The Saskatchewan chamber of commerce votes have been tallied and the biggest winner is small town grain trailer manufacturer Doepker Industries Ltd., of Annaheim, Sask.
The 2001 Achieving Business Excellence awards celebrated business in Saskatchewan for the past year. Doepker caught the attention of the judges for the top honour of business of the year, as well as the awards for exports and innovative work systems.
Of the 11 awards handed out last week, five went to Saskatoon, one each to Tisdale, Regina and Prince Albert, as well as the three to Annaheim.
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Doepker builds trailers for the trucking industry including logging and flat deck units, but it is known best for its steel and steel-aluminum agricultural commodity trailers, 70 percent of which are exported to the United States.
The company employs 300 people in three locations across the province and has expanded its sales 10 fold in the past decade, say company officials.
Established in 1948 as a farm equipment manufacturer, the family business evolved and expanded into a trailer manufacturer in the 1970s and 1980s and is now operated by Dave, Randy and Lionel Doepker. In 1992, the company was the first trailer manufacturer in Canada to have its quality assurance program ISO 9002 certified.
The growth has seen some controversy in the past two years. A union drive at the company’s plants made headlines, but a three-year contract resolved the issue earlier in 2001.
This is the second time the top ABEX award has gone to Doepker. In 1989 the company was rewarded for its work in farm equipment and other prairie manufacturing.
