Chinook Equipment is a division of the Davis Automotive Group, a Top 50 Best Employer in Canada since 2012. The foundation for Chinook Equipment can be summed up in our mission and vision statements. These statements were carefully constructed, and are a true representation of “why we exist” (mission), and “what we want to be” (vision).
Our roots take us back to 1978, when a gentleman by the name of Edwin Valgardson opened a heavy equipment repair shop in Taber, Alberta. Edwin was approached by Hyundai in the late 90’s, and in 1997 became Alberta’s first and only Hyundai Construction dealer. Fast forward to today, and Chinook Equipment has evolved into a full-scale heavy & agriculture equipment dealership serving Alberta and beyond.
We are Canada’s top Hyundai Construction equipment dealer, Canada’s longest standing Hyundai Construction equipment dealer, and a top 5 Hyundai Construction dealer in North America. In 2020 we entered into the agricultural sector bringing on four agriculture specific brands: Versatile, Vermeer, McCormick and Trioliet. Our expansion into the agriculture industry has helped us diversify, and gave us the ability to present additional product offerings to our rapidly growing customer base.
Chinook believes having the right person for any given position is imperative. This approach has enabled us to continue to maintain a positive and cohesive culture. On top of considering the knowledge, skills and abilities of candidates, Chinook & The Davis Auto Group place very high importance on character, values, attitude, and community involvement. Here are a few details on some of the key individuals within our organization:
Mike was born and raised in Southern Alberta and has spent the majority of his career (Since 1994) in his families’ business. The Davis Auto Group consists of 12 automotive dealerships and a few other related businesses. Mike has been involved in the transformation of CEM Heavy Equipment to Chinook Equipment since the Davis Auto Group partnered on the operation in 2014.
Doug resides in Lethbridge where he started his equipment career in a single store, John Deere dealership. Over the past 14 years, he has held Key dealership roles in the aftermarket, general management, and more recently was the Director of Sales / Vice President of the largest John Deere dealership group in Canada.
Brent’s career has spanned a wide variety of roles over his 20+ years in the equipment industry. These roles include inside sales rep/sales coordinator, territory sales manager, director of fleet management, director of sales & marketing, general manager, regional manager and present day: - Director of Sales - Construction.
Nic has 9 years experience in Agriculture equipment sales, three of which were in dealership sales management with New Holland, Versatile, and Vermeer. Prior to joining the dealer channel Nic was a manufacturer representative for Jaylor.
Drew joined Chinook Equipment as the Controller and Operations Manager in June 2021. He previously held a public accounting role where he received his CPA designation. Drew is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, where he earned a BBA with an accounting major, while attending as a student athlete.
Tim has 15 years of parts management experience within a dealership environment in the UK and Canada. He has held a corporate parts management role for three years while managing multi branch locations.Tim has previously worked as a manufacturer representative for AGCO / Fendt across the prairies, BC, and Montana.
Christine has a passion for dealerships, an affinity for management accounting, and is highly organized.She has 10 years of leadership experience which includes tenure as an accounting manager for the Davis Auto Group, and more recently controller & operations coordinator for CEM Equipment. Christine has held a Fixed Operations Role for Chinook since 2021.
