Summer 2018
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How it began

Sterling Hornoi is a true entrepreneur at heart. As a young man growing up on a small farm just outside of Rouleau, Saskatchewan, he was always driven with big dreams and a healthy ambition. The farm life of his childhood impressed upon him certain principles: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Do the right thing. Always work hard. If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

With those principles ingrained in him, Sterling began his adventure in the trucking industry. From 1958 to 1965, he was driving truck for Hornoi Transport, a company that he and his father, Eddie Hornoi, founded. After those years spent behind the wheel, he recognized that the time had come to take a chance and start his first company, Sterling Truck and Trailer Sales in 1972, which still operates today.

During a trip to Ontario to acquire a few used trucks for Sterling Truck and Trailer Sales in the fall of 1973, Sterling made an interesting observation. “There was a rail strike in Canada at the time. I was coming back from Toronto and I noticed all of the leased equipment, rental trailers on the highway, and I thought rentals would be a good thing to bring to Saskatchewan,” Sterling recalled. As fate would have it,
when he returned to Saskatchewan from that trip, a Fruehauf trailer salesman happened to be in town; and Sterling purchased his first three rental units for $1,800 down.
Hornoi Leasing Ltd. was born.

Sterling and his wife Pat were determined to build their businesses on the same principles and values they believed in and relied on in raising their family of seven children. Pat was involved in the businesses daily with Sterling, overseeing the books and being the sounding board for Sterling in making the important, and sometimes difficult, decisions it took to allow the business to grow. In those early years, a handful of staff operated both Hornoi Leasing and Sterling Truck and Trailer Sales under one roof in Regina. This tight-knit group handled every aspect of the business at that time, from answering phones, to picking up and delivering equipment, to maintaining the equipment. That work ethic and sense of teamwork in the early stages served the young company well. In those early days the ‘fleet’ consisted of 20 trucks and 50 trailers. In short order, the customer base began to grow.

We were presented with many challenges in the beginning. We were pioneers in Western Canada in the rental and leasing business, and in Saskatchewan we were the only company that offered such a thing. Since no one had done it in the province before, there was no ‘blueprint,’ nothing to model the operation after. It was truly an exercise of ‘trial and error.’ We had to continually evaluate what worked, what didn’t work, and make constant adjustments and improvements as we went along.

How it grew

As the trucking industry grew in Saskatchewan, Hornoi Leasing grew right along with it. In 1979, the mining sector in northern Saskatchewan began a rapid expansion. This was an opportunity to extend our reach up into Saskatoon, where we opened the second location in Saskatchewan. By the mid-1980s, the fleet had grown to just over 50 trucks and 100 trailers.

A large part of Hornoi Leasing’s success since those days has been our ability to be flexible and react quickly to our customer’s needs. We had to chase the business where industries were growing rapidly and companies’ needs were specialized. When the pipeline grew, we built deck trucks with cranes. When the uranium demand took off in the north, it was not uncommon to get a call for 10-20 dry vans or flat decks at any given time. We provided a lot of equipment (and often drivers) for the Canadian Armed Forces base in Moose Jaw, hauling tanks, helicopters and all types of equipment. We became very good at finding the right connections and building the vital relationships with our equipment suppliers that allowed us to meet these needs at a moment’s notice. If there was a demand out there, Hornoi Leasing was going to find a way to meet it. Sterling’s attitude in these days was, “If we can do it, we will do it.” We were never afraid to make the investment on behalf of our customers – which created a very strong relationship between us over the years. Our customers relied on us to provide them with what they needed for their success, and we relied on them just as much.

The business went through many exciting changes over the next few decades. In 1994, Hornoi Leasing wrote its first full service lease because, at that time, the market dictated there was a need for it. In ‘97, Hornoi moved to it’s current location in Regina, expanding its footprint to accommodate the growing fleet and establish Hornoi’s own maintenance location there. In 2000, the company built a new location in Saskatoon, which is where it operates from today. In 2015, Hornoi expanded into Alberta with a location in Lloydminster to serve the ever-growing needs in the oil industry of the north. From 1990 to 2000, the fleet doubled. From 2000 to 2010, it doubled again. From 2010 to 2015, the fleet doubled once more.

Reasons for success

Sterling’s son, Shawn, who now runs the day-to-day operations of the company, has been raised in his father’s footsteps. Right out of high-school, he began running Hornoi trucks and trailers wherever they needed to go, and spent his time getting his hands dirty maintaining the fleet, and learning when and where to make the right decisions by working closely along side his dad.

Shawn learned from the outset that superior service was the cornerstone and standard for the success of the business. It had been that way since day one, and we still strive for that standard each and every day.

Two of the Hornoi’s five daughters work in the business: Tammy Hoffart and Shannon Hornoi-Ross, who have also been an important part of the company since those early years. By
managing the company’s expenses and revenues carefully and mapping out future equipment projections, they have been a vital part in the growth and success of Hornoi Leasing.

What are the biggest parts of our success? We are a Saskatchewan, family-owned business. Decisions are made on the spot, which benefits our customers by giving them solutions quickly. There is no ‘waiting for approval’ from a head office in another province, or even another country. The furthest distance employees or customers may have to go with a question or concern is a few steps down the hall. When you deal with Hornoi Leasing, you are dealing directly with the owners. The advantage we have had from the time we began, is that we have literally been in our customer’s shoes. We have seen things from the viewpoint of our customer, behind the wheel, and we can appreciate their challenges, which better equips us to provide them with better solutions that work.

Diversification has also been a huge part in our success. We have always been willing
to adapt and be creative when considering the needs of our customers.

We have staff on call 24/7 for emergency rentals. As a member of both NationaLease and Volvo Truck Leasing System, we offer unparalleled support for customers with over 1,100 service locations throughout North America.

We offer a wide range of equipment, which includes:

– 1 ton cube vans

– 5 ton straight trucks

– Day cab & sleeper tractors

– Product pump equipped tractors

– Gravel trucks/trailers

– Refrigerated trucks/trailers

– Flat decks

– Vans

– Low beds

– Storage trailers & containers

Although the years have brought new challenges, such as national rental and leasing competitors moving into our province, our foundation keeps us as strong today as we have ever been, and a true contender in the leasing and rental market in Canada. The biggest factor in our success is simply the one thing Sterling and Pat have insisted on since day one – the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated – customers, staff, everyone!

What makes us most proud is our people. Our people and our principles have made the difference and have allowed us to be who we are today.

We currently are made up of just over 25 staff in our three locations. We have been blessed with many 20, 30 and 40+ years-of-service staff members who make up our Hornoi team. Together, we truly believe in what we do, and we are equally committed in taking care of our customers and their needs. As Shawn Hornoi states, “Our staff is always willing to go the extra mile for customers. Our motto around the shop is, ‘We do difficult, but we specialize in the impossible.’”

The leadership and vision Sterling had over 45 years ago as a rental pioneer in Saskatchewan has truly set our path for success today and has kept us a strong competitor in the north American leasing and rental market. Shawn adds, “Anyone in this business knows, it is ‘a given’ that equipment will break down, and that sometimes things go wrong. It’s how you deal with it and the manner in which you look after your customer – that is your reputation at the end of the day.”

Our hope for the future is that we continue to expand our presence in this market in the years to come, finding new and innovative ways to serve our customers as the future of our industry changes and grows.

We are looking forward to hosting an open house/customer appreciation event to celebrate our 45th anniversary this fall. There will be nothing more fitting than to gather together with our staff and our customers (our people) to celebrate and thank them all for sharing the last 45 years together. Without them, we would not be where we are today, and we look forward to where the future takes us next.

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