In the late 1960's, Cole opened a warehouse operation (Lakeside Equipment Limited) in Thunder Bay. This was followed shortly thereafter by the commencement of a local cartage operation, which is now utilized not only to service warehouse activities, but to deliver international air and ocean freight.

In 1985, an acquisition brought with it an international airfreight agency. This was expanded, and a separate air freight forwarding division was established. The operation was then restructured as a separate corporation within the Cole Group as Cole Freight Inc. With the establishment of this separate freight entity, which is staffed by fully experienced personnel in all of the major centers, Cole Freight has grown rapidly in the last few years. Through all of its freight offices, Cole can offer an expanded service package to include project forwarding, air and ocean charter, logistic planning, and transportation consulting.

On April 1, 1992, Lawrence and Cole were merged to operate under one entity and reflect their expanding activity under the name Cole International Inc.. Cole now has operational offices from Vancouver to St. John's and has become one of the larger wholly owned Canadian customs brokerage houses and freight operations as it relates to coverage across Canada. The majority of the operational offices today are located at the airport centers to provide our clients with a total logistics package that includes fast and efficient customs clearance, freight forwarding, and warehousing.

In June 1993, Abco International Freight Inc. was established to serve the increasing demand in the Far East – Canada trade lane. The expanding traffic volume in the United States spawned a new division in May 2000, Abco International Freight (USA) Inc. Offices for the U.S. division are in Los Angeles and New York. Both Abco Canada and Abco USA personnel believe in addressing customers’ specific needs and are geared to offer the best logistic solutions concerning Far East – North America traffic.

We provide extensive expertise to the primary industries of pulp and paper, mining and petroleum, in addition to consumer products and manufacturing importers. The consulting, export, and technical groups provide support to our varied clientele, and our systems department is constantly enhancing our facilities. At present, the central data base and branch on-line computer operation is expanding its EDI linkage with clients, international agents, and transportation partners.

Expanding trade with the Pacific Rim identified the need to specialize in addressing the transportation requirements for that area, resulting in the commencement of Abco International Freight Inc. in 1993. Abco concentrates on the far east market, utilizes personal knowledge of the area, and is supported by competent agents, corporate offices, and the Cole Group infrastructure.