TORONTO, Ont. – Just a short year after making the break from being a mere department of a dealership to becoming a dedicated stand-alone facility, Irvine Truck Centre has been named the top performing medium-duty GM centre in Canada. Irvine beat out 75 other medium-duty centres across the country, moving 343 units in 2006, to earn the prestigious honour. The number was an all-time high for Irvine. Another all-time high came from Irvine sales rep Russ White, who personally delivered 146 units in 2006 – the highest number of any individual sales rep in Canada last year.

“The Irvine team is made up of some of the most knowledgeable and experienced staff in the industry that continue to upgrade their training regularly,” said Mike Mintsopoulos, general manager of Irvine. “Our staff is friendly and professional (and) combined with a winning franchise like GMC, this a key factor that keeps customers coming back.”

Alex Irvine Motors was established in 1963 as one of GM’s premiere Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealerships which also had the unique medium-duty franchise. In 1996, Irvine was acquired by Roy Foss, and over the next few years, the facility’s focus on commercial vehicles became more intense. By 2005, after continued growth of the medium-duty department, the franchise decided to break off as a stand-alone and become what is now better know as Irvine Truck Centre.

“Being a dedicated dealer allows us to focus on the dynamics of the commercial truck business,” says Mintsopoulos. “One of the elements that has been critical to our success has been trying to avoid any unnecessary downtime for our service customers. Not always an easy task, but definitely manageable when you have a healthy inventory within your parts department. We have always made an effort to familiarize our customers with all areas, departments and personnel (in) the dealership, taking away the uneasy feeling they may get when they transition from one department to the next for the first time.”

With a well-known wholesale parts division, four delivery trucks on the road each day, a massive inventory and a solid sales team, Mintsopoulos says it’s easy to see where the dealership gets its momentum.

That momentum is pushing the dealership to a more central location in Markham, Ont., just south of Hwy 407, where it plans to relocate in June. Mintsopoulos says the new facility will offer a spacious and comfortable customer lounge, a large and well-stocked parts store, as well as an efficient, state-of-the-art service shop, with the sales department working out of another building on the same site. As Mintsopoulos puts it: new location, same great people.

“We are very fortunate that we have such great people in our organization that make up the Irvine team,” he says.

“I started with Irvine’s in 1997 as a salesperson with a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm for the business. After a few years, I became the sales manager and most recently in 2005 was given the opportunity to become the general manager of Irvine Truck Centre. I am just as passionate and enthusiastic about the business as I was on day one, if not more.”

For more information visit www.irvinetrucks.ca.