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Weekly UpdatesA February 2008 fire that gutted a Thunder Bay heavy truck dealer's service department was commemorated this year with the opening of a new shop. Thunder Bay Truck Centre opened an expanded 22,000-square-foot facility on the exact one-year anniversary of the devastating Feb. 21 fire last year that caused almost $4 million in damage.
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The fire burned the service department down to the concrete pad of the Peterbilt dealer The front office, parts department and showroom were intact but were damaged by smoke. Electrical systems and computers were replaced and those areas were cleaned up, painted and the main office kept operating through the one-year rebuilding process.
It was determined the cause of the fire came from a truck battery cable which shorted out and caught fire. The fire occurred at 2 a.m., about two hours after the business closed for the night.
"Anything above 12 feet was destroyed by heat," said general manager Dave Mack. "Anything below was either destroyed by smoke or we tried to re-use as best we could, but there wasn't much."
Within days the company was back in operation without missing much of a beat.
"The fire was on Thursday and by Monday we were back in operation," said Mack.
Many members of the business community rallied to their aid lending them tools and support. Within days, a customer gave them temporary digs with a one-bay garage across town before the company could locate a three-bay garage near their Commerce Street main office.
The local phone company hooked up wireless phones to connect reception in the main building to be able to transfer calls to the temporary shop.
A stand-by driver delivered and picked up parts between the two buildings.
Surplus tools were brought in from the company's Fort Frances shop.
"Going from 11 bays (in the original building) to three bays, we used less tools and we were able to get by We borrowed tools and a compressor," said Mack.
"The whole business community jumped in and helped us out."
Mack said they lost some customers temporarily, but they eventually all came back.
"We were able to show them very quickly that we could handle their needs. My guys worked outside and worked wherever they had to to keep going."
There were no layoffs among his 35 employees.
Demolition of the old building, built in 1979, began in April and construction on the new facility began in June.
Within a week of the fire, Mack had drawings for a new building into the architects.
One year after the fire, Thunder Bay Truck Centre opened its new shop and office on the exact pad. with expanded amenities for drivers and mechanics.
The new digs contain an additional 1,800-square foot of shop floor, 1,900-square-feet of warehouse and storage, 920-square feet of office, and a 330-square-foot customer lounge with showers, board room and upstairs training room for mechanics, as well as new tooling.
The slowdown in the economy has trickled down to the trucking industry Two years ago, said Mack, when the truck market was booming, customers in Alberta and robust Western Canadian oil patch were looking their way for units because the company had an inventory
Today, Thunder Bay Truck Centre is focusing on the maintenance and repair business from the transient cross-Canada traffic that funnels through Thunder Bay.
The company, which has a branch in Fort Frances, has been an authorized Peterbilt truck and Manac trailer dealer since 1977.
www.tbtc.ca
By IAN ROSS
Northern Ontario Business
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