This year, Thompson, Ahern International proudly celebrates one hundred years of excellence in service and dedication.

“We like to think of it as our initial Century of Excellence in Crossing Borders,” said President and General Manager, Rod Kyle.

One hundred years ago, Thompson, Ahern International took over C.W. Irwin (in business since 1875), a Customs Broker, Ticket Agent and Merchant Delivery Firm based in Toronto. Initially, the office was located in the heart of downtown, at 40 Yonge Street. Kyle remembers retired President, William Atkinson, now 90 years young, telling him that “the location served our clients well as it was across the street from the Customs House.”

In the early years, the company’s messenger boys rode bicycles around Toronto to hand-deliver the invoices, customs papers, cheques and bills. That is how retired President Atkinson got his start in the company. These were the days when a young fellow could start at the bottom and work his way up to be the boss.

As Thompson, Ahern International expanded, it earned the reputation of being a respected leader in the Canadian customs brokerage and freight-forwarding industry.

Throughout one hundred years of varying economic cycles, Thompson, Ahern has continued to do business as usual. When asked how the company has been successful for a century, Kyle attributes it partly to their excellent standard of customer service. “I remember,” he explained, “that clients used to meet us in our offices; all that changed in 1975 when Thompson, Ahern introduced the new concept of visiting clients in their own places of commerce to further understand their unique business needs.”

As one of a few Canadian customs brokerage firms in business for 100 years, Thompson, Ahern International looks forward to continuing to develop strategies to respond to on-going changes in the customs environment. 

On behalf of the CSCB members and staff, we congratulate Thompson, Ahern on this outstanding achievement!