聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 There was a buzz around Bourassas as the team from E. Bourassa & Sons held a two-day meet and greet in Carlyle to introduce the nearly 100-year-old company to communities in this corner of Saskatchewan.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to one of the owners of the family-owned and operated company, the 20,000 square- foot facility currently under construction on the west side of Carlyle will be open for business in time for this spring's seeding.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e expect construction to be wrapped up by the first week of March,鈥� says owner and general manager, Kurtis Bourassa. 鈥淲e'll be opening the doors to our customers in this area by the last week of March or at the very latest, by the first week of April. We will be open for seeding 2018.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The 20-acre Carlyle site will be the location for Bourassa's fifth store. The company was founded by Emile Bourassa in Radville in 1924, where the first Bourassa's store supplied coal and wood. Later, Massey Harris, John Deere and Oliver Cockshutt farm equipment was added to the merchandise mix.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Since then, the Bourassa family has opened locations in Assiniboia, Estevan, Pangman and Weyburn, as well as maintaining the original Radville store. The four company partners (all great- grandchildren of Emile Bourassa) recently made the decision to move Bourassa's Estevan store to Carlyle.聽聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're fourth-generation owners,鈥� says Kurtis. 鈥淚'm the general manager. My brother Dan Jr. is the general sales manager; Doug manages our Assiniboia store and our sister Diane is the corporate controller. All four partners actually work in the dealership and the values passed down to us from past generations are still as important to us as they were in the beginning, almost 100 years ago.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ith 20 acres, our location in Carlyle has room to grow,鈥� explains Kurtis. 鈥淓ventually, we'll bring in excess of 20 jobs here.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e want local boots on the ground,鈥� he adds. 鈥淩ight now, we're looking for a store manager, a service manager and a parts manager. That management team will report to me,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e'll also be hiring parts techs and service techs.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've also used a lot of local contractors for this store,鈥� says Kurtis. 鈥淥ur company slogan is 'Where People Make the Difference' and that's really important to us. Our employees at all of our stores have close ties to family, to agriculture and to their communities.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat's important, because we don't just sell a product. We sell an experience and we create a relationship and bring our customers into our family.'
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e are very excited to be opening the store in Carlyle and we're looking forward to becoming part of the community in Carlyle,鈥� says Kurtis.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've had a very good response so far from the community and lots of incoming support聽 welcoming us coming in.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 To learn more, visit .
