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Ken Giberson Transport
by
Bill Kern
Like the stone mason who constructs a sturdy foundation one block at a time, Ken
Giberson built his business one truck after the other. Beginning in 1967 with one vehicle he drove himself, Ken's fleet now
consists of 40 transports running local and long haul throughout the U.S. and across Canada. Giberson Transport employs a
staff of 52, drivers included, as well as 20 owner-operators who fly the Giberson colours and bolster his fleet.
For the past 36 years, Ken has built a trucking firm based on punctual friendly
service at fair competitive rates. The company boasts a dedicated efficient staff and the "best drivers in the country." This
combination has won the loyalty of hundreds of businesses across the Maritimes and throughout North America. Over the years,
those loyalties have led to many friendships. It's a business and a way of life; but for Ken and Zane it's mostly the pride
and satisfaction of doing a professional job well and having fun at the same time. |
But the trucking business is a highly competitive marketplace and pressure
is always on keeping costs down. Interestingly, fuel costs are not now, as one might expect, the primary cause of concern.
Rather, insurance costs have risen to become the principle concern throughout the industry. But Ken and Zane are constantly
searching for new cost effective ways of doing business and as they have in the past they have found solutions.
Zane began working for Giberson Transport during his high school years
truly starting from the ground floor up. Zane recalls washing the "fleet" and doing lubes and general maintenance on the trucks
and in the shop. Zane drove truck from 1985 to 1995. He gravitated to the business and quickly worked his way upward. Today
his primary focus is in the operational end especially related to the computerization of the business.
Today the modern fleet is scheduled, dispatched and fully integrated
with the newest trucking software and the individual units are tracked by satellite around the clock to maximize efficiency
right down to routine maintenance and repair. This is a twenty-first century operation and as such Giberson is changing and
flexing to meet the modern day trucking module. The Miramichi can be proud of this type of home grown progressive enterprise
and the success of Giberson Transport will be mirrored in the future growth of the valley.
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| Ken Giberson |
In 1985, Susan Somers teamed up with Ken as dispatcher and office manager
and quickly mastered the daily business operations of Giberson Transport. Zane was busy in the field driving truck and working
in the garage. In August of 1986 Susan and Zane married and supported Ken with building the business.
In September 1999 Ken and Zane built a new building on their property
dedicated exclusively to the day-to-day operation of the business. Their primary vision, however, was to keep the neighbourhood
look residential. Accordingly, they designed the office to give the illusion of being a residential bi-level rather than a
fully functional office employing some twenty individuals in the everyday business operations. To a passer-by, unfamiliar
with the area, the only giveaway is the Giberson signage sitting out front.
Without compromising service and safety, Giberson Transport remains the
largest trucking firm in Miramichi and one of the largest in northern New Brunswick and throughout the Maritimes. Both Ken
and Zane are determined to maintain that market stature and continue to grow despite the increasing number of unresolved opportunities
faced daily in the trucking industry.
Bill Kern is a recent arrival to the Miramichi. His work experience
in sales is widely diverse and was mostly spent in Western Canada. His by-line "The Incoming Tide" ran weekly in the Miramichi
Weekend from July 2002 to Christmas.
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