E2 Trucking, an Altona-based company, has expanded it’s operations by acquiring PK Friesen Trucking in Rosenort.
A big step for the company, the deal closed on February 9th. .
E2 owner Evan Erlandson says they learned a lot and got to know a lot of good people that he’s proud to have on the team.
“That added 12 trucks to our fleet, roughly an even split of north-south routes and east-west routes. The east-west trucks and trailers and business was new to us, we were not involved in that business. The north-south wasn’t new to us, so we just kept those guys on. Well, we kept everyone on, and we’re doing our best to keep everybody busy.”
The fleet now totals about 35 units. Along with the repair shop, support staff, is made up of some 10 people, including three full-time mechanics, dispatchers, administration, a couple of managers and all the drivers.
From the perspective of a business owner, Erlandson feels a responsibility, especially in small town, to do what he can to preserve businesses that are supporting those towns.
“And supporting the families that are involved in those businesses, the customers that are relying on those businesses, the communities at large that provide the services that we’re often taking for granted. I feel like there is a responsibility to invest in those things, to preserve them and keep them local to the extent that we can.”
The motivation behind the deal came down to culture.
“I saw in PK Friesen Trucking a culture-fit a long time ago,” explained Erlandson. “I knew immediately the culture of the two companies was very similar. I’ve always felt that the number one issue when it comes to business is the culture. It’s not that one culture is wrong. It’s just that I wouldn’t be able to put two businesses together that had different cultures. I wouldn’t have an interest in it. But in this case, it was two businesses that did very similar work, both based in southern Manitoba and had very similar cultures.”
Prior to the acquisition of PK Trucking, 95 per cent of E2 trucks crossed the border and very little business was conducted with farmers.
“[For] most of our freight business we were hired by the commercials – bigger grain companies, grain traders, or people buying and selling various products whether they’re fertilizer or dried distillers grains coming out of the ethanol plants or feed products like canola meal or soybean meal. Really, anything that if you could pour it into a hopper bottom trailer and it would pour out, then we would haul it.”
The acquisition will give E2 more domestic trucking capacity, with B-trains operating across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. East-west routes require completely different equipment said Erlandson.
“We can pull B-trains east and west and run heavier weights. In a sense, they are very different businesses. That gave us the opportunity to meet new customers and do work that we haven’t done in the past and learn all the things associated with that. But the highlight is the getting to know new people, and excellent people. As far as customers and drivers, that’s something that has gone really well and has been a benefit for our business, adding another layer to our business and making it more resilient.”
Erlandson for now, his expansion appetite has been satisfied. But when he sees someone working hard and generating growth, he’s their biggest fan, and if there’s a way to fit that into his business, he’ll probably have a conversation with that person.
“I want to give a shout out to Kelly Friesen, the man that really ran PK Friesen Trucking for many years, largely single handedly, an excellent guy, someone that I respected going into the deal and I respected coming out of the deal. I’m thankful for what he and Bev did in maintaining and growing that business and then giving me the opportunity to have the conversation and to put together a deal. That’s something that I’ll always respect and be thankful for.”
~With files from Candace Derksen~
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