Trailcon hosts grand opening for new Brampton facility

by Sonia Straface

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Trailcon Leasing opened its doors to media, customers, and guests today to show off its brand new state-of-the-art Brampton, Ont. facility during its grand opening.

Trailcon out
Trailcon’s new facility in Brampton, Ont.

The new $22 million, 30,000 sq.-ft. building is home to more than 100 office staff and technicians who work out of the company’s head office and GTA service facility. It is more than three times the size of the company’s old space, though that’s not surprising when you take into account the company only had four employees at the time it first moved to Mississauga in 1996.  Trailcon came to be back in 1992 when Al Boughton, its current president, was its sole employee. Today, it’s a household name in the trucking industry’s trailer rental, leasing, and maintenance division.

According to Boughton, Trailcon moved from its building in Mississauga, Ont. (6950 Kenderry Gate) after 19 years, to Brampton because the staff simply ran out of space because of the rapid growth the company has seen as of late. He says he expects the company to grow even more in the future, so the massive space they’ve built is one the company can grow into.

“It has been built with growth in mind; we’ve got spare offices and workstations we can use in the future,” said Boughton. “We’re in growth mode and that will certainly continue.”

The company has grown its fleet from 2,000 units back in 1996 to more than 6,500 which service for-hire carriers, private fleets and some of the largest grocery and retail chains in Canada.

Boughton added that Brampton, specifically, was the prime location for its new facility because of the highways surrounding it that made it accessible for all of its customers as well the land the city had available to build on.

“Brampton had land available and we have nice highways going through here,” he said. “We’ve got the 427, the 410 is being expanded, the 427 is being expanded, the 407 is through the heart of the city, and we’re right off Airport Road…and that’s a real plus for us because our customers say, ‘Oh you’re just off Airport Road? That’s a no brainer.’”

The cubicle and office layout of Trailcon's new facility in Brampton is accented with lots of natural light coming from the building's windows.
The cubicle and office layout of Trailcon’s new facility in Brampton is accented with lots of natural light coming from the building’s windows.

The new facility isn’t just a stunner on the outside, though. The inside is shiny and new and has plenty of artwork and cubicles for its administrative staff, who Boughton says have welcomed the move because of all the elbow room they have now.

Boughton added that he personally worked with the builders to ensure the building was designed with his employees and customers in mind.

“The way we designed the building is to have tons of light,” he said. “And all the material, with the exception of the bamboo on the ceiling is all Canadian. I insisted with our builder that we use Canadian products if we could. All of the workspaces as well, 80% of the materials used to build them are recycled. It’s all smart lighting, too.”

While designing the space, Boughton stressed the location of each department of Trailcon link to the next to make sense spatially.

“Everybody who needs to connect, is next to each other or across from each other,” he said of the cubicle and office layout. “This way everyone doesn’t have a far distance to travel and can communicate. It was really important that we keep everyone where they should be.”

The perks of the building expands to technicians and mechanics who can enjoy the new giant shed – a protected outdoor area where they can work on repairs without worry of the weather.

“It allows our mechanics to work protected from wind, rain, snow and sun because they all work outside 365 days a year,” Boughton added. “We can put up to 41 trailers in here that can all be worked on at the same time. We had the same capacity at our old building, but we were falling all over each other there. Here we have 15 acres to work with, the old facility had only 3.73 acres there.”

driver lounge
Al Boughton said the facility’s drivers’ lounge is a place for drivers to kick back and relax if they are waiting for a quick repair, need to use the washroom, or want a beverage or snack.

The new space also gave room to drivers, who Boughton said need more respect in the industry. During a tour of the new space, Boughton led media and guests to the drivers’ lounge, that came equipped with chairs, a vending machine, a water machine, free coffee and a television. He told a story of a driver and owner he knew who wasn’t allowed to use the washroom after dropping off a load at a customer’s facility. He said Trailcon would be different and therefore designed a special room dedicated to drivers to show them how much they are appreciated.

“’You can haul $1 million worth of my product but you can’t use my washroom’ – that’s the manner in which many in this industry treat the drivers,” he said. “So when we designed this building, I said we are going to treat the drivers with respect, like we did with our last place and we are going to have a room for them with a washroom, vending machines, and a television, so if there is a delay…there is a place for them to relax, have a free coffee or water or use the washroom. They deserve respect because without them, nothing is moved.”

The grand opening also featured a ceremonial ribbon cutting with David Bradley, president of the CTA and OTA, John Snobelen, former Ontario cabinet minister, Patrick Brown, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Jim Wilson, co-founder of Trailcon Leasing and Bal Gosal, Member of Parliament for Bramalea-Gore-Malton. As well, Trailcon provided guided tours of the building with staff members, as well as food and refreshments for all media and attendees of the grand opening.

In addition to the new Brampton location, Trailcon  has facilities in Cornwall, Edmonton, and Calgary, though Boughton told industry media that the company would be opening two more facilities in the next few years. Though he didn’t say exactly where the new facilities would be, he hinted at the Lower Mainland area in B.C. as well as Montreal, Que.

The new Brampton facility is located at 15 Spar Drive, Brampton, Ont.

Stay tuned to  TruckNews.com for an exclusive on-camera interview with Al Boughton where you can take a virtual tour inside the new state-of-the-art facility.


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