Willson International, a customs brokerage company founded in 1918, is celebrating its 100th anniversary by thanking employees and clients throughout the year with gifts and events. The multi-generational, family-owned business has succeeded due to its focus on the Canada-US border market, being privately held, experienced staff, and single leadership over generations. The anniversary celebration included a 350-person dinner party that cost $100,000 and emphasized appreciating employees.

1. CELEBRATION CORNER
BY APRIL HALL
Willson International:
100th anniversary
The company is spending the entire year thanking employees and clients
with gifts, parties and educational events. A company history book is slated
for publication this fall.
The Business: There are
a lot of Is to dot and Ts to
cross if you’re transporting
goods across the border
between the United States
and Canada. Customs bro-
ker Willson International
has helped importers and
exporters for 100 years.
William F. Willson found-
ed the business in 1918 in
Fort Erie, Ontario, serving
as a customs broker for
goods traveling via ferry
between Fort Erie and
Buffalo, N.Y. Today, the
company serves a range
of industries, including
the food, steel, floral and
automotive sectors. At one
point Willson also includ-
ed real estate and insur-
ance units,
but between the second and third generations of own-
er-operators, those businesses were sold.
Third-generation owner Bill Willson started out emp-
tying wastebaskets around the office at age 10. Then
he was a “runner,” taking paperwork to the border and
back. After college, he worked outside the business.
He retired as an executive vice president of Harlequin
Books in his 40s. Instead of resting, he joined the fam-
ily business a few years later. He bought out his uncle
and ran the company until he was ready to retire
again, for good this time. The business was passed to
Bill’s son Peter in 2014.
Peter believes there are four reasons the company
has succeeded for 100 years through four generations:
“First, through most of our history we have focused on
a single primary market: something over 50% of goods
traveling between Canada and the U.S. travel through
Ontario, New York and Michigan. We have focused on
this market and particularly on clients in Ontario, both
importing and exporting. By remaining focused on the
needs of a distinct market, we have been able to grow,
[serve] our customers and manage risk. We are just now
expanding to Western Canada and the U.S. with focus
on what we have learned in Ontario and how to
duplicate that success in new markets.
“We also have been a family-controlled busi-
ness since our inception. Without having to
pander to market earnings requirements, we
can focus on the long-term needs of our cus-
tomers and businesses. We’ve survived reces-
sions, depressions, 9/11, the 2008 meltdown,
inception of NAFTA, etc. It’s because we can
focus on a longer term and not get caught up
by short-term issues or economics.
“Another good part of our suc-
cess is the tenure of our
team. On our senior team
we have two people with
30 years of experience
with Willson: me with
Bill (left) and
Peter Willson
William F. Willson

2. CELEBRATION CORNER
20 to 30 — if you count when I started summer work
— and many senior branch personnel with over 20
years’ experience. This gives us institutional knowl-
edge of customers, and about products and govern-
ment regulations, that is hard to match.
“The last component that has been beneficial for
us is a single leader. My great-grandfather founded
the business, and when he passed on, he split the
ownership between his two sons. My Great-Uncle
Harold played the role of primary owner until my
father stepped in to own, manage and grow the busi-
ness through the late ’80s and ’90s. I’m the young-
est of four children, but ended up as the only family
member in the business. When I speak with other
four-generation or beyond businesses, they might
have 20 family shareholders, with disparate desires,
wants and needs. As the fourth generation, I’m the
sole owner of the business and will need to factor in
my two daughters’ desires and roles, but at least I’m
not dealing with a large pool.”
The Family: Peter Willson worked for the business as a
young man, starting out sweeping up and filing, as his
father had. His father hoped he would take over, but
he wanted him to acquire a specific set of skills first.
Peter worked at Ernst & Young, where he learned
about management, and brought that experience back
to the business in 2014.
Peter is now sole owner and CEO. His teenage
daughter served as an intern this summer but hasn’t
committed to joining the company full-time.
The Celebration: The marquee event was a dinner in
Niagara on the Lake for 350 people. The company
took over a hotel there, so dinner guests were also
able to spend the night.
Above: Willson International’s founder was part of the delegation
for the groundbreaking for the Peace Bridge in 1925. The bridge
was built to commemorate 100 years of peace after the War of
1812. Below: When William F. Willson founded Willson International
for transporting people and goods from Buffalo, N.Y., to Canada,
there was no bridge. Since 1918, Willson has been facilitating trade
between the U.S. and Canada.

