How a veteran keeps us on the road across America: Behind the Business with Pine State Trailer Tags in Sebago, ME

How a veteran keeps us on the road across America

Pine State Trailer Tags ?was born of the belief that all things are possible with enough passion and tenacity. Located in Sebago, Maine, Pine State Trailer Tags provides vehicle registrations and title applications to over 4,000 clients across North America with customers in 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. “There’s a trailer wandering around Hawaii with Maine tags,” laughs owner Keith Robbins, “We just need to get one in Alaska.”?

Born and raised in southern Maine, Keith Robbins is a veteran who proudly served during Desert Storm. It’s there he says he learned the value of discipline, consistency, and follow through, values he relies on every day as a?business owner. He earned a Bachelor's?degree from the University of Maine, then went on to start and sell several small businesses. In 2009, he opened an auto appraisal business that would become the predecessor of Pine State Trailer Tags.?

Equally hardworking and industrious, Keith’s co-owner Laura Robbins, says she was a successful business owner, having run a nationally accredited daycare for over a decade. The couple met in 2010 and by 2013 were raising their blended family in Maine. By this time, Keith’s auto appraisal had taken off and kept him on the road. Never one to shy away from hard work, Laura started looking for a new venture that would give her the flexibility to manage the household while Keith traveled.?

On the recommendation of a family member, the couple explored vehicle registration. It seemed like the perfect complement to Keith’s auto appraisal business and was something Laura could manage from home. Over the next 14 months, the Robbins’ worked hard to build their new business. Laura generated lead lists, scanning business listings for prospects and chasing down contact information for leads that Keith would call in from the road. They ran internet and radio ads along the East Coast. They were the first trailer tag company to advertise in a national trucking magazine, remembers Keith.

"As our reputation for great service grew, so did our client base." By the end of 2014, the demand for registrations rivaled the appraisals. The Robbins’ were faced with a crossroads decision. “It was a leap of faith to sell off the appraisal business. That was our bread and butter,” Keith comments. “It was at that tipping point. If I put the time into it, we could really make something of it."?

Pine State’s growth has been mostly referrals Keith says, built on their reputation for hands-on service and quick turnaround times. “I would rather have quality over quantity. We aren’t going to become a corporate giant. We just want to deliver a quality service with a personal touch. Our clients need that,” Keith said. While they’ve added a few customers with big fleets, most of their customer base are still mom-and-pop shops with one or two trucks. Some of them have been with them since day one. This is on top of the thousands of personal registrations they handle for autos, campers, motorcycles, special equipment, trailers, and more.??

“There’s a lot of responsibility,” he explains. “A lot of our clients are small businesses. They’re landscape companies or one-truck logistic companies. They need trucks on the road to pay their bills, and we understand that. They can’t be out of commission because of their tags. We do everything we can to help them.”?

When asked how he weighs the risk of going into business for yourself, Robbins advises, “That’s the million-dollar question. It’s all about your gut. How do you feel about it? Does it make you excited? Do you have a passion for this? Can you see yourself doing this?” he says. “It wasn’t anything I learned. It just came from within.”?

Pine State Trailer Tags cherishes the personal interactions they have with their customers. They’re a small but mighty team that plans to grow organically, just as long as they can continue to sustain the high-touch service model they’ve worked so hard to foster. Yes, that might be harder. But the Robbins will take each new idea and grind towards their goals until it works. They value quality over quantity.?“And they say the American dream is dead,” Keith chuckles.?

For more information about Pine State Trailer Tags, check out their?BBB Business Profile . To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit?Behind the Business Stories .

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