--- title: The Creation of the Castle Building Centres Truck Program description: A single call from a Newfoundland dealer sparked the creation of a national truck-sourcing program for Castle Building Centres. Here’s how we streamlined purchasing, financing, and fleet management for independent dealers across Canada. image: https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/CastleTruckProgram.png --- [![Trinity Truck Sales logo](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Trinity%20Truck%20Sales.jpg)The Building Centre Truck ProgramOperated by Trinity Truck Sales](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) Who We Help ▾ [Home Hardware](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/the-home-hardware-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Castle Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/castle-truck-program?hsLang=en) [All Canadian Building Centres](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-truck-program?hsLang=en) [Fleet Advisor +](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/fleet-advisor-plus?hsLang=en) [Our Truck Guide](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/building-centre-product-catalogue?hsLang=en) [About Trinity](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) [Contact](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ☰ Looking to speak with Phil? call directly at [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345) [Home](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/?hsLang=en) › [Blog](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly) # The Creation of the Castle Building Centres Truck Program ![Phil Aitken](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/e0b1fa7ef5f70dbbc84514aff5461c2a) **Phil Aitken**, President, Trinity Truck Sales • Nov 13, 2025, 2:30:04 PM • 3 min read ![\ In 2010, we got a phone call we never expected — from a building supply owner in Newfoundland who needed trucks fast. That single call ended up sparking a national truck-sourcing program that dealers across Canada still rely on today. The caller was Cluny Sheppard, former president and owner of Notre Dame Agencies and a major player in the Castle Building Centres Group. At the time, he operated multiple Castle stores across Newfoundland. He’d heard about the truck program we were running for Home Hardware — through a nephew working at a store in Nova Scotia — and decided to see if we could help him too. ![CastleTruckProgram-1](https://44792138.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/44792138/hubfs/CastleTruckProgram-1.png?width=1200&length=1200&name=CastleTruckProgram-1.png)   Cluny was dealing with the same headaches most independent building centre owners faced back then. Truck sourcing was fragmented and inconsistent. Every dealer negotiated on their own, every purchase was one-off, and pricing varied wildly depending on who you spoke to that week. There was no structure, no process, and no unified buying power. Just time wasted and money left on the table. We handled his request the way we handle all of them — directly and without friction. We sourced four used International flatbed trucks, had them ready for inspection, and Cluny flew to Toronto to look them over himself. Everything checked out, he signed the deal, and before heading off to a dealer council meeting in Florida, we got into a conversation that changed everything. That’s when we learned he wasn’t just buying for one store. He was the president of the Castle Dealer Network. We handed him a stack of business cards, and he referred us straight to Sarina Kaluzny, the VP  of Finance at Castle HQ in Mississauga at the time. Cluny told her, plainly: “Work with these guys.” From there, the door opened. We built a full truck-sourcing program for Castle dealers — a system parallel to what we’d already built for Home Hardware. Same suppliers. Same negotiated discounts. Same streamlined white-truck ordering setup. We confirmed with Home Hardware that there were no issues or conflicts, and they agreed. No trade secrets. No competitive concerns. Just a working model being expanded to support more independent dealers. Castle is a buying group rather than a traditional franchise, and **many of its stores operate under their own legacy names without the Castle branding signage.** Regardless of the variability in branding, every dealer still needs trucks — and they all faced the same sourcing challenges. The new program changed that. Dealerships gained access to organized purchasing, consistent pricing, reliable supply, and improved financing options. Around the same time, Toyota Financial shifted away from financing all building centre trucks, which created gaps for dealers. We helped fill that void by bringing in flexible financing partners who could support both Home Hardware and Castle members equally. Whether a dealer ordered one truck or ten, the process became predictable and efficient. What started as one unexpected phone call became a long-running program that delivered real structure to independent dealers across the country. It’s a reminder of how much impact a single conversation can have. When you remove friction from truck sourcing, owners get their time back, fleets stay on the road, and margins improve. Whether you run one building centre or a dozen, your truck buying process doesn’t need to be chaotic. When you’re ready for a system that works the same way every time, we’re here to build it with you. 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For 18 years Phil has spec'd, sourced and delivered work trucks for Canadian building centres. [Read Phil's story](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/our-story?hsLang=en) or call [(289) 527-4345](tel:12895274345). Have a truck decision coming up? ## Send me your daily load and delivery radius I'll come back with a spec, price and sourcing plan. No obligation, no lot-pushing. [Get a Quote](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/contact-me-global?hsLang=en) ## Keep reading [![Why Some Building Centres Are Skipping the Lot and Building Custom Instead](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Inventory/Ford/Ford%20F-550/F550%20Hodgins%20Rona.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) ## [Why Some Building Centres Are Skipping the Lot and Building Custom Instead](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) Jul 16, 2026, 8:37:15 AM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/why-some-building-centres-are-skipping-the-lot-and-building-custom-instead) [![What Ford's Latest Production Numbers Could Mean for Building Supply Dealers](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Inventory/2025%20Ford%20F150/Ford%20F150%20White.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/what-fords-latest-production-numbers-could-mean-for-building-supply-dealers) ## [What Ford's Latest Production Numbers Could Mean for Building Supply Dealers](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/what-fords-latest-production-numbers-could-mean-for-building-supply-dealers) Jun 24, 2026, 9:59:31 AM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/what-fords-latest-production-numbers-could-mean-for-building-supply-dealers) [![Top 7 Flatbed Trucks for Canadian Building Suppliers](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Inventory/Ford/Ford%20F-550/F550%20Warrens%20Home%20Hardware-1.jpeg)](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/top-7-flatbed-trucks-for-canadian-building-suppliers) ## [Top 7 Flatbed Trucks for Canadian Building Suppliers](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/top-7-flatbed-trucks-for-canadian-building-suppliers) Jun 13, 2026, 10:12:24 PM [Read the article →](https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/top-7-flatbed-trucks-for-canadian-building-suppliers) Trinity Truck Sales Inc. Phil Aitken — President  |  (289) 527-4345  |  [phil@trinitytrucksales.ca](mailto:phil@trinitytrucksales.ca) Copyright © Trinity Truck Sales Inc 2026 [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-aitken-a9b96819/?originalSubdomain=ca)    [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561022720417) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Phil Aitken", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/author/phil-aitken" }, "dateModified" : "2026-04-21T15:31:23.593Z", "datePublished" : "2025-11-13T19:30:04.000Z", "headline" : "The Creation of the Castle Building Centres Truck Program", "image" : [ "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/CastleTruckProgram.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/phil-aitkens-bi-weekly/the-creation-of-the-castle-building-centre-truck-program", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca/hubfs/Building%20Centre%20Truck%20Program%20Logo.png" }, "name" : "Trinity Truck Sales Inc." } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "jobTitle" : "President", "name" : "Phil Aitken", "worksFor" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Trinity Truck Sales Inc.", "url" : "https://trinitytrucksales.ca" } }, "dateModified" : "2026-04-21", "datePublished" : "2025-11-13", "description" : "A single call from a Newfoundland dealer sparked the creation of a national truck-sourcing program for Castle Building Centres. 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