"I'm a salesman. Any
small business is fine. Bigger is not always better."
That's a lesson Trites learned when the company failed
earlier this year. Butchers & Packers had operations in
Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie and Port Moody, B.C.
The original Edmonton Butchers & Packers was
founded by G.H. Saywell, and was later taken over by his sons.
A separate company of similar name was started
earlier in Calgary in 1919 but was bought by Edmonton Butchers &
Packers in 1986.
It employed 60 people when the bank called its
financing.
"Most of them had jobs within days," said
Trites.
"Butchers & Packers has been around a long
time; it was a shame to see it go down."
The Grande Prairie operation was sold to employees,
said Trites, who was part-owner and president of the failed version
of the company.
Butchers & Packers supplies meat industry
products like grinders, knives, casings and additives like peppers
or liquid smoke.
Its customer base is independent butchers, many of
them rural, and hunters.
During hunting season, the store is open Saturday
mornings. Butchers & Packers began sponsoring a midget-level
hockey team through the Canadian Athletics Club in the early '60s.
"We are going to continue that
sponsorship," said Trites.
