Every day thousands of tonnes of goods travel across the US-Canada border bringing various products to and from both Canada and the US. We spoke with Kyle Favel, owner and founder of Favel Transportation on his thoughts about international transportation, from grain to livestock.
Favel Transportation prides itself on its three main business units; International grain hauling, international and domestic livestock transportation and refrigerated transportation. With international grain hauling, Favel Transportation is successfully able to haul approximately 50 loads per week.
“We haul products to the USA to plants that are used for further processing into either pasta, proteins or fertilizer,” says Kyle Favel. Through this, they can haul both food-grade and feed-grade grain.
Upon their return to Canada, Kyle Favel says, “we haul products like corn. They come up to ethanol plants or to the animal feeding system like cattle feed yards or feed mills that service hogs and chickens.”
Favel Transportation is also known for its livestock transportation both internationally and domestically, with it making up its second business unit. This form of transportation primarily consists of hogs, cattle and sheep, with cattle and hogs taking up most of the international transportation.
What makes Favel transportation different from other companies that specialize in livestock transportation is its focus on cleanliness and its state-of-the-art trucks and trailers.
According to Kyle Favel, hogs are kept in a “biosecure manner meaning that the trailer is washed out and disinfected and most likely inspected by a veterinarian to prevent disease spread so that when we go to a hog barn, there won’t be any cross-contamination.”
Refrigerated transportation makes up Favel Transportation’s third business unit. This consists of food-grade products that are transported from Western Canada to various parts of the US. They primarily transport grain or oats and occasionally meats from Western Canada. Through this transportation, Favel Transportation is then also able to bring back food-grade products to Canada, including produce and other products such as milk.
According to Kyle Favel, “we use those products to go down to the US and then we have great customers that hire us to bring back our fruits and vegetables for Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba.”
What makes Favel Transportation stand out is its dedication to safety for both its drivers and the goods that the company is transporting. The way that they can keep up their high standards for safety is through transparency and honesty.
Kyle Favel says, “We satellite track our trucks. Our dispatchers are in constant contact with the drivers. They may have a weather delay, so we will give our customers that update on the weather delay.” says Kyle Favel.
Through that, they can keep track of their deliveries and ensure that the goods are delivered on time or that the customer is informed of any delays or unfortunate accidents.
Kyle Favel says, “We’re transparent because sometimes the wheels do come off the cart, and we’ll tell the customer what our challenges are and what our recovery plan is.”
“The most important thing is that we’re transparent and honest.” Says Kyle Favel.
