Long-Time Vancouver Island Family Transportation Company Expands
From left: Andrew Wilson, Travis Wilson, John Wilson and Samantha Wilson-Newton of the Wilson’s Group of Companies
By Mark MacDonald
VICTORIA – The Wilson’s Group of Companies is now a partner at BMT Group Services.
A staple in the Vancouver Island transportation business for decades, Wilson’s has reached an agreement to buy out BMT founders Fraser Sim and William Whitelaw, and will be equal partners with Western Stevedoring in running the bus, motorhome and truck mechanical and body repair service on McDonald Park Road.
John Wilson, President, CEO and owner of Wilson’s, says they have been working on the transaction over the past nine months, and the deal closed last week.
“Our current location on Glanford is being taken away by BC Transit, so we needed a new facility,” Wilson says, explaining how discussions began. “We’ve been looking hard for three years, and none of the options available made sense for us. BMT is a ready-made repair facility with a secondary location close by (in North Saanich) to our other operations of Wilson’s. We had an opportunity to buy in, and now we move forward.”
BMT opened locations in Nanaimo and Errington just outside of Parksville since last spring, giving them four overall. BMT is Authorized Hino Service and parts dealer, Cummins sales and service dealer, Spartan Chassis Service dealer and exclusive Alexander Dennis Service Dealer for Vancouver Island.
John Wilson, President, CEO and owner of Wilson’s Group of Companies
Wilson is excited about the prospects of owning and operating the Island Hino dealership.
“This is our first foray into owning a dealership,” he states, adding that Hino is a Toyota product. “It’s a fast-growing brand and we’re excited about it. We will now have parts, service and we’ll be selling trucks.”
BMT started in 2011 with five people and now has 35 employees.
“They’ve done very well for themselves,” Wilson states, adding that Sim and Whitelaw will move into retirement.
The family-owned Wilson’s Group began in 1980 and includes the BC Ferries Connector that provides year round, regularly scheduled transportation between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria, Gray Line Sightseeing Victoria, Tofino Bus and the Vancouver Island Connector service, and its charter and rental bus division, Wilson’s Transportation Ltd.
The group’s services cover Vancouver Island, B.C., Alberta and the Pacific Northwest.
John Wilson is also part of the ownership group for the Victoria HarbourCats and Nanaimo Night Owls baseball teams in the West Coast League, and sold his interests in the BC Hockey League’s Victoria Grizzlies in 2021 and the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Peninsula Panthers in 2020.
“The business of sport is not for money making,” he notes. “It’s about being part of the community and giving back. Our family is very sports oriented, so it’s been a real passion for us.”
Samantha Wilson-Newton, Brand Manager for the Wilson’s Group, says “we are all excited about this new venture and look forward to being part of the continued growth and success of BMT.”