Our company's story began in 1916 at the Pacific Highway Port of Crossing in Surrey, BC, Canada. In those early days, the Pacific Highway was just a dirt road, and the revolutionary Model T Ford was just starting to appear on the market. Our firm's roots trace back to Dennison, Raines, and our company's founder, Jack Todd. After a few name changes over the years and additional businesses such as ABC Customs Brokers (1955), Pacific Customs Brokers (1958), and Pac-Ex Services (1979) (to name a few!), our all-encompassing brand is now known as PCB Global Trade Management.

During the 1950s, Pacific Highway was not the bustling highway it is today, as most imports into Canada arrived by sea. However, commercial trucks still crossed, and brokers from across Canada needed to service their clients who traveled that road. PCB was born out of this need. Shortly thereafter, PCB not only took on all release work at Pacific Highway from other customs brokers in Canada, but it also handled the challenging, problem-ridden, and inconvenient after-hours shipments that others preferred to avoid. Although the work was demanding and often posed obstacles, it laid the groundwork for the foundational principles our team still follows today: we are problem solvers capable of clearing any shipment, at any time, at any port, and for any mode of transportation.

One of our company maxims was born out of this work: despite the difficulty of the work, serve the client well, something Jack Todd’s son, Glen, built into 24/7 service hours, expanded our services further into warehousing and US Customs brokerage, and company policies and standards that ensured clients received premium service after he took over the family business in 1981. Between Jack’s vision and Glen’s entrepreneurial spirit, we were instilled with the common-sense approach to trade and the uncommon knowledge that helped us stand the test of time over the last century.

ABC Customs Brokers was originally founded by Jack and Eileen Todd in 1954 in an abandoned Hudson Bay Trading post at Pacific Highway Crossing. Its first employees were Doddie LaFleur and Alf Bucholtz.

The company’s success was largely engineered by Glen Todd, Jack’s son. His vision, business focus, and adaptability pushed ABC to the next level again and again, offering experience and expertise that were uncommon at the time. As time went on, Glen turned his focus to PCB. Dave Bucholtz would take on the role of ABC CEO and would continue to serve its loyal clients for the duration of its time as an independent brokerage.

ABC has been a fundamental part of PCB’s history. Its storied history of outside-the-box thinking began with produce importers, which is a notoriously challenging and urgent type of import. Produce importing demands a level of precision and extensive regulatory knowledge that was not readily available, and it often requires more oversight from government agencies than many other commodities. ABC was quick to establish itself as a trusted expert in the industry, capable of handling even the most complex import challenges. PCB’s expertise in produce imports blossomed from our relationship with ABC, and it wasn’t long before that expertise grew to include every import type. ABC is a leader in clearing difficult cargo while ‘keeping it simple’ for its clients, something PCB still strives for to this day.

In 1979, PCB began offering freight services to clients, a service we continue to offer to this day. Like everything in life, it started small, as a simple courier service that served almost exclusively the Blaine/Surrey communities. Today, PCB Freight Management serves thousands of companies and provides freight and logistics services to importers and exporters from 192 countries through extensive local networks and multiple freight agency partners worldwide.

It seems hard to imagine now, but the notion of a ‘24/7’ customs broker was not common in the 1980s. In fact, in 1988, PCB became the first nationally licensed Canadian Customs broker to begin serving our clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year - a practice we continue to this day.

In 1999, recognizing the opportunity for growth and the needs of cross-border trade, we strategically expanded our operations into the United States. This significant milestone was marked by the establishment of our very first US office in Blaine, Washington, United States of America. We initially launched our services under the banner of Myers Customs Brokers, operating as Agents for Pacific Customs Brokers, under the careful eye of our Manager, Laura Myers. This initial venture proved highly successful, and the business quickly gained traction and experienced rapid, sustained growth, laying a strong foundation for our ongoing commitment to serving clients on both sides of the border.