ESTEVAN - L&C Trucking has been a big part of the southeast Saskatchewan business community for nearly 70 years.
In an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday, Rod Benning, one of the partners with the business, said the firm largely works with the oilfield sector, hauling pipe and anything else needed in the oilpatch, but L&C has also worked with the agriculture sector and, as he says, "they can haul anything".
L&C Trucking has its main office in Estevan with about 35 employees, and it also has a shop in Swift Current with five staff members.
Benning said business has been up and down, as with many companies in the oil industry. June was a pretty good month, he said, but July was slow and August was slightly below average. They have been able to retain all of their employees.
"I think there was a lot of companies that had a backlog of holes to drill [in June]," said Benning. "The summer months usually are a little bit slower."
The fall months are usually a little bit better for the company because harvest is wrapping up, and Benning hopes the trend will continue this year.
Benning's father-in-law Walter Christenson started the business in 1956 with Lawrence Lafrentz. In the 1970s, Christenson bought the business. When Christenson died, Benning, Blair Hunter and Lorne Christenson took on more responsibility. When Walter Christenson's widow Jean passed away a few years later, Benning, Hunter and Lorne Christenson became the owners.
The trio sold the company in the early 2010s, and then Benning and Hunter bought the company back a few years ago.
"After COVID, it wasn't doing that well, and the people that purchased us were considering closing the business, just because it wasn't making money. It was pretty much breaking even. And I just told them that if they did that [close the business], I would probably start it up the next day, because I have family and friends that work there. I know people that have been working there for damn near as long as I have."
At that point, the former owners suggested to Benning that maybe he would like to buy it back, which was the catalyst for Benning and Hunter resuming their ownership duties.
The company has done well since Benning and Hunter resumed ownership, but he recalls during the boom times when it was so busy that L&C had 75-80 employees, and people were working 12-16-hour days, seven days a week. Employees were paid very well at that time.
Benning said ownership allows him to make the decisions on how the business should be run. He has met some good people over the years, and he has had an interesting 40-plus-year career in the industry.
"I enjoyed driving a truck. I enjoyed running a loader," said Benning. "The pressures of dispatching were fine when I was younger. You get over that when you get a little bit older. I've had a lot of people that have worked here that are really good to get along with. Again, you always have some that aren't, but all in all, it's always treated me well."
Benning said people are appreciative of their work. Norm Mack is the general manager, Kerry Goudy looks after dispatching, and Benning's son Payden is not only a dispatcher but looks after the pipe yard. The staff does a great job of looking after things.
"We have staff that has been there for almost as long as I have," said Rod Benning. "They're there for a reason. They're good."
