ESTEVAN — Camel Towing Services owner Curtis Godlien says he saw a need for his type of business in Estevan, and he's happy to be in the Energy City and serving customers.
Godlien said the business has been open in Estevan for about six weeks, but it has been operating elsewhere for about five years. The other main shop is in Qu'Appelle, and they also have a yard in Regina.
He found that nobody was providing heavy towing services in Estevan, and he was intrigued by the city's potential.
"I came out, looked at some properties around here, and I got a steal of a deal on one, so I thought 'Why not?' I bought it [the property], and now we're ready to give 'er," he said.
Heavy towing would include large trucks, trailers and equipment. They would look after medium-duty towing for such vehicles as school buses and work trucks, and light-duty options such as cars, SUVs and pick-up trucks. The business is accredited by SGI.
Eventually, they might look at providing repairs for heavy-duty vehicles as well, and they want to start selling used vehicles. At the other location in Qu'Appelle, they sell used trucks and RVs. But whether those services come to Estevan will depend on how busy they are with towing. Thanks to the size of the property, with 3.2 acres of land, there is room to expand.
Camel Towing is located at the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Perkins Street, in the building formerly occupied by E. Bourassa & Sons.
"We have a nice big yard, a nice shop and a nice big office," said Godlien. "Everything I was looking for. I wish I could have had this site in Regina or Qu'Appelle."
They have been busy since opening, and Camel Trucking has a new employee in Estevan who started this week. An office administration person also works at the Estevan location.
Godlien looks forward to getting out into the community to meet business people and let them know his business is open.
Customers have been really happy with the services provided at Camel Towing, he said.
"They're really happy that they have somebody here in town now, and definitely a professional towing outfit. We usually have pretty good response times, and we have equipment to pretty much do anything," he said.
Godlien has two heavy wrecker trucks in Estevan, a tractor unit with a 53-foot Landoll trailer for buses, a medium-duty flat deck for towing a variety of vehicles, a step deck with a tractor unit and a lynch truck, so he believes they have enough equipment for now. He wants to be ready as things do get busier.
"We'll be doing a lot of equipment hauling … and excavators and stuff like that," said Godlien.
He is pleased to be able to offer a service to people during their time of need.
"There's never a boring day," he said. "There's always something to do. You're meeting the people and helping others usually when they're in a bad situation."
