TORONTO — The highest honor bestowed on an Ontario trucking executive has been give to Don Anderson, founder and president of Don Anderson Haulage of Stouffville, Ont.

The 2006 OTA-Trailmobile Service to the Industry Award was presented was presented to Anderson during a special ceremony held at the Ontario Trucking Association’s 80th annual convention in Toronto.

The award honors an individual who, by their commitment, vision, leadership and unstinting service, has made an outstanding contribution to the development and success of the truck transportation industry in Ontario. The selection was made by a panel of Mr. Anderson’s peers, most of whom are previous winners themselves.

The award is an attractive charcoal portrait of the recipient.

When you got a big haul, who do you
call? Don Anderson, of course

Don Anderson Haulage specializes in the movement of over-dimensional loads in Ontario. Together with his wife and business partner Maris, Don has been an active supporter of OTA for over 25 years, serving on the board of directors of the association and the Heavy Specialized Carriers Division for many of those years.

He began his career in the trucking industry working for his father, from whom he purchased his first truck. Things went very well for the young “Donnie” and just two years later he had four power units to his name. By April 1965, he had opened a yard and shop at the east end of Stouffville to house his expanding fleet.

Later Anderson added the movement of over dimensional loads to his company’s offerings and moved into a larger facility in Stouffville. The company is now poised to begin construction on a new home, this time in Gormley, Ont.

Considered an innovator in the transportation and the over-dimensional load business, Anderson never misses an opportunity for growth. Don has travelled to Germany where he purchased the first of what would be several multi wheeled transporters. This equipment enabled Anderson Haulage to tackle even larger over dimensional moves. (Be sure to check out “Heavy hauler harnesses the wind” in the Related Stories link below).

Some say one measure of business success is the loyalty of your employees. A total of 18 of Don’s drivers have 20 years or more of service with the company and six of those have been with Don for over 30 years.

Don lives in Stouffville with his wife, Maris. Their four children Mike, Liz, Jane and Sue have all worked at Anderson Haulage at one time or another.