TORONTO, Ont. – Wilson’s Truck Lines is celebrating its 80^th birthday this year.

The business, that was started in 1937 when John Wesley Wilson and his son Carl Wilson began transporting food with four Dodge single-axle trucks and four 20-foot trailers, has come a long way since then, even becoming a household name in Ontario. The company really came into its own after 22 different trucking companies that were hauling for the A&P grocery chain — now called Metro Ontario — became one: Wilson’s Truck Lines.

Today, Wilson’s has a driving force of more than 200, and distributes food throughout Ontario — from Cornwall to Windsor, the Niagara Region to Thunder Bay.

“Wilson’s Truck Lines has been a valued transportation provider for Metro Ontario for many decades,” says Tim Scott, the grocery retailer’s vice-president, logistics and distribution. “Wilson’s continues to drive innovation into its operations to improve both customer experience and performance. Regardless of the business challenge, the Wilson team always finds a way to deliver the order.”

“We never say no!,” added president Marc Mousseau. “We have always thrived on creating better solutions for our customers.”

In honour of its 80th anniversary, Wilson’s hopes to give its associates the gift of good health, through the Lifestyle Coaching Program Health Benefit. This offering consists of a test to identify those individuals at higher-than-conventionally-predicted risk for cardiovascular disease, plus continuous evaluation, tracking and refining of their personalized lifestyle plan, supported by the DeerFields Clinic APP.

The milestone has the company thinking further ahead into the future, and Mousseau said that the company is adding 60 new Volvo tractors, and updating its shunt tractor fleet. It will be on the hunt for new city drivers, and will be offering a new owner-operator pay package, group health plan and other benefits.

“We have been doing this for 80 years now, and we’re very excited about our future,” Mousseau said.