PARADISE HILL - A longtime Paradise Hill business has received a prestigious honour at this year’s ABEX awards.
Novlan Bros. Sales has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame. They were formally awarded that honour at the ABEX awards presentation that was held virtually Oct. 22.
The awards are organized by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the best of Saskatchewan business. The Sask. Chamber states in a news release that Novlan Bros. was inducted “for their long-term contribution to the economic well-being of the people and the province.”
According to Brett Novlan, one of the managers at Novlan Bros., the award came as “very unexpected — we were unaware we had been nominated.”
He called it “humbling” for the Paradise Hill-based business to receive the award.
“We are in a pretty small community here, so an award like this I think reflects upon not just us as a business, but the whole community in general. It takes a strong community to build and maintain a business for this long.”
Brett is the son of Randy Novlan, who along with Doug Novlan owns the business today. With Brett, his brother and cousin involved in the family business, there are now four generations of the family who have been involved in Novlans.
Randy’s grandfather Frank Novlan Sr. launched the business back in 1929.
According to Brett, Frank Sr. started out as a farmer but decided to move into business. “He had his hands into quite a few different sectors in the community at the time.”
It started out as a farm implements dealer and service station, and there were a few franchises that came and went with the business over the years.
Nowadays, the franchises they deal with are Ford, New Holland Agriculture, Bourgault and other lines. Ford and New Holland are sold out of their Paradise Hill location, and they also have farm implement dealerships in North Battleford and in Lloydminster that sell New Holland and Bourgault.
Brett said the award wouldn’t have been possible without the work of the staff and the many customers over the years. Novlan Bros. now has more than100 employees.
“We have a long employee retention which I think shows what we do for the people. We know it’s the people who make our business what it is. We have one employee who’s been here over 50 years and I think that kind of dedication shows the commitment we have to the people.”
In a statement, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan said, “We are very excited to induct Novlan Bros into the Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame. The business has demonstrated resilience, growth and an innovative spirit since it first opened its doors in 1929.”
