The recent acquisition of Kelsey Trail, an Ontario trucking company, by Steinbach’s Big Freight, has implications for the Steinbach region.

Big Freight’s President and CEO, Gary Coleman notes that, in the near future, the bulk of Kelsey Trail’s administration will be done at the Big Freight headquarters in Steinbach. This means there will be a slight influx of trucking traffic in the area as Kelsey Trail equipment coming through Manitoba will be maintained at the facility as well.

Coleman says fourteen months ago Big Freight was acquired by Daseke Incorporation, an American based, publicly traded, transportation group. Of the seventeen companies under the Daseke umbrella, he says Big Freight was the only Canadian operation. "So," he explains, “my mandate, from Daseke, is to grow the Canadian footprint, and Kelsey Trail is the first [company] to join our group”.

One big difference between the two companies, Coleman states, is their customer base. Big Freight transports goods primarily between Canada and the US, whereas Kelsey Trail exclusively operates within Canadian borders.

Coleman indicates this fusion with Kelsey Trail is a welcomed addition to Big Freight’s fleet. “Kelsey Trail operates 5-axle trailers, while Big Freight does not, so they’ll effectively be the heavy-haul division of Big Freight. Both brands will continue to exist, we will just be working together.”

Coleman looks forward to continuing the company's expansion saying: “[Kesley Trail] has brought many very talented people to the equation and we’re going to be leaning on them to continue to grow Big Freight in Canada”.