Sudbury businesses stand the test of time.

• Author: Migneault, Jonathan
• Position: NEWS - Cambrian Ford - Company overview

Not many businesses in Sudbury have lasted more than a century. Those commercial enterprises older than 100 got there thanks to great products and services that have stood the test of time, and strong commitment to their clients and customers over generations.

Cambrian Ford, which happens to be Canada's longest running Ford dealership, is one of those businesses.

Cambrian Ford's history dates back to 1910, when Alex McLeod, who operated a jitney service for Inco executives between Sudbury and Copper Cliff, visited his brothers in Detroit, Michigan.

While in the Motor City, McLeod got to meet Henry Ford, who only two years prior had started to produce the iconic Ford Model T. which became the world's first affordable car thanks to its efficient assembly line production.

Ford left a strong impression on McLeod, and the next year he opened McLeod Motors in downtown Sudbury--at the corner of Durham Street and Medina lane.

The business was a garage at first, but when McLeod noticed he did not have too many customers, he started to sell Ford's Model Ts.

The business boomed as the vehicles gave average people the freedom and independence that became synonymous with the automobile.

McLeod Motors expanded to a larger building on Larch Street, and eventually had four locations around downtown Sudbury.

The business remained in the McLeod family until 1968, when McLeod's son, Norman, who was company president at the time, retired and named Doug Heller the company's new president.

Heller renamed the company Cam brian Ford.

He retired in 1975 and sold the company to Bruce McCulloch, who brought Russ Boyle on board as his business partner

In 1979, McCulloch and Boyle moved the business to a new facility at the corner of the Kingsway and Second Avenue. Cambrian Ford has remained at that location to this day.

In 2000, McCulloch's sons, Stephen and Scott McCulloch, took over the family business.

Scott McCulloch said the biggest challenge the business has faced during his time there was the 2008 recession. He said Ford took big steps before the economic downturn to reduce its expenses and improve its research and development.

"We survived the recession, and unlike other manufacturers that went bankrupt, Ford kept plowing ahead ... and in two years our sales doubled," McCulloch said.

The dealership has 84 full-time employees and around five part-time workers.

As for the future, McCulloch is an optimist and sees Cambrian Ford continuing its long history in the...