On August 10, 1989 Kim and Lisa Richardson took the plunge into the business world and founded KRTS. The journey began with a card table and phone in their bedroom.
The first truck and trailer was parked at the end of the road where they resided in Caledonia, and local paper advertising was placed to market the business.
Prior to opening their own business, Kim had worked with his dad training entry-level drivers and delivering driver evaluations, mostly for private carriers. It wasn’t long after the Richardsons hung their shingle that Labatt Breweries and Quality Ready Mix, now owned by Canada Lafarge, became their first regular customers. Business started to grow, so they moved the business to a fixed-up shed in the backyard and hired the next-door neighbour and another local guy as trainers.
Their children, Matt and Jamie, who seemed to be growing as fast as the business, soon started washing trucks and licking envelopes. Fast forward 30 years and they still play an integral part of the three businesses they operate: KRTS Transportation Specialists Inc., TransRep Inc., and The Rear View Mirror. Lisa is the Chief Financial Officer, Matt is the Manager of Operations and Sales at KRTS, and Jamie Phillips-Richardson is leading the Customer Service Team at the new Challenger Transportation Training Academy, a joint venture partnership between KRTS and Challenger. Although those are their official titles, they do whatever it takes to make the businesses successful.
As well as working with many for-hire carriers, KRTS has been working with Private Fleets since day one.
“Private Fleets have played a major role in the success of our business,” says Kim Richardson, President of KRTS. “Most people know us as a Private Career College, educating new operators for their class AZ and DZ licenses, along with Heavy Equipment Certification.”
The awarding-winning business has done plenty of that in their 30 years of business. They have licensed about 15,000 clients who have come from all over Canada to receive the education. KRTS also supplies Corporate Training Services in Canada and the USA, and has delivered training in Jamaica as well. When it comes to education in the transportation industry there is not much KRTS doesn’t do, and they will go almost anywhere to deliver their services.
Since August 1989, the business has continuously evolved. KRTS is known and respected on both sides of the border as a leader in their sector of the industry. They regularly challenge themselves to bring value to their customers and the industry.
In September 2015 a devastating fire destroyed their office, taking everything that 26 years in business accumulates, including many tokens that are now just a memory.
“When something like this happens to a business you fear the worst and hope for the best. We came out on top showing us just how strong our family is,” says Lisa. They found a new home at the centre of Caledonia and anyone who visits usually leaves with butter tarts from the neighbouring bakery.
“We believe we have the best people working with us at KRTS. Over the years we have always tried to hire quality people to be part of our team. We pay them well, give them all the tools and education to do their job, and then get out of their way. We treat our people with respect and appreciate them for what they do. Our core value is people,” says Kim.
It is exactly this core value that is sure to keep KRTS, and any of the ventures the Richardon family undertakes together, going strong.
