Peerless Penticton has announced the longstanding Penticton manufacturing business has been sold and will be moving to Saskatoon in early summer. Almost 60 unionized workers will have the option of keeping their jobs and moving to Saskatoon or being terminated.

Image Credit: Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative

Peerless Penticton, one of the city’s longest-serving industrial businesses, has been sold and is moving its manufacturing operations to Saskatoon early this summer.

Peerless has been one of Canada’s leading manufacturers of industrial trailers and components for decades and early last October celebrated its 80th anniversary in Penticton.

Founded in 1944, Peerless designs and manufactures highly-specialized trailers for a variety of industries including forestry, oil and gas, construction, super hauling and mining.

The company has been purchased by Doepker Group of Companies, Canada’s second-largest manufacturer of trailers, said senior vice-president Andy MacEachern.

Doepker Group announced they not only purchased the Peerless manufacturing operations, but also the Scona trailer brands from Manac, Inc., which is the country’s largest trailer manufacturing company and has owned Peerless for several years.

“They’ve been looking at Peerless for some time as a company that will help them in their markets. We’ve got some really good product lines that fits well with their targets and vision,” said MacEachern.

MacEachern said he has accepted a position as senior vice-president with Doepker Group as part of the business deal.

The manufacturing plant in Penticton will be closing, so the 59 unionized employees currently working in those operations will now have the option of keeping their jobs and moving to Saskatoon, or losing their positions, he said.

“They have the option that if they would like to move to Saskatchewan, there is definitely a need for welders and mechanics at the Saskatoon operation and there’s an offer for those who would like to relocate,” he said.

“I doubt if all 59 will, but the offer is out there.”

The final week of operations at the Penticton manufacturing plant will be the last week of June, he said.

While the manufacturing plant will be closing, several departments will remain open and the people working in those departments will continue working out of Penticton, he said.

“Engineering, sales, parts support and truck rig-outs will remain here in Penticton,” he said.

Approximately 20 full-time employees work in those four divisions, he said.

The tariff trade war between Canada and the United States that has become headline news every day over the past two months had nothing to do with this sale, said MacEachern.

“This is just a fact of life and has nothing to do with the administration down south,” he said. “It had no bearing on the deal.”

MacEachern said he’s glad to be staying in Penticton and taking care of the four divisions that remain in engineering, sales, parts support and truck rig-outs.

“I will also be helping out as much as I can on the transition to the new manufacturing facility in Saskatoon,” he said.

MacEachern said there were a lot of sad faces at the Penticton Peerless plant the last couple of days as news spread that the manufacturing plant was closing after 80 years.

“It hasn’t been easy for sure,” he said. “It’s a fact of life that changes like this happen. It’s certainly not been easy though.”

MacEachern said his new employer has big plans and he’s looking forward to great success and does believe many younger workers will accept the offer to continue their careers in Saskatoon.

“They’re very good people,” he said. “It’s a family-owned business. Evan Doepker is the president and he’s a third-generation leader with a company that has had a lot of success. He’s just a super guy leading a great company.”

The majority of employees he’s worked with for 30 years are from Penticton and area and he and other top brass are proud so many of them have worked for the company for three decades or more, he said.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald.

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