The End
of An
Era
For someone who has experienced a lifetime of adventure, Dave Wellings is ready
to step into the next challenge. After owning Dave’s Transport Limited, K&D
Truck Parts and Cara Dawn Transport Ltd., spending time mining for gold in the
Yukon and helping found PV Waste Solutions, Wellings is getting ready for an auction sale
that will sell many of his assets.
Even then he intends to keep his yard site with office space, storage and mechanics shop
in the hopes of becoming a landlord or embarking upon yet another business venture. He’ll
hang onto a grader and loader to develop some industrial property he owns and he could sell
parts out of his shop if no one is interested in leasing the space.
“For me, it’s more of a holiday to drive a dozer and grader than anything else,” said Wellings.
“That will be my retirement hobby. I’ll probably keep my hands busy doing something.”
As a second-generation member of the heavy construction industry in Saskatchewan,
Wellings has first-hand knowledge about working in road construction. His father owned
a gravel crushing and hauling company and when he died in 1975, Wellings purchased
some of the trucking equipment from his mother. This began Wellings’ first venture: Dave’s
Transport Limited.
As he was running the company, Wellings realized that he could keep his trucks running
longer, reduce his downtime and ultimately keep his costs down by parting out his more experienced
trucks. After successfully buying and parting trucks, he decided to add on truck
repair. So a year after starting Dave’s Transport Limited, Wellings began K&D Truck Parts
and Service.
Wellings enjoyed the new company and decided to wind down Dave’s Transport Limited.
The long hours and time spent away from home on job sites convinced him to concentrate
on K&D. In 1981, he had the opportunity to get back into the transportation business when
Cara Dawn Transport Ltd. was up for sale.
“I really kind of owned the company by accident,” explained Wellings. “I bought Cara Dawn
Transport from Al Engel and we started out pretty slowly. I took off for a couple of years north
PHOTOS: PATRICK REDIGER
Dave Wellings prepares to
sell Cara Dawn Transport
By Pat Rediger
28 Think BIG | Quarter 3 2019 | saskheavy.ca
/saskheavy.ca
