Armour: A Driving Force In Atlantic Canada

Oct 19, 2022 - 3 years ago

Armour Transportation Systems has grown to be one of the top fleets in the Atlantic region’s transportation industry. By Jennifer Gouchie-Terris

Although it started out as a small one-man operation back in the early 1940’s, Armour Transportation Systems has grown to be a driving force in the Atlantic region’s transportation industry throughout the years.

“The founding father, Gordon Armour, started with one truck hauling hay and gravel out of Taylor Village in New Brunswick and the company has certainly grown since then, both organically and through acquisition,” says Chief Operating Officer, Ruby Collins. “We’re quite proud of our presence in Atlantic (Canada) today.

Headquartered in Moncton, the transportation solutions provider has operations in freight trucking, warehousing, and logistics as well as final mile courier. The company operates primarily in Atlantic Canada, with business into Quebec, Ontario and the United States. A large fleet of specialized equipment is used in all of its operations and the employee base has grown to nearly 2,000 people which includes professional drivers, owner/operators, dock workers, mechanics, administrative staff and warehousing employees.

Armour: A Driving Force In Atlantic Canada

It’s a tough business to be in these days and the challenges in the marketplace today are certainly not just an Armour problem, they’re an industry problem.

“We work diligently as a team and manage the supply chain restraints and the pressures within the marketplace daily. It requires daily management,” adds Collins.

Labour is a number one constraint and a concern, not just for the transportation industry, but industries at-large. An industry steeped in tradition, Collins says they certainly rely on the company’s historical successes to see them through challenging times, but there is a requirement for some out-of-the-box thinking when presented with times like these which are certainly unusual in the market.

Seaboard Transport acquired the company last April; however, the two respective trucking businesses continue to operate separately. According to Collins, Seaboard is focused on the bulk transportation market while Armour is focused on general freight transportation.

“Both companies are well established in their respective markets and their professional teams bring their own skills and expertise to the company,” she explains. “Our teams have been engaged in collaborating and sharing practices between both operations as part of our continuous improvement efforts.”

She says the Seaboard and Armour cultures are very well-aligned and the company remains committed to investing in facilities and equipment which will support future growth within the Armour business.

“Both are private family-owned and family-run businesses focused on safe, reliable transportation of central goods to the market and that is certainly something that is front-and-centre for both operations and we will not deviate from that path for sure.”

Seaboard and Armour remain focused on creating value for people within the organization and providing opportunities for growth and since the acquisition last April, the shared practices and the opportunities for people within each organization has become quite an opportunity.

She feels exciting times lay ahead for Armour as it focuses on investing in facility upgrades and equipment replenishment within its fleets.

“Enhancing the quality of our facilities, our footprint and certainly the equipment that we operate is really the biggest change that we see in the short-term.”

Safety is paramount for both operations as part of their mission and overall daily operating culture.

“It’s something that we are very proud of – our safety records- and it is a principal by which we conduct business in both operations.”

Armour: A Driving Force In Atlantic Canada

Career opportunities within the transportation industry are ample and diverse and according to Collins, it’s their desire to attract more young people into the industry. They continue to work heavily with schools to be a place where students who are developing their professional skills see Armour as a place of abundant career opportunities in a variety of roles.

There’s a significant labour shortage, not only in the professional driving pools, but in the technician trades, the warehousing operations, logistics, dispatching and finance.

“This business is pandemic-proof, recession proof and our goal is to attract young people into this business because we feel that they can really support their families and have a great career.”