About Garden City Customs Services Inc.
Garden City Customs Services Inc. is a Canadian customs brokerage and logistics company headquartered in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Since 1981, Garden City has supported businesses moving commercial goods into Canada with customs clearance, regulatory guidance, logistics coordination, and direct access to experienced professionals.
What began as a Niagara Falls customs brokerage has grown into an organization supporting importers throughout Ontario and across Canada, with offices in Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, and Queenston and services spanning customs brokerage, import compliance, warehousing, freight coordination, and commercial vehicle imports.
More than four decades later, the principles behind the company remain much the same: accuracy, accountability, responsiveness, and long-term relationships.
Founder & Early History
Helmut Hagenberg (President) founded Garden City Customs Services Inc. in 1981 with a clear purpose: to provide superior customs brokerage service and build lasting relationships in an industry where trust and accountability matter.
His commitment to professionalism, accuracy, and personal service laid the foundation for what Garden City would become. Operating from 70 Princess Street in Niagara Falls, Helmut envisioned a brokerage rooted in community, reliability, and long-term partnership rather than short-term transactions.
Through multiple generations of family involvement and more than four decades of professional service, Garden City has evolved into the company Helmut set out to build.
Today, we continue to support importers with compliant CBSA clearance, consistent service, and long-standing client relationships.
More Than Four Decades of Service
Over the decades that followed, Garden City continued to develop alongside the businesses it served.
Through multiple generations of family involvement, changing customs regulations, new technology, evolving trade programs, and significant changes to the way goods move across the Canada–United States border, the company continued to grow while maintaining its original service philosophy.
Garden City has expanded beyond traditional customs clearance to support commercial importers through a broader range of customs and logistics services.
Today, the company continues the work Helmut began in 1981 while operating in a considerably more complex and technology-driven trade environment.
Who We Are Today
Today, Garden City Customs Services Inc. supports businesses importing commercial goods into Canada from the United States and international markets.
Our customs and logistics operations are based in Niagara, with a team that works directly with importers, carriers, and government agencies to help shipments move through the Canadian border process accurately and efficiently.
Our services include:
While the customs environment has changed considerably since 1981, our role remains fundamentally the same: help businesses understand what is required and help their goods move into Canada properly.
For importers looking to understand the Canadian customs process, our Knowledge Centre provides resources covering customs clearance, CARM, import compliance, freight, warehousing, and vehicle imports.
Meet the Garden City Customs Services Team
Garden City is built around the people who manage our customs, operations, accounting, logistics, business development, and warehousing functions.
Our team combines long-standing customs experience with the operational knowledge required to support modern commercial importers.
Lars Jensen
Controller
Solomon Jensen
Director of Operations
Kerry McCallum
Customs Clearance Manager
Jack McCallum
Director of Business Development
Tammy Mott
Senior Customs Clearance Specialist
Scott Erwin
Customs & Logistics Coordinator
Colin Todd
Customs Clearance Specialist
Melanie Bennett
Customs Clearance Specialist
Alicja Praczuk
Senior Accounting Administrator
Peter Kingston
Warehousing Manager
Our Approach to Service
Technology has changed almost every part of the customs brokerage and logistics industry.
What has not changed is the value of being able to reach an experienced person when something matters.
At Garden City, accessibility and responsiveness remain an important part of how we operate.
Our clients work directly with people who understand their accounts, products, shipments, and customs requirements. When questions arise or a shipment encounters an issue, our focus is on understanding the situation and helping move it toward a resolution.
We believe strong customs relationships are built through:
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Direct communication
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Consistent service
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Accountability
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Accuracy
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Responsiveness
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Understanding the client's business
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Long-term professional relationships
For us, personal service and modern customs technology are not competing ideas. The goal is to use both effectively.
Who We Serve
Garden City supports commercial importers across a wide range of industries.
Our clients include:
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Manufacturers
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Distributors
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Retailers
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Transportation companies
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Commercial importers
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Businesses importing equipment
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Companies with recurring cross-border shipments
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Specialized importers with unique customs requirements
Some businesses import goods every day or every week.
Others require customs support for specific projects, equipment purchases, seasonal activity, or occasional commercial shipments.
The volume may be different, but the objective remains the same: accurate customs processing, dependable communication, and a clear understanding of what is required.
Our Niagara Presence
Garden City Customs Services Inc. has deep roots in the Niagara region.
Our locations in Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, and Queenston place our operations near important Canada–United States commercial trade corridors.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is home to Garden City's headquarters and serves as a central location for our customs and logistics operations.
Our Niagara Falls operations also support commercial warehousing, inventory storage, fulfillment, and distribution.
Fort Erie
Our Fort Erie presence places Garden City near the Peace Bridge and one of the Niagara region's major commercial connections between Canada and the United States.
Garden City was founded at 70 Princess Street in Fort Erie.
Queenston
Our Queenston presence provides additional proximity to the Queenston–Lewiston commercial border crossing.
While our roots and physical locations are in Niagara, Garden City supports commercial importers throughout Ontario and across Canada. Garden City can clear goods at any port nationwide.
Continuing the Garden City Standard
Garden City has changed substantially since the company opened its doors in 1981.
Customs declarations have become electronic. Regulations have evolved. CARM has changed the relationship between importers and CBSA. Supply chains have become increasingly integrated, and businesses expect considerably more visibility and speed from their logistics partners.
Garden City has continued to evolve with those changes.
What we do not want to lose is the service standard on which the company was built.
That means remaining:
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Accessible
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Dependable
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Professional
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Accurate
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Responsive
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Accountable to our clients
Growth matters, but not at the expense of the relationships and service that built the company.
Our Vision
Our vision is to continue growing alongside the businesses we support while preserving the level of service that has defined Garden City for more than four decades.
We believe long-term success comes from strong relationships, professional continuity, experienced people, and a commitment to doing the work properly.
As customs brokerage, international trade, and logistics continue to evolve, Garden City will continue investing in the people, processes, and capabilities needed to support commercial importers while remaining true to the principles established when the company began in Niagara Falls in 1981.
Work With Garden City Customs Services
Whether your business is preparing its first commercial shipment into Canada, managing recurring cross-border imports, or looking for a long-term customs brokerage and logistics partner, our team can review your requirements.
Canadian customs brokerage • Serving importers since 1981 • Niagara Falls, Ontario