Harinas Elizondo Professionalizes Its Drivers with a Truck Driving Simulator

The company is betting on technology to raise the bar on driver training.

Driver training in the trucking industry is entering a new era at Harinas Elizondo. With the addition of a truck driving simulator, the company has strengthened its strategy to raise safety and efficiency standards in food product distribution, according to Octavio Ramírez, general manager of Elicarga.

The simulator's configurations include:

Montoya noted that the company's differentiator is its after-sales support system, which he described as the most robust in Mexico's simulation market.

With technicians stationed in cities across the country, APEX guarantees ongoing support to keep every unit up and running.

Because the simulators are customized, drivers face the real scenarios of their daily work — from delivering flour to customers to optimizing fuel consumption.

Harinas Elizondo's technology bet aims to directly impact the professionalization of nearly 200 drivers in its transportation division, Elicarga.

APEX simulators offer more than 200 scenarios programmable in real time, with adjustable parameters such as pavement type, weather conditions, time of day, and unexpected engine or clutch failures.

These environments reproduce critical highway situations, sharpening drivers' response capacity and risk awareness.

During the rollout, Eduardo Islas, head of logistics at Elicarga, underscored the value of equipment that can simulate adverse conditions in a safe environment.

He highlighted that by practicing in the cab, drivers can make mistakes and correct them without consequences, which accelerates learning and builds confidence before they hit the highway.

The simulator's programming is designed to recreate both the fleet's configurations and the most common critical situations in daily operations.

"It is about bringing reality into the simulator so drivers face the same complexity as on the route, but with the advantage of doing it in a controlled environment," he explained.

The new equipment will strengthen driver development from the earliest stages, providing a controlled environment that combines theory and practice.

The methodology includes one week of classroom training, with eight hours a day dedicated to technical and safety fundamentals, followed by a month and a half of practice in the simulator and in real vehicles.

This framework allows for gradual advancement: drivers of smaller vehicles can train up to fifth-wheel rigs and later specialize in double trailers.

The goal is for participants to be ready to fully join the company's freight operations by the end of the process.

With this investment, Harinas Elizondo and its transportation arm consolidate a continuous improvement model — backed by APEX — spanning safety, efficiency, and quality across the supply chain, all critical in food product distribution.