March 2017 | Business View Caribbean

78 79 Westrac Limited Parts and more Westrac Limited, an automotive and agricultural supply company in Belize, was established under the name Western Trac- tor Supply, in 1969. “It was a small compa- ny just selling replacement tractor parts for farm equipment,” says Peter Thiessen, Westrac’s Chief Executive Officer. In 1985, Thiessen, along with several other inves- tors, were given the opportunity to pur- chase shares in the company. “At that time, it only had one small building in Spanish Lookout,” he says. “Our thoughts were to go into auto parts and grow the business.We went shopping, locally.We would travel to Corozal to purchase these auto parts and resell them at retail.” In 1998, the company became a John Deere dealer, and began branching out. “We would buy in-country and resell at our location,” says Peter. “It took a couple of years until we started to import from out-of-country.” Currently, about 80 percent of the company’s parts are from the USA, with additional imports from Germany, Brazil, and Mexico. In 2002, the company changed its name from Western Tractor Supply to Westrac Ltd. in order to reflect its more diverse inventory. In 2003, it brought Pro Parts in Belmopan into the company. In 2005, it established a branch in Belize City, incorporating the Belize Industrial Agency. In 2010, in order to maximize sup- Westrac Limited