A-Team Spotlight: DeLayne Black

You may see our iconic blue A driving down a highway all across the country, but it’s those behind the scenes that keep our drivers safe and our fleet running smoothly. DeLayne Black, Vice President of Fleet Services, works hard every day to ensure that our vehicles and equipment are safe for our people to operate across the nation, and keeping our crews operational so they can continue to exceed expectations for our customers.

DeLayne has been part of the ADB family for 23 years, making him one of the most tenured members of the A-Team. When he joined the team in 1999, he was excited to work with a single contractor and take care of their entire fleet. His position has evolved over the years, having gone from a single man maintaining 25 assets to managing a team of 25 members maintaining over 1,500 assets nationwide. DeLayne has felt incredibly empowered in his position as he has been able to grow his team strategically with full support from leadership and his team members. He knows he can make his own decisions and instills the same sense of empowerment in his team.

“From the beginning of my journey here I have had to make decisions to keep equipment running on the jobs and to keep team members working to support our customers. Limiting the amount of downtime we have with our equipment is crucial to ADB’s success.”

DeLayne has always had an interest in trucks and equipment and began his career in the auto, bus, and truck industry. After many years, he made a change in the 1990’s to a company that dealt primarily with construction equipment. This job sparked his passion for fleet maintenance and he quickly realized he wanted to find a role in which he could have ownership over a single company’s fleet operations. After sharing this dream with his family, DeLayne got the call from ADB less than a week later with the opportunity to manage their fleet. The growth from 1999 to 2022 is astonishing:

1999: 3 drills, 10 trucks, 10 trailers, 2 backhoes, a couple

million dollars in revenue

2022: 45 drills, 756 trucks, 350 trailers, 85 mini excavators, 9 hydro trucks, 9 plows, $500M revenue

In order to accommodate this growing fleet, DeLayne knew they needed an updated space. He worked closely with our construction partner to design and bring his vision to life. This collaboration resulted in a state-of-the-art, 30,000 SF fleet maintenance building with 18 service bays, office spaces, and a full-service parts department. Moving into this new space in 2019 is one of DeLayne’s proudest moments of his career.

Over the past few decades, DeLayne has loved seeing how the construction industry provides for so many different lines of business and walks of life. It is a unique position to be in and one he feels lucky to be part of. So, if he could give one piece of advice to those starting out in the industry, it would be:

“Take advantage of any and all education resources offered to you. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to be a technician or grow into a management role – getting yourself educated is key to becoming a high-performing team member.”

ADB is driven by our core values – SACRIFICE – and DeLayne sees Empowerment lived out every single day by his team. His team members are empowered to do everything they can to drive ADB’s mission and vision while making smart decisions to achieve their team’s goals and their customers’ goals. His team has grown so much, both personally and professionally, and this has helped him manage effectively while crafting a strong vision for the future.

“I would love to see my team continue to grow with the company. I see us regionalizing the group with Certified Fleet Managers in each market running their own strong, efficient teams.”

DeLayne is one of the longest tenured members of the A-Team and he knew he found his career destination 23 years ago when he walked through the doors. DeLayne’s ALL IN mentality and dedication to everything ADB has also been instilled in his son Layne, who serves as ADB’s Director of Communications, since his first day when Layne was only three years old. He wants others to feel just as passionate and dedicated about what they do, and he knows they can find that at ADB.

“ADB is an amazing place for someone who wants to be challenged to grow as an individual and be part of a high-performing team.”

DeLayne, we are so grateful you joined the family 23 years ago. The way you have grown our Fleet Services team is nothing short of amazing and our growth, safety, and success would be nothing without you and the incredible team of experts you have built. THANK YOU!