Lower Debert, Nova Scotia — January 3, 2018 — Maritime Auto Parts recently celebrated its 85th anniversary, and with all those years under its belt, the auto recycler and parts supplier has become an irreplaceable member of its community, according to the business. “Many generations know about our business—parents, grandparents, we’ve served them all,” commented Andrew MacDonald, owner and operator. MacDonald added that that they couldn’t have gotten this far without their own community of 20 staff. “Our employees are the reason we made it to 85 years.”
Ray Fillmore, the original owner of Maritime Auto Parts, started up his business in 1932. It has since seen extensive number of major historical events. The facility was first opened smack in the middle of the Great Depression, significantly influencing what his customers would have been able to purchase. Filmore would have sold a number of Model Ts, Model As, Studebakers and Packards—starkly different from what you would find in a recycling facility today.
40 years and two generations later, in 1947, Fillmore sold his business to Basil MacKay and Harry Marsh. The pair made a number of adjustments to the facility, including organizing the vehicles into tows and eliminating that “junk yard” feel.
Ed and Lana MacDonald bought the business in 1988, expanded and computerized the business allowing management and sales to be done in the office and allowing the business to run much more efficiently.
In 2012, Andrew bought the facility from his parents, after working as an Engineer with Toyota. He has since developed a self-service facility in Halifax, a service that hadn’t been offered in Halifax. The business sponsors the local fire department, and depollutes 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles a year. “We do what we can to be involved in the community,” said MacDonald.
History has certainly been seen and made throughout the course of Maritime Auto Parts, which presents the question: What’s next for this business? Only time will tell.
