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Our History

Over half a century of logistics excellence.

Half a century of
logistics excellence

For more than 60 years, we've been honing and expanding our capabilities in Customs Brokerage, Transportation or Warehousing, Customs and Compliance Consulting. 

With offices in all major Canadian cities and in strategic locations throughout the United States (including all major Canada/U.S. border crossings), Cole International is known for the passion of our people, the depth of their knowledge, and our ability to make swift and effective decisions. 

Our history

1930s

1930s

The founding member of Cole International – Cole McCubbin Limited – began its primary activity of customs brokerage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and area. The company grew by establishing branch offices and acquiring companies that complemented its core service offerings. Another key component that was considered in all acquisitions was the significant experience and quality of the employees that came with every acquisition. The result: the emergence of one of Canada's largest privately owned customs brokerage companies.
1960s

1960s

Cole McCubbin opened a warehouse operation in Thunder Bay. Soon afterward, it launched a local cartage operation to service warehouse operations. This operation evolved over time to handle international air and ocean freight. A 1985 acquisition brought with it an international airfreight agency, which prompted Cole McCubbin to establish a freight forwarding division: Cole Freight Inc., which expanded to include project forwarding, air and ocean charter, logistics planning and transportation consulting.
1987

1987

Cole McCubbin Limited acquired Lawrence Customs Brokerage, who had been operating in Western Canada since the mid 1950's.
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1992

1992

The company then began operation as a single unified brokerage under the name Cole International Inc. with offices from Vancouver to St. John's. To satisfy the specialized transportation requirements of companies involved in burgeoning trade with Pacific Rim countries, Abco International Freight was established in 1993. Operating with the support of the Cole International infrastructure, Abco focused almost wholly on the Far East market until recently, when the company began to broaden its global sphere of operations.
2000

2000

Abco established Abco International Freight (USA), which now has an office in Los Angeles.
2001

2001

Cole International responded to its clients' expanding needs by establishing Cancon Logistics Inc., a subsidiary that provides warehousing, distribution and domestic transportation services, then in 2006, Cole International USA Inc. was also established.
April 2011

April 2011

To help reflect the company's internal unity to external audiences, the company amalgamated all of its component companies (save for Abco Freight International) under a single identity – Cole International.
2012

2012

Cole International USA acquired a company with offices in Buffalo, New York, and Detroit, Michigan, to further expand its presence along the U.S. Northern border.
2014

2014

The company strategically acquired a company in Houston, Texas – the gateway to Mexico. This acquisition supports Cole International’s oil and gas clients that rely on this important cargo gateway to move their goods between Mexico and the U.S.