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Going electric
Volvo VNL
Stepping down
Cummins releases its fully electric truck.
‘Why has nobody done that before?’
Yako to pass baton to next BCTA president at year’s end.
OCTOBER 2017 VOLUME 29, ISSUE 9
Reach us at our Western Canada news bureau Contact Derek Clouthier Derek@Newcom.ca or call 403-969-1506
WWW.TRUCKWEST.CA
RETAIL ING IS ADVERT 9PAGES 3
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Getting the right training Choosing the best driver training school can be a daunting task for wannabe drivers By Derek Clouthier
Learning from the past Trucking’s younger generation learns from the past, tailors lessons for future By Derek Clouthier WINNIPEG, MANITOBA The older people get the more resistant to change they become, but there is one area where this adage may not hold true. Across Canada, a younger generation of workers is stepping into key roles in trucking companies, and for the most part, they knew it would happen eventually, it was just a matter of time.
*** Ryan Chambers is president of The Chambers Group of Companies, and he is 35 years old. Overseeing every facet of the organization – which in addition to The Chambers Group includes DCT Chambers Trucking, Glen Transport, LFL Chambers, and Western-Midstream – Chambers never had any doubt what he wanted to do with his life. “I always wanted to work for the family business,” Chambers said. “I used to beg my dad to get him to take me to work when I was in elementary school.” Chamber’s grandfather, Art Chambers, started the company in 1964 with his son Danny, hauling a bit of everything, from lumber, logs, and heavy equipment. When Danny sold his shares to his parents in 1978, Art’s younger son, David (Ryan’s father), left the RCMP to help run the business.
Though David maintains his role as company chairman and is currently in a semi-retired position as CEO, Ryan brings much more than family ties to the table as the company’s president. Growing up around the business, Ryan graduated from Victoria University in 2005 with a degree in business, and gained some much-needed on-the-job experience with Tolko Industries before joining DCT Trucking as a business analyst in the mid-2000s. His father taught him a lot over the years about how to run a successful business, including how to recognize his strengths and weaknesses, and ensure that he surround himself with quality employees “who are better than him in a lot of ways” to bring the company success. “Critical things in being successful in business are often simplistic things, but they are often overlooked,” Ryan said, pointing to customer interaction and trying to do the little things a bit better as examples. And sometimes those “simplistic things” are more important than one might realize. “I try to remember a lot of the things that I think (my father’s) generation brought to the table that maybe we’re losing now,” Ryan said. “There was an attitude (with the older generations) that refused to give up and refused to quit. I’m not saying I come from a generation of quitters, but there was definitely a lot of tenacContinued on page 26
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A new crop of young executives, like Kennie Orlick-Casciaro of Orlicks Inc. standing next to her father, Gene Orlick, are stepping into key roles with trucking companies.
CALGARY, ALBERTA All schools are not created equal, which holds true for truck driver training schools. We have all heard stories of prospective truck drivers being quickly funneled through driver training schools and coming out on the other end with little to no actual skills behind the wheel. So what should someone look for if they are considering a career as a commercial driver? Emmet Callaghan has been running CCA Truck Driver Training in Calgary since 1981, training Class 1 and 3 drivers from scratch, and those who have some experience and need to brush up on their skills. Callaghan said it’s important for people looking to get their Class 1 or 3 licence that it takes time to both learn the skill of driving and to gain an entry level position with a carrier.