Currie Heavy Towing Celebrates 75 Years

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Pride of Currie Heavy Towing’s fleet—two 75-ton Miller rotators, Freightliner on the left, Western Star on the right (along with Lil Sid and Tow Mater the golf cart). Photos courtesy of Currie Heavy Towing

The legacy of industry pioneer Alex Currie lives on in the Currie family group of companies

by Marcus Thompson, Operations Coordinator, Currie Heavy Towing

Alex Currie was a trailblazer. He started in business on December 20, 1949, establishing Alex Currie Motors Limited in Elmvale, Ontario. Alex was an entrepreneur who had a keen eye for spotting potential and a strong stomach for taking risks.

One of Alex’s earlier risks was the decision to sell the family car sometime in 1950 to fund the purchase of a very large
Braden winch. Alex was a pioneer in the heavy towing and recovery industry, and that first step, while likely landing him in hot water at home, was the beginning of several successful decades in the heavy towing and recovery business.

While that gamble may have been one of his first, it was far from his last. The company he built became the foundation for the Currie group of companies that are still going strong today.

Tow Canada-Sep-Oct-25-cover
Originally published in Tow Canada
Sept-Oct 2025

Excerpted from the Sept-Oct 2025 issue of Tow Canada. To read the full article, sign up for your FREE digital edition here.

Currie’s first tow truck chassis, an International KB6. The wrecker body was homemade with a Braden winch.
Alex Currie in 1957 offering 24/7 service.
40’ and 32’ removable booms were designed to be added to assist with raising trusses in barns, etc. Cranes did not exist in the area at the time. The main boom had slings attached to the jib boom. Moving the main boom from horizontal to vertical would in turn set the height of the jib boom.

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