…it’s a long one…over 50 years

Al Gummerson, the founder of Shakespeare Truck Center, began a repair business in 1968 in Tavistock, in a Texaco gas station. Gummerson’s Garage Ltd. employed a staff of two.

Al wasn’t one to leave things as they were for long and was constantly looking for opportunities for growth and development in the business. With the support and involvement of his wife Mary and family of 3 sons and 1 daughter, his many years of investment in time, effort and persistence have resulted in successful longevity and now, participation of the second and third generation of family.

In 1969, the shift toward truck repairs began with serving the local feed mill in addition to automotive customers. Staffing was increased and within a couple years Al saw an opportunity for 24 hour towing and built a tow truck, then added a wrecker to the fleet.

In 1975, Gummerson’s Garage Ltd. became an International Truck Parts & Service dealership. A Used Truck sales and Body Shop division of the business were growing as well. In 1977, building modifications were made to the property and Mid-West Truck Supply, a heavy truck parts supply store, was opened.

1981 brought our move to Mack as a Parts and Service Dealer, which resulted in a strong 39 year relationship. It soon became evident that we had outgrown our Tavistock facility and in 1983, the current property in Shakespeare was purchased and Shakespeare Truck Center was opened. In 1990, a storage box business was developed, Rent-A-Box, which continues to operate from the Shakespeare location.

In 2014, a 15,000 sq. foot addition was built to accommodate additional inventory storage, drive-through bays, and machine shop area. The shop now has 16 bays.

2018 brought an exciting transition for us to a Dual Dealership as an Associate with Traction Heavy Duty Parts as well as a Membership with TruckPro for the repair portion of our business. This relationship merges well with Shakespeare Truck Center’s diverse clients and enables us to offer a complete range of truck and trailer parts, drawn from 4 Canadian Warehouse locations. We are backed with a 1 year Parts and Labour unlimited mileage Nationwide Warranty program.

In 2019, we were very pleased to become a Walinga Authorized Parts and Service Provider. Our decades-long relationship with Walinga and experience with their product has made it a very natural fit.

Our loyal and hardworking staff, some with over 3 decades of commitment to the business, have been the backbone of our many years of service in the industry. As well, we’ve had the privilege of serving a valued and loyal customer base throughout all these years and look forward to maintaining these and developing new relationships.