CHATHAM, ON – The Chapples have been in the trucking business since the 50s and they couldn’t celebrate a wedding without a truck present. 

Wyatt and Jessika Chapple married in September and had a special guest present: a 2014 International 9900i, complete with the iconic Eagle cab interior. It’s powered by a Cummins ISX 15, 600-hp with an 18-speed manual transmission.

Wyatt’s grandparents, Keith and Evelyn Chapple, founded Chapple Fuels Limited in 1950.

“Back then we were hauling cattle; we used to raise the cattle and transport it to Toronto. And we were a PetroCan marketer for some 30 years too, but we got out of that business and work exclusively in transport,” says Wayne Chapple, current president of the Chatham, ON-based company and Wyatt’s father.

Wayne and his brother Darrell, the vice-president of Chapple Fuels, have built on their parents’ vision, have grown the company to 48 trucks and have expanded their services to include dry bulk and refrigerated services in addition to petroleum transport.

“The truck in the photos goes from Chatham to Toronto every day, hauling ethanol up and bringing back diesel or gasoline to different stations. It has some 300,000 km on it,” Wayne says.

Wyatt wanted the truck at the wedding and organized it all, says Karen, Wyatt’s mom, who is the Chapple secretary treasurer.

To get the truck ready for the reception and wedding photos, four people had to wash and polish it all through the Friday and Saturday prior to the wedding to get it to shine like brand new.

“They took up my wash bay for almost all day Friday,” Wayne laughs. “It took quite a bit of work to get it to look as shiny as that; they had it at the reception hall at one in the afternoon on Saturday.”

Wyatt, now a mechanic in the Chapple garage, started working in the family business at just 14. Back then he was responsible for- you guessed it-washing trucks.

Wyatt and Jessika now have a 10-month old son, Parker.