3. CELEBRATION CORNER
The event cost about $100,000, says Gillian Wood,
the company’s director of marketing and inside sales.
“It was more of a party, not a sit-down dinner,”
Wood says. “We wanted it to be informal and fun, not
stuffy, where you sit down next to the same person
all night.”
During the event, a loop of 200 company photos
was projected in the ballroom while people went
to different food stations and mingled. Attendees
included current and retired employees. Family
members and longtime executives delivered remarks.
In their rooms, guests found a thank-you gift: a
rose and branded chocolate bars.
The yearlong celebration began in January after
the hectic holiday season. Employees received per-
sonalized emails with a code worth $100.
A branded blanket will also be distributed to
employees, and a book on the company is scheduled
for publication in September.
In the spring, the company hosted an “executive
roundtable” with some of its largest customers —
many of them steel companies — to discuss hot top-
ics, including U.S. tariffs.
“[The tariffs] impact the volumes we are handling
and the business we’re doing,” Peter says.
The Planning: Planning for the major events started at
the beginning of 2017, Wood says. There were several
moving parts, and executives wanted flawless execution.
She worked extensively with IT to make sure there
would be no glitches with the $100 employee gifts
that were given in January.
“I was not going to be part of a gift that was frus-
trating to people,” she says.
The May event was similar to planning a wedding,
she says. That planning folded into other depart-
ments, including the CFO’s office, which kept an eye
on the budget.
Left, top: Peter Willson speaks at Willson International’s 100th
anniversary party. The company rented an entire hotel in Niagara
on the Lake, Ontario, for the celebration. Left, center: An
employee signs an autograph wall at the anniversary party. The
autograph wall is now displayed at the company’s headquarters.
Left, below: Peter Willson laughs with a few of the 350 guests
at the 100th anniversary dinner.
Peter Willson will serve as a speaker in a session entitled “Leaders, Mentors and Confidants:
Tapping the Expertise of Your Non-Family Executives” at Transitions Canada 2018. The
conference will be held Sept. 26-28, 2018, at the Waterside Inn in Mississauga, ON. For
information, see www.familybusinessmagazine.com/conference/transitions-canada-2018

4. CELEBRATION CORNER
The 100-page, hardcover book was started about two
years ago, with the hiring of an author, the prepara-
tion of an outline and research into photographs.
The Response: “There’s a real energy and a real joy in
the company right now,” Wood says. “People are feel-
ing very appreciated and proud.”
She says people have stopped in her office all year
long to say how appreciated they feel and to express
continued surprise at the ongoing celebration.
“I didn’t want our celebration to be a one-trick pony,
so to speak,” Peter says. “I think getting to 100 years is
a big deal.”
The Advice: “My biggest insight — and Peter knew it
from the beginning — is to make everything about the
employees,” Wood says. “Even if it’s just a fun email
or a $5 chocolate bar.”
The employees, not the family, are responsible for
dealing with customers every day in a century-old
business, Peter notes.
“I didn’t know when I started planning what I knew
when we ended,” he says. “It was all about them. It’s
not about me. It’s not about my dad.”
Peter advises companies that plan to publish a
history book to be patient and diligent. Willson
International’s book ran into production delays on the
way to publication.
“The challenge with a 100-year-old business is, at
the beginning no one thinks about keeping track,”
Peter says. Much of the information for the book
came from his father, who has the most institutional
knowledge of living family, he adds. nFB
Above: Bill Willson, Peter’s father and former owner of the com-
pany, speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration. Right: Jim
McKinnon, president of Willson International, is presented with a
special award at the anniversary party. A former client, McKinnon
started at Willson as CFO, becoming president in 2016.
Reprinted from Family Business Magazine® September/October 2018
© Family Business Publishing Company • 1845 Walnut Street, Suite 900 • Philadelphia, PA 19103-4710 • (215) 567-3200 • www.familybusinessmagazine.com