Vesper Transport is among largest year-round employers in Cawston
Founded in 1952 by Curtis and Patricia Vesper, the transport company that bears their name has grown under the leadership of their sons, Lee and Cory, to become the largest provider of year round work in Cawston and one of the biggest employers in the area.
Vesper Transport Ltd. is located at 2115 Wooden Road in Cawston.
“I grew up in the business and started driving trucks right after high school,” said Lee, company president.
The senior Vespers focused on brokering and transporting lumber, cattle and produce.
With the purchase of Keremeos Freight Service in 1978, freight became the largest portion of the business.
“My brother Cory and I became equal owners when our father died in 1991. Cory does dispatch and runs Vesper Transport. I’m in charge of sales,” Lee explained.
Today, transport of bees is one of the biggest parts of the business.
“We move 350 loads, each load with 700 to 800 hives, annually for independent bee keepers,” Lee said.
After overwintering in the Similkameen, some of the hives are taken to the Fraser Valley in the spring while most go to pollinate the canola fields in Southern Alberta.
“We then pick them up and take them to Northern Alberta for honey production,” Lee said.
Later in the season, Vesper Transport brings the hives back to the Similkameen where milder winter conditions minimize damage and result in a quick build up in the spring.
General freight is also a significant part of Vesper’s business.
Especially important is the transport of ROXUL™, a stone wool insulation, from the company’s western facility in Grand Forks, to destinations as far away as Texas and Louisiana.
“On the return trip we bring oil supplies to Northern Alberta where we pick up seed grain and take it to Oregon and Washington and some to the Lower Mainland,” Lee explained.
It’s all about never running an empty truck, for example, Vesper takes fence posts from Princeton Wood Preservers and lumber from Weyerhaeuser mills to the U. S. and brings back straw and hay which is sold to ranchers and feedlots in B.C.
Each of Vesper’s 12 power units (cabs) travel up to 250,000 km each year. The company has 50 trailers. The large increase in replacement cost of vehicles is one of the company’s biggest challenges.
Vesper also sells bulk sugar, cardboard and collapsible steel totes and steel drums.
Steel drums that nest together like Styrofoam coffee cups are becoming increasingly popular.
“We’re working with a man in Florida, the only guy selling them in North America,” Lee said.
A 53 foot trailer can carry 2,200 empty nesting drums rather than 340 standard drums.
“That means savings in freight, storage and handling, and they are reusable,” Lee explained.
Lined with food grade solid epoxy, the drums are used to transport a wide variety of foods, such as honey, fruit purees and berries.
In 2009, Vesper Transport bought the franchise of Similkameen Tirecraft which provides tires and related services for vehicles ranging in size from bicycles to heavy trucks.
“We bought the business to service our own vehicles. Then it took off right away and continues to expand,” Lee said.
Tirecraft has eight employees and Vesper Transport 16. Plus there are four office staff. Family involvement is continuing to the next generation as Cory’s daughter, Alexandra, works in the office and her cousin, Chase Fillion, manages Tirecraft.
“We don’t have any problem getting and retaining employees” Lee said.
The BBQ held for employees on pay day every second Friday undoubtedly helps with staff retention.
Susan McIver is The Herald’s agriculture writer.