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![\"Aaron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4324831_web1_2026-06-18---Groupe-Touchette-01-by-Aaron-Epp.jpeg\")
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Aaron Epp \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Paul Hyshka, vice-president of independent sales at Groupe Touchette, in the company\u2019s Rosser warehouse at CentrePort Canada.<\/p>\n
In early 2020, Groupe Touchette \u2014 the largest tire distributor in the country \u2014 opened a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in the portion of CentrePort that falls within the RM of Rosser.<\/p>\n
Four years later, the company announced plans to build a second distribution centre beside the first one.<\/p>\n
The now-completed facility is connected to the first, effectively making it a 106,000-sq.-ft. addition. It brings the company\u2019s total space to 206,000 sq. ft. on 12.6 acres in Brookside Industrial Park, just south of CentrePort Canada Way on the west side of Route 90.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Groupe Touchette announced it was investing $19 million to build the new distribution centre. On Thursday, Hyshka declined to say how much the company ended up spending.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in our DNA to continue to expand in environments like this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s key to show that we\u2019re committed (to Manitoba). We\u2019re putting in foundational roots. We\u2019re not just here for a short time. We\u2019re here for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Founded by Andr\u00e9 Touchette in 1979, Groupe Touchette serves automobile dealerships and independent tire retailers. The company also operates retail banners including Tirecraft, Integra Tire, Signature Tire and Touchette Motorsport.<\/p>\n
Groupe Touchette has more than 1,800 employees and, Hyshka said, is present across Canada with more than 40 distribution centres. \u201cEvery one is just as important as the other because it\u2019s servicing the local (community).\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s CentrePort distribution centre can hold up to 239,000 tires and focuses on customers in Manitoba.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving everything local is going to be making us better at servicing the customers, and not dependent on other parts of the nation,\u201d Hyshka said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can put the right product in the right place at the right time, and (we) have the space to do it, everybody wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
The centre has a 10-metre clearance height that allows for efficient storage of inventory, and wide aisles so employees can navigate through the building with ease. There\u2019s ample lighting throughout the warehouse, including a series of north-facing windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about having the right space design so that it\u2019s safe and efficient,\u201d Hyshka said of the hub, which employs 30 people year-round and another 10 during the winter.<\/p>\n
Carly Edmundson, president and CEO of CentrePort, is pleased Groupe Touchette decided to expand locally.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is great to see that they saw so much advantage to being in CentrePort that they wanted to double down on it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe love to see these Canadian companies growing and seeing a future at CentrePort Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much is happening at CentrePort right now, Edmundson added. In CentrePort North, in Rosser, construction continues on Keystone Industrial Park, which Exemplar Developments is bringing to market. The company is preparing to break ground on another industrial park beside Keystone.<\/p>\n
In CentrePort South, in Winnipeg, the first development applications have been filed for two major industrial parks: Sturgeon Industrial Park by MMI Developments and Catalyst Park by Jessiman Family Investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a busy building time at CentrePort and that really represents the results of a big collective effort in the community to make this inland port a reality,\u201d Edmundson said.<\/p>\n
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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