Delta Carpets was started in 1967 by our Dad, Albert Beeksma.
Dad was born in Friesland, the Netherlands and as a young man growing up in World War II he heard stories of Canada and dreamed of living there one day.
In the 1950s with a small suitcase of his belongings and a few dollars in his pocket he and a friend took the long journey by ship. He arrived in Vancouver and moved in with his brother, wife and their four children who had a two bedroom house in Vancouver.
He told us stories of how he couldn't speak English so when he was looking for work he would go store to store on the streets of Vancouver saying "I need Albert, my name is job". He quickly found a job at a printing press and soon after began working for a carpet company as an installer.
He was very hard working and mastered the craft of installation so as time went on his reputation grew and he soon developed a lot of his own clientele.
In 1964 he moved the family to Ladner where the number of his own customers grew so much that in 1967 he decided to start Delta Carpets. The showroom was his van full of samples and the offi ce was a desk in the bedroom. Mom was at home to answer calls and as kids we were taught very young how to take proper messages.
The company grew and a storefront was needed so he opened shop on Delta street where the Pool Hall used to be. Carpet cuts were made on our driveway and Dad hired his nephews, Bob and Herman, to be installers with him.
Then, in the early 1970s the local theatre closed and Dad saw the opportunity to have a store with a warehouse and after extensive remodelling Delta Carpets moved into the back corner of the building on Haviland Street. Mom joined him in the store where she helped customers select carpet and lino as well as assist Dad with the paperwork. This was the 1970s and Mom balanced being a woman in business, a homemaker and of course Mom to us 4 kids.
Shortly after graduating from high school in the early 1980s Yvonne joined them in the store where they shared two desks in a tiny office. She helped with the paperwork and quickly learned about the world of floorcovering.
Dad needed more help installing so he hired another nephew Ron (Herman's brother) and taught him the trade. Trevor worked part time while in high school and joined full time as soon as he graduated. He learned every aspect of the business as an installer's helper, sales in the store and how to measure customer's homes for carpet and lino. It was an exciting time with new products coming from Europe like laminate fl ooring and engineered hardwood. We were unsure if they would ever take off, but we moved forward and took on the new hard surface looks to expand our product lines from just carpet and linoleum. Technology wasn't only changing fl ooring, it was changing the administrative side of our business as well. We were advised by our accountant to get a fax machine to get documents immediately instead of waiting for them in the mail and following this bought our fi rst computer.
The biggest transition for Delta Carpets was when Dad passed away in August 1992 after a hard fought battle with cancer.
After working with him for so long it was a big change for our business, and missing him as our Dad, such a beloved part of our lives. He worked so hard to build Delta Carpets and he was, and always will be such a big part of us.
We continue to carry on his legacy and even though business has changed we always maintain the highest level of customer service and treat everyone with fairness, respect and a smile.
As we continued to grow Brian, our second cousin and Helmut joined us as installers as well as Trevor's wife Stephanie to take care of the administration. We now have the third generation of family in the store with Yvonne's son Michael who joined us eight years ago and Trevor's son Cole, who comes in part time.
Our community is so awesome we love what we do. Over the years, we continue to evolve and grow and are proud to have a 3000 square foot showroom. This expansion has also enabled us to carry a large assortment of area rugs in a selection that we continue to increase. We love our community and are so proud to be a true family business for the past 50 years.
We are committed to continue serving you with the best selection of fl oorcovering products and the very best customer service with over 175 years of combined experience.
We would like to thank everyone for supporting us; we are so proud to be your one stop family owned and operated fl oorcovering store since 1967.
