Canada Tire Inc inaugurated its gigantic warehouse in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield on Thursday, September 9th .
The President and CEO of Canada Tire, Gabriel Granatstein with the Mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Miguel Lemieux, during the official opening of the site. (Photo Steve Sauvé)
A 112,750 square foot warehouse with a 32 foot ceiling, this is where the management of the company founded in 1928 chose to relocate its distribution center previously located in the West Island of Montreal. It is therefore in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, more precisely at 1280, boulevard Gérard-Cadieux that the management of Canada Tire has taken up residence.
These difficult months of the pandemic have made us rethink our plans and the future of our 90-year-old family business, of which I have the privilege of representing the fourth generation. We managed to get by without having made a single layoff and we also cultivated our thirst for development. However, we had to find the right site for our ambitions. After much research, we unhesitatingly opted for Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, as part of a partnership with Valdev, because it is a particularly favorable city for businesses thanks to its strategic position and its access to the main highways”, explains Canada Tire President and CEO Gabriel Granatstein.
In the introduction, the mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Miguel Lemieux underlined the power of attraction of the regional capital of Suroît. “Our industrial park has the wind in its sails and the same is true for the City of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. You just have to walk along Boulevard Gérard-Cadieux to see that there are also two other constructions in progress. The largest of our parks, the Perron Industrial and Port Park, continues to develop relentlessly and now has several thousand employees. Its strength is its strategic position. Businesses there have access in less than 30 minutes to the South Shore of Montreal, Ontario and the United States. This industrial zone is characterized by the presence of the Port of Valleyfield, its direct access to Highway 30 via the 530, as well as to railways. These features make this site a remarkable and attractive place of development for entrepreneurs and investors from here and elsewhere”, said Miguel Lemieux, mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
Impossible to know the nature of the investment of the company which hires approximately 25 workers. But, it is possible to see that it amounts to a few million. “We are a private company so these are confidential details. However, I can confirm that the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield warehouse is double the size of the old distribution center in Montreal and that all the equipment is new. In addition, it is the largest warehouse of our seven distribution centers”, says Granatstein.
Remote Work
In particular, while the warehouse space has been doubled, the office space has been reduced. “We realized with the pandemic that working remotely is possible. We encourage it. Our employees can work from home.”
History
Founded in 1928 by Louis Wiseman, Canada Tire is a family business which is currently run by the third and fourth generation sons. They share the same passion for the tire industry and are dedicated to their employees, suppliers and customers. Although Canada Tire started out as a tire retailing company, it has grown into a tire distributor for retailers.
