Everyday Heroes: Meet Finning's service ... - Finning Canada

old daughter, Carleen Rose Borek-Walker, ina highway accident.But back in the 1950s, the Boreks built thebusiness, supplying their tractor to oil companiesto truck water and supplies throughtreacherous roads. The Boreks also startedcutting seismic lines for oil companies, in thePeace Country and in the Arctic.“Kenn was a major player in the initialexploration of the High Arctic and northernBritish Columbia in terms of seismicexploration,” says Stan Prince, Finning’svice president of operations for B.C. “Hehad machines in Norman Wells, NorthwestTerritories, for years. He left his equipmentup there and would cut seismic lines in thewintertime and park it for the summers.”And Rosella kept up with him. For the firstfew years of Borek Construction, she lookedafter the parts and personnel and often drovenorth to deliver supplies to Kenn.Then, when there was no one in the Arcticto fly supplies to remote camps, Kennstarted his own airline in 1970 with one TwinOtter. “He was a classic man of business,” saysRosella. “He took advantage of an opportufleetfirst: “Kenn stayed with Caterpillar becausewe could keep it running,” says Stan Prince.“And he ran a good fleet.”nity when he could. He ended up building acompany that really transformed the aviationindustry.”Finning followed its biggest customer,opening its Inuvik, NWT branch soon aftersome encouragement from Kenn.“Finning was growing at the same timeon a fishing trip Kenn didn’twant to stop for lunch – thatdrive carried over.Borek was,” says Prince. “At the end of the day,Kenn stayed with Caterpillar because we couldkeep it running. And he ran a good fleet. He’dkeep a 30-year-old Cat, even if it was paid off25 years earlier. If he got one more winter’swork out of it, he’d come out ahead. He ran agood business and was a shrewd negotiator.”He also knew his machinery inside out.Prince remembers being a young apprenticewhen Borek would have some Cats in theshop. Kenn would come in every day to eyehis investment – his Caterpillar equipment– scrutinizing the work Prince and the otherswere carrying out, often not saying a word.“Kenn was strictly a Cat man,” says WayneMiddleton, manager at Borek Construction.“He was very faithful to his Caterpillars.”On the personal side, Kenn showed differentsides of his personality to different people– and dogs; he always had a dog by his side,especially his favourite, Sergeant Pepper.Described even by Rosella as “private inmost things he did,” Kenn was always determined.Dave Ritchie, the founder and formerCEO of Ritchie Bros. Auctions, recallsgoing on a fishing trip with Kenn and Rosella.“Kenn was aggressive and didn’t want tostop for lunch – that drive carried over to allaspects of his life,” says Ritchie, who first metKenn in the early 1960s. “But he had a funnyside, too. He was good at kidding me aboutanything.”Despite the “remarkable empire” Kennand Rosella built together, he never put onany airs, says Ritchie. Although he could afforda more luxurious means of transportation,Kenn once arrived at a Greyhound busstation two hours early, just so he could getwww.finning.ca Spring 2008 • tracks & treads 29