Ruan is pleased to announce the promotion of Blake Grolmus to the role of Vice President of Safety. In his new role, Grolmus will oversee Ruan’s Megasafe Safety Program, regulatory compliance, the latest investments in safety, and a team of safety experts.
Founded in 1932, Ruan was the first transportation company to implement a formal safety program in the 1940s, and that safety mindset remains a part of our Safety Focus Guiding Principle. Ruan’s Megasafe Safety Program is our overarching, comprehensive safety structure that teaches defensive driving techniques and drives mandatory quarterly training, customer and team member communications, and many other initiatives. The Megasafe mission is to create a best-in-class safety culture, maintain Department of Transportation compliance, eliminate variability, and reduce risk through improved safety and loss prevention management.
“Ruan has a strong history of leadership and innovation in safety, so I am honored to be stepping into this role,” Grolmus said. “Our greatest obligation as leaders is to care for and protect our team members. Our safety teams support this by ensuring we have the right resources, training, and tools to help them be safe on the road, in the shop, and in the warehouse. I’m excited to be a part of Ruan’s transition to a new risk management platform, to further develop our Video Safety Program and the benefits it provides to our driving team members, and to support our initiatives around data and analytics to keep our team safe.”
Grolmus joined the Ruan team in August 2017 as Manager of Quality and Continuous Improvement. In that role, he led start-up support, Ruan’s order-to-cash excellence (O2CE) project, and various continuous improvement projects. Most recently, he was promoted in 2019 to Dedicated Operations Leader for the Gases and Chemicals operating group, with responsibility for more than 240 team members, six customer accounts, and $50 million in revenue.
Prior to Ruan, Grolmus was with Target, one of Ruan’s largest customers, as a Supply Chain Process Manager and Operations Manager. Grolmus earned BAs from the University of Northern Iowa in finance, marketing, and real estate. He is a graduate of the Iowa Motor Truck Association’s (IMTA) LEAD program and is now a member of IMTA’s LEAD Council and represents that council on the IMTA’s Board of Directors.