Simple, Clean, and Bold

By George L. Nitti

At the towing facility of HJ Towing & Recovery, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a gleaming new 75-ton Century rotator stands tall—a new chapter in a family story that began 25 years ago.

Built on a 2025 Peterbilt 389 chassis, the lime green and black giant commands attention with its bold stance and clean-cut graphics. According to Jacob Richcreek, a manager and trainer at HJ Towing, the color scheme is part of a unified brand vision that’s been honed over time.

“The black and lime green—that’s actually our company colors,” Jacob explains. “That’s how we order all of them.”

The design on the side of the new rotator is minimalistic but striking, featuring stripes in lime green and purple, anchored by the company’s HJ logo. It's a shift from the company's earlier graphic-heavy wraps.

“We used to have big fancy wraps down the side,” Jacob says. “But they switched back to the simpler, classier logo about four years ago—stripes instead of checkered flags and all the extras.”

This shift toward uniformity is part of HJ Towing’s broader design philosophy. “It’s simple but clean,” Jacob emphasizes. “All our trucks that don’t have a theme get this standard graphic.”

Still, even within the standard, there’s room for personal touches.

Like a panther highlighted on the back of the unit —a tribute to Jake Richcreek’s early days in towing when he once had to barter a car tow in the 1980s. Or the checkered flag found on the unit's side—a symbol of the Richcreek family's roots in Pennsylvania's racing scene. “Jake’s uncles used to race, and his little brother Danny still races,” Jacob explains. “Some of our drivers are racecar drivers too—like Kendall, who drives one of our new 25-ton trucks.”  Or the smiley face decal on the window—accompanied by the phrase “Have a nice day :)”—are part of a long-standing tradition across the fleet, injecting a bit of friendliness into every roadside encounter.

Even the slogan destined for the rotator’s boom—though delayed—tells a story: “Chasing the dream, not the competition.” A reference to HJ’s values, it’s often accompanied by a Calvin and Hobbes-style cartoon. The unit is also outfitted with other special features - visor, chrome bumper, lighting arrays, chevron reflectors for safety. The rotator also boasts the newest raptor control system, cutting-edge rigging tech, and everything needed to manage the heaviest highway recoveries.

As for Jacob, he trains most of the new drivers. A former teacher with a degree in business, he now leads HJ Towing’s CDL and recovery training programs.

“Each and every driver has to get at least 120 hours of training,” he says. “I do the first 80.”

And while finding qualified drivers in today’s market is challenging, HJ Towing likes to hire newbies.

“Instead of hiring experienced people, we started hiring new to the industry,” Jacob explains. “Some come from academic jobs, some from transportation management, and we retrain them from scratch.”

With over 30 heavy-duty trucks, dozens of operators, HJ Towing continues to push forward—this time with graphics that are clean, bold, and reflective of the company’s journey of “always chasing the dream.”