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In 1976, Gerald Baptist from Edmonton, started Cascade Carriers in Taber after securing the contract to transport sugar beets from local piling stations to the Canadian Sugar Factories plant in Taber. We are proud of the strong relationship with the team at what is now Lantic Sugar as we continue to handle their sugar beet logistics and sugar haul to their customers for nearly 50 years. This theme of long-term relationships with customers has been consistent throughout our history.
In the early days, we started with just four tractors, seven beet trailers, and a handful of 45-foot dry freight vans. We also hauled liquid sugar with factory-owned food-grade tankers. Cascade also hired ‘leased operators’ to manage the workload of our growing business. In 1980, our name changed to Chinook Carriers Ltd. As demand for our services increased over the next two decades, we expanded our tractor and trailer fleet and increased the size of our facilities.
In 1996 Chinook secured a contract with Frito Lay (now Pepsico-Frito Lay) to exclusively haul potatoes to their plant in Taber, which we still do to this day. We introduced insulated, heated vans equipped with conveyors to safeguard the produce from extreme temperatures. Soon we started to haul to York Farms. With the arrival of Lamb Weston and McCains, we increased equipment and employees. Lamb Weston also contracted us to fill their on-site storage and transport potatoes to their plant as required. We now had to build a new 16,000 square foot facility.
The year 2001 saw the addition of belted trailers to our fleet to service Lucerne (now Nortera). We still continue this service.
At present, Chinook Carriers manages a fleet of 60 tractors, over 100 trailers, 4 loaders and potato handling equipment (for Lamb Weston Storage).
In 2023 the Baptist family made the difficult decision to sell the business. It was their wish that it remained a “family business”. The new ownership team includes John and Jonathan Klemen. John has been with the company since 1979 where he started in the shop and moved up into management. His son Jonathan has worked for Chinook since 1997 and is currently the Assistant General Manager. They partnered with their family, the Kasko’s, to take the reins of the company. This transition ensures that Chinook Carriers will continue to be family-owned and will uphold the standard and dedication that have been our hallmark from the beginning.
