About this episode
Hayes Stills, a founding member of Adaboy Van Conversions in Georgia, says his shop holds two to three week lead times on stocked Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster builds while competitors quote 8, 10 or 12 weeks. Price runs roughly $3,000 to $5,000 below average per vehicle because overhead stays low, more than 90 percent of staff work directly in production, and OEM chassis incentives get passed through. The company built over 200 vehicles in year one against a goal of 100 and expects to clear 1,000 this year.
Key takeaways
- Stocked chassis, currently Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster with minivan platforms coming, ship in two to three weeks. Stills says competitors quote 8, 10 or 12 weeks on comparable builds.
- A single build takes 8 to 14 hours. Stills says over 90 percent of Adaboy staff sit directly in production, which he credits for both the price gap and the short lead time.
- Year one output was over 200 vehicles against a 100 vehicle goal. Stills expects to break 1,000 this year even if sales stay flat from the recording through December.
- Roughly 75 percent of vehicles have gone to smaller operators. Growth came from word of mouth and trade shows including NEMTAC, TTA and CTAA rather than a sales force.
- A customer with a Friday contract start in Washington state called that morning needing a Ford Transit stretcher van. Stills says it was being loaded around 11:45 the same day.
Chapters
- 0:00 Intro: Meet Hayes Stills & Adaboy Van Conversions
- 1:14 The Adaboy Promise: Cheaper & Faster NEMT Vehicles
- 2:01 Pricing Breakdowns & Unbeatable Lead Times
- 3:06 Disrupting the Incumbents with Lean Production
- 4:22 Massive Growth: Scaling to 1,000+ Vehicles a Year
- 6:21 Why Radical Transparency Wins in NEMT
- 8:14 The "Secret Sauce" to Lightning-Fast Vehicle Delivery
- 9:23 Future Plans: In-House Financing for Transport Businesses
- 13:30 Real-World Success: Same-Day Transport Delivery
- 15:00 Expanding the Georgia Production Facility
- 16:13 Managing Crises: Navigating a Tornado Delay
- 17:42 Built by Operators, for Operators (How to Connect)
