SUDBURY – Manitoulin Transport founder Doug Smith has been inducted into the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) hall of fame.

Smith was honoured Dec. 4, along with the late Paul Marcotte, founder of Marcotte Mining, for his contributions to the mining sector through innovative solutions in the trucking industry.

A write-up posted on the Northern Ontario Business website suggests that even now that he is in his 80s, retirement is still not on Smith’s radar.

“To this day, his administrative assistant is required to sharpen about a half a dozen No. 6 pencils each morning to be at the ready,” said his son, Jeff Smith, describing his father’s daily routine.

You can read Jeff’s speech about his father here.

After a brief stint working in the banking industry, Smith joined the family business, Smith’s Wholesale, which serviced general stores, grocery stores and service stations across Manitoulin Island, Ont.

Facing stiff competition in the wholesaling business, he bought a fleet of three straight trucks and four tractor-trailers, and in 1967 his fleet merged with Cooper’s Transport to form Manitoulin Transport.

According to Northern Ontario Business, Manitoulin Transport now services more direct points than any other carrier in Canada through a network of 66 terminals across the country.

Smith was invested into the Order of Canada in 2008, and last year received the Diamond Jubilee Medal.