra Companies, full-time positions receive access to an array of benefits, including health insurance, 401(K) and performance incentives.