Tremcar invests in new $ 12- million repair facility, says ‘ we’re here to stay’

Tremcar Inc. says its new $ 12- million service and repair facility in Aurum Energy Park in Edmonton shows the Quebec- based tank trailer manufacturer is in Western Canada for the long haul.

“It’s pretty important that Alberta, B. C. and Saskatchewan people know now that with the investment that Tremcar has made in Tremcar West in Western Canada, we’re not going anywhere,” Darren Williams, vice- president of sales with Tremcar West Inc., said this week.

“A lot of guys will come in when the business is hot, make money, and when it slows down, they leave,” Williams said. “We’re here to stay, and offer the best service that we can.”

The new facility, on a four- hectare site at 1750 Aurum Rd., marked its official opening Wednesday. The facility’s 33,000 sq.- ft. shop is equipped for maintenance, testing, inspections and repairs, including repairs for rollover and other collision damage.

Eleven service bays can accommodate up to 22 trailers. Two heavy- duty overhead cranes and a mobile lift system allow trailers to be hoisted up for access underneath. The business also has a wash bay and stocks parts for trailers by Tremcar and other manufacturers.

There are 24 employees. General manager John Sadoway said six or eight more employers — welders, trailer mechanics and parts people — are planned.

Based in St- Jean- sur- Richelieu, Que., Tremcar Inc. was started in 1962 by two brothers who fabricated stainless- steel tank trailers for transporting milk from farms to dairies.

It now builds stainless- steel and aluminum trailers for the North American market in six manufacturing facilities in Quebec, Ontario, Ohio and Massachusetts.

Its product line includes tank trailers that carry crude oil, refined petroleum products and chemicals, and dry bulk trailers for cement, frac sand, plastic pellets and lime.

It also makes food- grade tank trailers for milk, wine, chocolate, corn syrup, vegetable oil and mineral water; food- grade dry bulk haulers for flour and sugar; and aircraft refuelling trucks.

Tremcar opened its first Western Canada service facility in Weyburn, Sask., in 2008.