Roadside Service: What Sets Canvec Apart
Danny Lefebvre is the president of Canvec and particularly proud of his roadside assistance service. @Credit: Canvec
Canvec and particularly proud of his roadside assistance service. @Credit: Canvec
The Montreal-based company also offers truck and semi-trailer rentals in Quebec and Ontario. @Credit: Canvec
The Montreal-based company also offers truck and semi-trailer rentals in Quebec and Ontario. @Credit: Canvec
Technicians are trained in electronic diagnostics, an essential skill for modern truck repairs. @Credit: Canvec
Technicians are trained in electronic diagnostics, an essential skill for modern truck repairs. @Credit: Canvec
Technicians are trained in electronic diagnostics, an essential skill for modern truck repairs. @Credit: Canvec
The hallmark of the Montreal-based company Canvec is their adaptability, offering diverse services to businesses requiring efficient heavy transport solutions.
Founded in 1990, Canvec's primary mission was to rent all categories of semi-trailers to retail businesses, transport companies, and institutions. Today, it's clear that this family business has expanded their scope of operations and offers fleet managers much more comprehensive support, particularly through their roadside assistance and maintenance service.
"Our company was first built to offer short- and long-term rentals of flatbed, dry, and refrigerated semi-trailers," explains Danny Lefebvre, President of the company. "But in 2017, we introduced a 24/7 emergency breakdown service across Quebec. This assistance isn't limited to our trailer rental clients – we support all heavy vehicles facing roadside issues, whatever the problem may be."
A service in high demand
The roadside service has actually become so successful that it now leads their operations and represents a key point of pride for the company. The popularity of this service has driven expansion across all of North America. While their own mobile units serve Quebec and Ontario directly, they maintain a network of handpicked partners to deliver service throughout the rest of the continent.
"Whether it's a Quebec driver with a flat tire along a highway in Arizona or an Ontario driver broken down in Quebec, we provide support in their preferred language as quickly as possible," Lefebvre explains. "On this front, there are no false promises. We tell the operator exactly how and when our help will be deployed."
Throughout Quebec and Ontario, their quick-response units travel highways, roads, and even country lanes in one of 35 Canvec-branded service vans. These include Mercedes Sprinter, GMC Savana, and Ford E-450 vans, loaded with the tools and parts needed to respond to truckers' distress calls. Self-sufficiency and maximizing space utilization are critical here, particularly to reduce vehicle weight. Moreover, worth noting is management's current assessment of a possible shift to electric vehicles, which represents a forward-looking approach to reducing emissions in their operations and for their client base.
These service vehicles are also used to provide necessary preventive maintenance for semi-trailers and trucks rented by clients. For example, if a trailer, immobilized for a few hours at a client's location within a 100-kilometre radius of Canvec's headquarters, requires light maintenance or a simple repair, a service unit can be sent to the trailer’s location.
Efficient dispatch of units
"We have an outstanding dispatch service," says Lefebvre. "We want to ensure that our clients don't have any problems with our equipment, knowing the devastating effects of downtime on the profitability of their operations. Often, this maintenance and these repairs are carried out when the vehicle is stationary, without disrupting the driver's schedule."
An important detail is that all roadside service vans are customized and fully equipped by the technical teams at the company's headquarters garage. This is the same shop Lefebvre now aims to expand to support more extensive maintenance services. "The demand from clients wanting us to handle their heavy-truck maintenance is substantial, but qualified labour is scarce, and we barely have the resources to focus on the vehicles and semi-trailers in our rental programs."
Mobile phones and tablets
Canvec didn't wait for the recent digital boom—they modernized years ago. Paper-based transactions were eliminated approximately a decade back. Their current operations rely on the versatile combination of tablets and smartphones to maximize efficiency.
The company wants to go further by implementing, among other things, a geolocated communication tool that will tell the broken-down trucker the estimated time of arrival of the service unit. They will be able to track the assistance, just like tracking a package.
The emergency repair roadside service is accessible to all heavy-truck operators, whether they are clients or not. "If the trucker has an account with us, billing is automatic. If a stranger calls us for help, we will definitely go, and the fees will be charged to their credit card," says Lefebvre. He points out that emergency roadside service frequently opens doors to new business. "When we're helping someone with aging equipment that's breaking down regularly, we can offer newer rental trucks or semi-trailers as an alternative solution," Lefebvre explains, referring to his company's integrated service model.
Common breakdowns
There’s no doubt that Canvec's roadside technicians encounter a wide variety of situations. A review of their most common service calls reveals that many issues could have been prevented with thorough maintenance routines. Frequently occurring issues include problems with electrical fuses, brake systems, frozen lines, turbochargers, alternators, electrical connectivity, air systems, suspension components, cooling systems, ABS modules, and wiper assemblies. Despite what many might assume, flat tires are comparatively rare occurrences.
