Stephen Henderson – Owner/Operator

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Stephen has been running things at R&D since June 2006 with the help of previous owner Dwight. Stephen has been working on cars and trucks ever since he got his 1st dinky toy. He started racing as a teenager and continued throughout most of his adult life. His last race car in the Pro Stock Series was car 67, which he handed over the steering wheel to other drivers while still working behind the scenes building and fixing the car. Stephen still helps with the Dexter Race Car 0, driven by Shawn Turple, but he is available to all the race car drivers and classes for whatever their racing needs might be. Before coming to R&D he used to be the Service Manager for Stuart Pontiac helping many customers with car maintenance and any problem a vehicle might encounter. Stephen works in the shop on the sales counter, helping customers with all aspects of their vehicles needs. In race season, he hits the road with the parts trailer heading to the tracks in NS, NB and PEI. No one wants their vehicle to break down, but Stephen is there just in case and the guys are happy to have the parts they need available. Call anytime or drop in to speak with Stephen!

Dwight Giddens – Previous Owner

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The doors opened in April 1982, the name R&D Performancenter, with only a modest 1248 square feet of workspace and display area. The owner and only employee, Dwight Giddens, left his position as a licensed mechanic in Truro to pursue turning his hobby into a full time job. That job consisted of the development of a performance engine machine shop and performance parts and accessories store. By 1984 business had grown to the point that a purchase of hub town performance in Truro was in the offing. Hub Town was procured and the 2 business' run in parallel. This marked the first expansion that R&D had undertaken but not the last. Between the 2 stores there were now 3 people working and business was growing quickly. By 1986 it was time for the first major expansion at the lower Onslow site of R&D, and a decision was made to combine Hub Town and R&D under the same roof. This expansion doubled the size of R&D to 2496 square feet and sales continued to climb. In 1992 a cube van was purchased and a new chapter began as R&D added track side sales as part of their customer service program. By now 4 people handled the day to day operations and a further expansion was in the design stages. The largest expansion to date, 5952 square feet, opened in 1996. The showroom was now larger than the original building, and the growth continued. By the spring of 2000 it was time to replace the cube van with a new 26 foot air conditioned trailer to better serve the growing customer base, which now required a staff of 8 people to service. Fast forward to the spring of 2006, long time friend and customer of R&D, Stephen Henderson, purchased the company and continues the tradition of performance and customer service in the same location today.