Submitted. Valley Pulp & Sawdust Carriers and the Klassen family of Abbotsford will be the proud recipients of the Vancouver Family Enterprise of the Year Achievement Award (FEYA) for 2013 to be presented by the Vancouver Chapter of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE) at Family Business Day on April 4, 2013.
Founded in 1963, ‘Grandpa’ Neil began the company when he purchased their first truck to haul firewood and sawdust from local sawmills to farms. Years later, his children and their children help drive the business forward with the company’s fleet of twenty trucks traveling over one million kilometers each year, transporting wood residuals such as Sawdust, Bark Mulch & Hog Fuel for use in agriculture, landscaping and the pulp & paper industry.
The company employs over fifty people, with twenty members of the Klassen family involved in day-to-day operations, from locations in Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge and Merritt, BC.
Where it all began
Recently recognized on the Noon News on Global with Lynn Collier, the Klassen family is celebrating fifty years and three generations of family business.
As winners of the Vancouver award, Valley Carriers becomes a finalist for the national Family Enterprise of the Year Achievement Award.
The Family Enterprise of the Year Achievement Award (FEYA) was established in 1986 and is given annually by CAFE to recognize, celebrate and promote the achievements of Canadian family businesses and the considerable contribution they make to both their local communities and our national economy.
Past Vancouver award recipients includes: Purdy’s Chocolates and the Flavelle Family (2012), McLaughlin Family of Grouse Mountain (2010), Porte Family of Porte Reality Ltd. (2009) and ABC Recycling (2008). The award is sponsored by CAFE’s national Presenting Partner, BMO Harris Private Banking.