Transportation & Logistics.

Since JDI's inception over 130 years ago, their employees continue to build JDI into a diverse group of performance-driven enterprises. It is through their dedicated team using the best practices to make the best products that enable them to better serve their customers - at home and around the globe.

The seeds of our entrepreneurial diversity were first sown by company founder James Dergavel Irving (J.D. Irving) - the son of enterprising immigrants from Dumphries, Scotland.

The original company holdings included: a sawmill, gristmill, carding mill, a general store, lumber business and three farms. J.D. was an innovator and a dedicated investor in new methods, equipment to improve productivity and service - a tradition that we carry on today.

Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving, born in 1899, inherited his father's entrepreneurial spirit and keen interest in business. K.C. was a driven and dynamic builder of enterprises who "liked to see the wheels turn". Under his leadership, the business realized significant growth and diversification in the transportation, shipbuilding, construction and retail sectors.

In 1957, James K. (J.K.) Irving (K.C.'s eldest son) pioneered the company's reforestation and tree improvement programs and expanded our forest products' business. Over the past 55 years the company planted over 925 million trees - a national record in Canada. Trees, being nature's air filters, absorb carbon dioxide to combat global warming. Today, continual reforestation is sustaining jobs and value-added operations that J.K. and his sons have grown over the years.

Like the generations before them, J.K. and his sons, Robert and Jim, are builders. They believe that good products, superior service, continuous improvement and the front-line efforts of skilled employees are the most important ingredients to success.