Nelligan resigns as Canadian Sterling and Western Star chief; will run two Sterling dealerships

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — John Nelligan, Canadian regional vice-president and general manager for Sterling and Western Star under Freightliner LLC, has resigned from that position and will now become dealer principal and general manager of Harper Ontario Truck Centres Inc.
Nelligan will also be a partner in Harper Ontario’s two dealerships — a new dual Sterling/Western Star facility in Oshawa, Ont. and the Ontario Sterling dealership in Mississauga, which was recently acquired by Harper Ontario Truck Centres from Toromont Industries Ltd.

Harper Group Inc. is owned and operated by Paul and Steve Harper. It is also the parent company of Harper Detroit Diesel Limited.

Nelligan will now assume full and complete operational responsibilities for the Mississauga location, which is the largest Sterling dealer in Canada. The Oshawa facility — which will operate from Harper Detroit Diesel’s existing location — will serve and support the east end of the Greater Toronto Area market.

Nelligan took over for his father, John Sr., at Western Star in Canada eight years ago, and five years later was named to oversee Canadian operations of Sterling when parent company Freightliner acquired Western Star and merged the two Canadian offices.

In an interview with TodaysTrucking.com this morning, Nelligan says he has nothing but fond memories as the head of Freightliner’s vocational and specialty owner-operator units in Canada.

“It was one of the best jobs I ever had. It’s a great organization to work for, and the three products are great,” he said.

Despite the fact some industry analysts are predicting a slowdown in Canadian trucking, Nelligan believes this is still an opportune time to get personally involved in selling trucks. “I think 2006 will still be a good year, and I don’t think 2007 will be as bad as people think,” he said. “Because if there’s a slowdown there won’t be a huge pre-buy and it will be a bit of a more normal market.”

Details of who is replacing Nelligan at Sterling-Western Star weren’t immediately available.