Member Celebrations

MEMBER CORNER

LOAD LIFTER MANUFACTURING’S FOUNDER TURNS 90

This past March 9th, The President of Load Lifter Manufacturing, Hedley Thomas, celebrated his 90th birthday. 2022 also marks his 60th year of being in business. After moving to Canada in the late 50s from England, Hedley worked as a mechanic with various firms until he decided to start his own business in 1962. Hedley began the business primarily serving the local lawn and garden market selling lawn mowers and small tractors. The business was named Stanmore Equipment. Hedley and his wife Mercedes worked together building the business and operated it as a true family operation. Stanmore would eventually become an Allis Chalmers dealer and that lead Hedley into the Forklift business and his dealings with the local Construction Industry in Ontario. He worked very hard to establish this business and dealt with many local contractors providing them equipment and especially forklifts. Some of his early customers were involved in the house construction business and Hedley grew his knowledge of equipment being used in in the housing industry, and that laid the foundation for the future with the Load Lifter brand.

In the mid-70s, Hedley decided to build his own forklifts and the Load Lifter brand was born. Initially, the first machines built were to serve the construction industry and the focus was on a machine that could handle the four seasons of Canada. The first machine produced was a Four-Wheel Drive, Four Wheel Steer Forklift that could handle the muddy soft conditions of the Canadian spring. This machine was known as the 4400 and the design was groundbreaking for contactors in the housing industry. The introduction of this machine meant they could work year-round and be able to negotiate jobsites in all types of conditions. It wasn’t long before customers like Ontario Hydro and many northern sawmills began to purchase these 4WD machines and Load Lifter became widely recognized in the Lumber industry.

The first two-wheel drive forklifts were developed in the mid-80s and these would be widely used in lumber store applications where machines were driven on gravel lots and lumber yards. In the 90s, Load Lifter would introduce many other models to its line up such as the Laborer compact forklift which further added to the choice for customers in the Lumber business. Capacities from 5,000 lbs to 30,000 lbs are manufactured in the Uxbridge Ontario facility and these machines are shipped across Canada, the United States and the rest of the world.

Although Load Lifter manufactures many other Rough Terrain forklifts for other industries, the Lumber Industry is a focal point for the 46-year-old business. Attending lumber equipment shows, visiting Truss Manufacturing Plants in Canada and the USA, and meeting people involved in the lumber business still remains a favorite activity for Hedley. The family tradition continues on within Load Lifter with Hedley’s three sons, Paul, David and Donald and Load Lifters dedication to the Lumber Industry.

A 40TH ANNIVERSARY MESSAGE FROM THE KOHLTECH PRESIDENT

Message from the President

“Over the past 40 years, with the outstanding support of our family of employees, dealers, and loyal customers, Kohltech has grown to become a leading window and door brand across Canada.

We are committed to the highest standards of service to our customers, unrelenting pursuit of product innovation, and a lifelong passion for creating beautiful and functional windows and entrance systems.

Our energetic and focused team helps to crystallize your dreams and make your house feel like home. Your vision and our unwavering commitment to quality unite to create an end product that is truly outstanding.”

Carl Ballard, President

Kohltech Windows & Entrance Systems

NEW NAME, NEW ADDRESS, SAME SERVICE

PHOTOS: SUPPLIED The move west from Strathmore to our new location along the Trans Canada Highway in Rocky View County makes Remuda Supplies more accessible than ever. We are now just minutes from Calgary city limits, which allows us to better serve the needs of our growing list of Calgary-based builders and contractors. Not only that, but we are now in a central location that allows us to proudly provide our building materials knowledge, construction expertise, and professional-grade products to our local communities of: Langdon, Chestermere, Strathmore, Okotoks, and even out to Cochrane.

From the time we officially decided to make the move, we spent a fast 9 weeks expanding our existing Remuda headquarters to bring in the new Remuda Supplies storefront and warehouse under one roof. Over the final weeks of the project, it was amazing to see the entire Remuda team come together in an unbelievable final push—many staff members and their families came in on evenings and weekends to stock shelves, assemble furniture, clean, and put the final touches on months of hard work.

Fast forward 5 months, and although small changes and additions continue to be made, we can finally say we are settled into our new home. After months of stressing over getting the details of the move right, we were profoundly thrilled and proud to hear all the positive feedback that the local communities continue to share on the new store and lumber yard, including while we were participating in the Langdon Days and Strathmore Stampede festivities.

Every day we are excited for the opportunity to go above and beyond ordinary for our customers and surrounding communities. The Remuda experience of individual attention, expertise, and reliability is one to remember.

Left: Remuda Supplies new location at 272179 Township RD 241B, Rocky View County, Alberta