Members of Finning Canada and dignitaries from the We Wai Kai Nation and the City of Campbell River have cut the ribbon on a new sales, service and rental dealership.
The company, which calls itself the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer, is making a long term investment in the Campbell River area.
The 11,305 square foot building at 700 Osprey Avenue is a long term lease with the We Wai Kai Nation.
Russ Peterson, the company’s general manager of customer support operations for B.C. and Yukon, says this location replaces their 45-year-old building closer to the downtown that was at the end of its life.
“We’ve got fairly stable business volumes that are consistent year in and year out. Absolutely it was the right decision to invest in the community to support our customers long term. We’re proud to be able to put our roots even further into the community for the next 40, 50 years, for the life of this next building,” Peterson said in an interview with Vista Radio.
Peterson says the building is precast concrete, meaning its more environmentally friendly because it will be cheaper to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. The previous facility was “much larger” and was a wood frame, cinder block construction.
While it’s a lease, Peterson says the building and the land are a $7 million addition to the local economy.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be planting our roots even farther into the community to send that signal to our customers that we’re here for the long run,” he said.
Peterson says it will allow the company to respond “better than ever to our customers” to provide maximum equipment uptime. The company has field technicians and an extensive parts inventory allowing them to go out and service commercial machines on the job site.
