National Trucking Week

12 Manitoba Trucking Week 2014 Supplement to the Winnipeg Free Press Wednesday, September 10 R yan Mitchell was looking for a challenge, and he found it in the family business. Mitchell, who owns Wildwood Transport Inc. with his brother Kevin, never expected to get involved in the trucking industry. While Kevin started working at Wildwood Transport when he was still in high school, Mitchell received a degree in finance and economics from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. He worked as an investment banker in Calgary before moving back to Winnipeg, where he worked for the Richardson family. "At Richardson Capital, we were providing equity to midsize Canadian independent companies, and I realized I could take some of that experience and apply it to our family business. It got my entrepreneurial juices flowing," Mitchell said. "I never thought I would be involved in the family business, but there was a nice fit with Kevin's operational expertise and my experience in finance and business strategy." Mitchell handles the accounting, finance, safety, and strategic planning, while his brother is in charge of sales and operations. By combining their skills, the brothers have managed to revitalize their father's 25-year-old company and bring new ideas to the trucking industry. "We take a progressive mentality. Every day we strive to perfect things, even though we know full well that nothing will ever be perfect," said Mitchell. "I love the challenge. There's never, ever going to be a dull moment." Wildwood Transport Inc. has 75 employees. The company has a loyal client base that extends across North America. Many of Wildwood's customers have been working with them from the beginning, and Mitchell believes these long-lasting relationships are the direct result of the company's unwavering commitment to its core values. "Every day we strive for superior diligence, honesty, and communication with both our customers and our employees. These core beliefs are the backbone of our company," he said. "They shape how we structure our operation, how we interact with our customers, and how we work together as an organization. Any decision that is made has taken these core beliefs into consideration." The company specializes in open-deck freight. Their main focus is flat decks, step decks and double drop RGN (Removable Goose Neck) trailers, but with their collective expertise, they have successfully moved anything that will fit on an open-deck trailer. Wildwood Transport a family affair By Holli Moncrieff For the Free Press Kevin Mitchell (left) and Ryan Mitchell from Wildwood Transport Inc. Photo by Darcy Finley C ommunication and connection are two of the driving forces that have steered Len Dubois Trucking along the road to success. Company president Jason Dubois knows what it's like to be behind the wheel since he started driving for the family business as soon as he finished high school. His father, Len, had started the company in 1986 as a single truck operator and continued until his passing in 1998. At that time, Jason Dubois pulled off the highway sooner than planned and found himself in the driver's seat of the entire operation, with help from his mom and sister. "We were a 14-truck fleet in 1998. Since then, we've grown it to a 50-truck fleet with about 15 support staff," Dubois said. "There were definitely some tough years and challenges. I knew how to be a truck driver but I didn't have any real business experience. What we did have was a great team of people around us who had worked for my dad. They basically helped us keep it alive, and we carried it on. We couldn't have done it alone." Dubois hasn't forgotten how it feels to be on the open road. "It's tough," he said. "There are a lot of sacrifices made by drivers and their families. We've built and grown knowing this. Our most important asset is our team." To help the team feel connected, he maintains an active corporate presence on social media. "We're on Facebook and Twitter and we blog three times a week. We try to provide useful information for our drivers and for people who may not be as familiar with trucking in general," he said. "We post safety tips on how to drive around big trucks and get our drivers to share travelling tips for the general public. We also provide healthy recipes for our drivers and tips on how to stay active when they're on the road. And we share some fun stuff, like trip pictures and contests, so that our drivers can connect with the rest of the fleet." For the drivers who are not on Facebook, Dubois keeps hard copies of blog posts in their staff room. "We've had a good response from our drivers, and we have a lot of people following us on our Facebook page. It's a lot of work, but it builds that rapport with the drivers and makes them feel like part of the team. We're trying to present a good corporate image to the public as well. I think it's working," Dubois said. "When I started driving, from 1993 to 1998, you barely had a cellphone, so you'd have to stop at a pay-phone to call home. You really did feel quite isolated. It's different now, with cellphones and social media, some of the isolation felt by drivers is removed. You can connect with friends and family easier. Talking, looking at photos, or even messaging back and forth. It really does help." For Dubois, trucking is truly in his blood, and he wouldn't want it any other way. "There's never a dull moment, that's for sure. There are always opportunities to go after or challenges to try to overcome and new people to meet. It is fast- paced and ever changing. There's also lots of room for advancement," he said. "There are all sorts of support staff that people don't necessarily think of when they see a truck going down the road. There are dispatchers, mechanics, safety supervisors, payroll clerks. Right away, they just think of a driver, but there's a wide array of different occupations in the transportation industry." These roles are crucial to Manitoba's economy, he adds. "Everything gets delivered by a truck. The store shelves would be bare if it wasn't for trucking. You wouldn't have the food that you eat. You wouldn't have the clothes you wear. You wouldn't have your iPod. You wouldn't have anything without trucks," Dubois said. "Winnipeg is a great location. It's definitely a central hub. Quite a few of the larger trucking companies are headquartered in Winnipeg and in Manitoba. That makes trucking a good career choice because there is so much room for opportunity and advancement." By Jennifer McFee "We enjoy how complex this industry is and how much there is to do. There is so much going on all at once that everything has to move in lockstep." "We're on Facebook and Twitter and we blog three times a week." Len Dubois Trucking connects through social media

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