CNG: A Family Business

CNG’s Clayton Hiebert began his career in the way it remains now: as a family business. On the family farm in Manitoba, Gerald Hiebert taught his son all the tricks of the trade: how to build anything, fix anything, and how to be a jack of all trades like he was.

After working as a long-haul trucker for a time in Manitoba, Clayton moved to Alberta in search of new opportunities around the same time as all of his siblings did the same. His parents followed shortly after too, wanting to keep the family together. 

It gave Clayton and his father Gerald the opportunity to begin working together again, just like old times. One of their first projects together was outfitting their yard with a sea container storage unit that had a custom rollup door. They didn’t realize it at the time, but they were advertising an in-demand product; people driving by saw the custom container and came into the yard asking for one of their own, and even requesting custom conversions. It’s almost as if CNG Containers was just waiting to be created. And it wouldn’t have happened without a close working relationship between a father and son.

The importance of family to CNG is built into the company’s foundations, including its name (CNG = Clayton n’ Gerald). Clayton’s two children spend afternoons at the Nisku shop, helping out where they can and even learning to drive the front-end loader. Clayton manages the day-to-day operations of the shop and CNG’s eight employees while Gerald focuses on quoting and customer relations. A family-oriented business begins at home. Clayton makes a point of imparting lessons onto his kids like staying honest and doing the job right the first time—even when they’re just doing the dishes. CNG’s values are family values.

It’s in customer service where a client can see for themselves just how the idea of family is built into CNG’s DNA. Clayton and Gerald see each and every client that comes in looking for a custom container conversion as a part of the family, and treat them as such. They make sure to make conversations with clients and connect with them on a personal level, so no one receives their order feeling like just another number; you feel like they care about you and your business, because they do. It was a collaborative family relationship that created CNG so it’s only natural that the business operates that way too.

Communication is key to CNG’s style of customer service. The project doesn’t start until the client feels heard, and after a few rounds of feedback, the drawing suits what they are looking for. It’s the best way to understand a business and design a custom conversion that fits their needs to a T. On top of that, there is clarity built into the quoting process. The price you see is the price you pay: no changes, no hidden fees, no surprises. 

The respect Clayton and Gerald have for their customers finds its way into their QA processes, too. Clayton doesn’t ship anything that he wouldn’t be happy to buy himself, or that he can see room for improvement on. And his QA standards are high. If, for example, a pop-up container comes out of the paint shop with some dripping, it goes right back in again to be corrected. Most people wouldn’t notice, but Clayton does—after all, these products represent the strength of what he and his father built together. If the products are good, the business is good, and if the business is good, then so are the relationships that keep it humming every day.

Clayton and Gerald love being in business together. They make decisions together, bounce ideas off one another, and trust each other totally. Gerald taught Clayton everything he knows, and if Clayton’s kids want to join the family business, he’ll teach them in the same way. 

If you’re looking for a custom container conversion, work with a company that makes you feel heard and puts your needs first. Work with a true family business. Contact us today.