Wills Transfer has grown from the humble beginnings of 2 small trucks shipping in and around the Smiths Falls area, to boasting an operating fleet of more than 43 tractors, 2 strait trucks and 150 trailers, delivering cargo throughout Eastern Ontario and Quebec.
To support this operating fleet, Wills Transfer employs 47 AZ drivers who maneuver through cities, towns, villages and ports like stealth pilots.
Part of the Wills Transfer philosophy is knowing that for a driver, it is crucial to have a healthy work environment with their dispatch, so the road in-between the hooks & drops is safe and rewarding.
Long-term Wills Transfer driver, Gary Nolan, has been in the trucking industry for over 40 years. He has spent most of his career with Wills Transfer after having short tenures delivering furnace oil to homes and being an LTL driver for CP Express. He has maintained a quality family life over the years by being present whether at home or work. “I don’t mix home and work” explains Gary. Being a driver can be stressful but the key to making each day manageable is to ‘go with the flow’ even when I don’t know what lies on the road ahead or how the weather will interact with my journey. If a passenger vehicle cuts me off, I say “bless you my friend” because it keeps my stress level down. And when you ask Gary if he talks to himself when on the road, he gives a big grin with an ‘oh yes’ answer.
Gary is part of the safe driving program at Wills Transfer. Drivers receive an award each calendar year if they are not involved in an at-fault accident/incident and are not involved in any action that would cause points on the company CVOR. Gary’s last award was for 31 years…he received his 31st safe driving pin. ontariosafetyleague.com.
In 2010 Wills Transfer started an apprenticeship program for our drivers. Gary was our first driver to complete the program graduating in 2011 with a certificate Tractor Trailer Commercial Driver Trade Code: 638A.
Wills Transfer has a diverse fleet of tractors, but Gary’s favourite is his 2017 Kenworth. “It’s like driving a Cadillac.”
Gary says, one of the most unique deliveries he has made was a carving by local artists he delivered to Parliament Hill, “the carving was amazing”. When Gary talks about this, you can tell he was proud to have been the delivery man on that run!
Many Wills Transfer drivers, like Gary, say if they had words of advice for someone considering getting into the industry they would say; make sure you’re well trained, comfortable with your truck and of good body and mind to hit the road every day. If you are all of these, then the trucking industry will be a rewarding career.
