Vic Fremlin remains an active, successful business figure with deep roots in the Sault and the region.
Fremlin owns and operates Diamond J Farms in Bar River and Lock City Dairies in Sault Ste. Marie.
He is co-owner of Northshore Tractor with his brother Tom and recently became a partner in the ownership of Springer Aerospace.
Northshore Tractor and Springer Aerospace are located in Echo Bay.
“Entrepreneurs are a different breed. A lot of people want to be entrepreneurs. Some people go to school to learn how to be entrepreneurs but it has to be in your blood,” Fremlin told SooToday during a recent interview.
That entrepreneurial spirit and know-how certainly runs in Fremlin’s blood.
Fremlin’s mother was related to the family that operated A.B. McLean & Sons, a firm that operated tugboats.
On his father’s side, Fremlin’s great-great grandfather moved from southern Ontario to work in the lumber industry on St. Joseph Island.
The family turned to farming and Vic and his brothers worked on their father’s farm in Bar River.
Vic eventually took ownership of the farm property, known as Diamond J Farms.
He and Tom diversified and launched Northshore Tractor in 1985.
The brothers started off small, working from Vic’s farm.
“We had little Kubota tractors coming in at first. I put them together on a dirt floor in a garage with a pair of vice grips and a screwdriver. I thought that’s primitive, but that's where we started,” Vic recalled.
Over the last 40 years Northshore Tractor has prospered and is now located in a large showroom perched on a hilltop on Calabogie Road overlooking Highway 17.
Northshore sells tractors, mowers, utility vehicles, mini-excavators, a variety of payloaders and ATVs to the region’s farmers.
“The first year we sold $50,000 worth of equipment. Now we sell millions of dollars in equipment. We sell from Barrie all the way to Thunder Bay and farther. It’s been a good experience.
"We've met lots of cool people. I’ve sold tractors to guys that played in the NHL, NFL and NBA because boys love their toys,” Vic said.
Vic and Tom purchased a John Deere franchise in 1995, making Northshore Tractor the only company in North America with both Kubota and John Deere machinery under one roof.
Northshore Tractor currently employs 15 people and held a 40th anniversary celebration last Saturday.
Vic opened Lock City Dairies in the Sault in 1991.
“The community rallied around Lock City and we became a big player,” Vic said.
Vic later added Holy Cows Ice Cream to the dairy site.
“I thought ‘I'm going to make my own ice cream and sell it.’ Lots of times from spring to fall there will be 60 people standing in line there. It’s been very well received,” Vic said.
Vic and Tom became co-owners of Springer Aerospace with Dan Springer after saving the troubled operation with financial support in 2023.
“We have 63 employees there at this point. We fix planes from all over the world,” Vic said.
"I'm doing what I love. I love being an entrepreneur. I love building companies. I love moving ahead and my brother Tom’s been a great partner,” he said.
Vic is a business owner who knows how to give back to the community.
He paid for the fireworks in Sault Ste. Marie on Canada Day in 1993 and since that time Vic and other local business owners have stepped in to support the annual celebration.
Vic has also supported non-profit good causes such as the Children's Aid Society, Women In Crisis (Algoma), the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen Community Centre and St. Vincent Place.
“It’s in our blood and we can't stop doing it,” Vic said.
“I really appreciate the business awards I’ve gotten but the biggest award I get is making a customer happy, doing great in the community and giving a job to somebody who really appreciates it.
"That's what I like. That drives me to be the person I am.”