Vernon David Erb

1935 - 2020  (84 years)

• Name	Vernon David Erb
  Born	24 Oct 1935	Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Business	Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Erb Transport
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210289541
  Interesting	business
  Residence	2781 Sandhills Rd., Wilmot Township, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Residence	1963	Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-160530
  Died	20 May 2020
  Buried	Steinmann Mennonite Cemetery, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I160530	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Samuel L. Erb,   b. 11 Nov 1905, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 18 Apr 1963, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 57 years)
  Mother	Lydia Wagler,   b. 22 Mar 1904, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 10 Mar 1982, Tavistock, East Zorra Twp., Oxford County, Ontario, Canada  (Age 77 years)
  Married	29 Jun 1929  [2]
  Family ID	F41172	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Viola Florence Lauver,   b. 2 Jul 1934, Duchess, , Alberta, Canada ,   d. 24 Sep 2022, Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 88 years)
  Children	1. Wendell James Erb
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F41760	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Vernon Erb hands over the president's mantle to son Wendell NEW HAMBURG - When he started out with one truck, 52 years ago, Vernon Erb dreamed that one day he might have a small, modest fleet. Maybe five or six trucks. Today, the Erb name crosses an entire continent. It is on hundreds of trucks and refrigerated trailers hauling food and goods to grocery stories and retailers throughout North America. Honest, hard work and concern for customers and employees built the business, says Vernon's eldest son Wendell, who was recently named president of the Erb Group of Companies after Vernon relinquished the title. Vernon, now 75, has been winding down his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Erb Group since 1999, when Wendell became general manager. Handing over the presidential title now marks a more "official" retirement, although Vernon is still chair of the board for Erb Enterprises. But retirement doesn't really mean retirement for Vernon. "He bought a farm and he is actually farming 220 acres now," Wendell says. "He still comes into the garage, but mostly to borrow tools or a mechanic." Decency, honest hard work and caring were Vernon's trademarks. "My father knew probably everything about every customer, every employee," Wendell says. "He returned every phone call and lived and breathed the company." The company now employs about 1,300 people, has 850 delivery trucks and power units that pull trailers, as well as 1,100 trailers and 10 refrigeration facilities between Winnipeg and Montreal. Vernon took a huge risk but made the right move when he competed against bigger players to get the unrestricted licence he needed in 1970 to be able to carry frozen foods up and down the highways. The deregulation of the trucking industry, starting in 1980 in the United States, further fuelled the growth of the business, Wendell says. "That allowed us to get the operating authority to truck anywhere in the United States." Trucking is now a high-tech business, he says. "It is amazing, the information that goes back and forth via satellite." There are many challenges ahead in the transportation industry, including trying to get reliable equipment that meets the emission standards of today, as well as trying to find enough drivers to replace the ones that are retiring. "Our driving workforce in general is aging and we are not seeing the people come into the industry as fast as they are retiring," he adds. But Wendell says the Erb Group has been lucky to have great employees who stayed with the company over the years. "The loyalty of our drivers and all of our employees is something that we have been blessed with." But he says the business' success is ultimately driven by taking care of customers. That was the main lesson his father passed down. "What he did was good old fashioned hard work and he took care of the customers. He never failed to remind us that we have to take care of them, and that was our recipe for success." rsimone@therecord.com

  
  

• Sources

  [S74] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Kitchener-Waterloo Record (1948-1994), Obituary of Samuel L. Erb - 19 Apr 1963. [S8] News - Gospel Herald, Obituary of Samuel L. Erb. - June 18, 1963.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 24 Oct 1935 - Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Business - Erb Transport - - Baden, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1963 - Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Steinmann Mennonite Cemetery, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth