Developing skills and building experience are key components of a successful business. Using these wisely is what sets the truly remarkable companies apart. Samir Joubran got into the custom millwork business out of passion. An immigrant from Palestine, he moved to Toronto Ontario in 1967, one of the first of his large family to make the journey. Knowing very little English, he got his start renovating basements. A cabinet maker by trade, his expert craftmanship and attention to detail shone through, and his clientele rapidly grew until seven years later, someone asked him if he could do a store fixture remodel. Admittedly, he didn’t know what that meant but was confident he could figure it out. He said yes and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Provincial Stores Fixtures Ltd. officially incorporated in 1976 and while the scope of services has grown, now including a full-service offering at all stages of the project, the name has stayed the same as a nod to its humble beginnings.
Around 1985, 70 percent of its business was solely in the retail industry. Samir along with his three sons Eddie, Henry, and Samer decided to diversify, expanding into the corporate, hospitality, entertainment, high-end residential and institutional sectors. Nearly 40 years later the founder-owned, family run business is ushering in its third generation to handle operations, with Samir still coming into the office every day while his grandchildren, Samir (named after him), Andrew, Marco and Michael occupy leadership positions, working alongside father’s Eddie, and Henry.
Today, the company does so much more than its name suggests. Showcasing an ability to revolutionize the industry, PSF is a Project Management company while also possessing large automation and production facilities. By working with clients right from the beginning, the company is able to assist and guide clients throughout the process from start to finish. It’s in-house skillset includes the ability to handle anything and everything to do with wood, incorporating glass, decorative metal, stone and much more to design and install custom millwork for large-scale clients all over Canada and the United States. As for the work Provincial Stores Fixtures Ltd. is known for? It speaks for itself.
“When you walk into a building, you’re not inspecting the plumbing or the electrical,” says Samir Joubran, grandson of the founder and current go-to guy for all things related to PSF as a whole. “While those things are integral, what sets a building apart is the millwork.”
“When you walk into a building, you’re not inspecting the plumbing or the electrical. While those things are integral, what sets a building apart is the millwork.”
Take The Art Gallery of Ontario for instance. Located downtown Toronto, gallery goers walk in and are greeted with a stunning wrap around wooden staircase, leading up to the expansive building’s second floor. The team completed all millwork throughout the facility, working hand in hand with world renowned architect Frank Ghehry over a three-year period. The end result was an award-winning staircase, retail store and restaurant.
In recent years, Provincial has been doing a ton of work in the U.S. market, predominantly in Las Vegas, Florida and the western state of Montana. In fact, Provincial’s first ever $30 million project was for Big Sky Montana’s Yellowstone Club, a private, members-only ski and golf community servicing high-net-worth individuals. This was a four-year program which consisted of the building of 47 custom Condos. Amenities on the project included multiple restaurants and bars, spa, locker rooms, and communal spaces. Additionally, PSF opened its Montana Office during the completion of this project.
In Vegas, Provincial has been engaged in non-stop work, servicing casinos, hotels, restaurants and commercial properties. “It’s great work out there,” says Samir, who pauses for a moment when his grandfather and company founder walks into his office to tell him something – a regular occurrence. “He’s here every day,” Samir says with a laugh, “Closed doors don’t mean much here either.”
Back to Vegas, “The clients, the projects, we love working down there.”
Most recently, Provincial did the architectural millwork for an upscale hotel in Boston called Raffles. Over a three-year period, the team was responsible for completing work on one restaurant, three bars, 10 floors of hotel millwork, all amenities, ballrooms and meeting rooms, in addition to 15 floors of residential millwork. For PSF, this project enabled it to show off its technical skill, completing all of the decorative metal, upholstery, glass scope on top of the standard millwork scope.
At Provincial, all project’s focus on three pillars: schedule, quality and budget and while they are continuing to expand into the U.S market, Canadian-based projects will always be a focus, including some on the roster that have been clients for nearly the entire time the company has been in business.
As Provincial looks to the next four decades, the team is continuing to invest in its machining department to help the assembly team work more efficiently. That said, technology can only do so much for a craft that relies heavily on custom woodwork and design from the hands of skilled tradespeople. “In architectural millwork, it’s not like a kitchen manufacturer where the process is repetitive and you can simply automate,” says Samir. “You can only automate so much of what we do. This is a trade where you need years of experience.” Because of the skillset and experience required, coupled with an ongoing labor shortage, Provincial faces much of the same challenges as anyone else working in the construction industry: finding the talent required to keep projects moving forward. Currently the average age of the workforce is around 40, so they are not in as precarious a situation as some other businesses, who are set to lose large percentages of their workforce to retirement within the next few years. That said, the company is committed to ensuring they staff up accordingly well in advance. To help with recruitment, the team is focusing on outreach to local colleges, trying to get younger generations excited about this kind of work. The team is also bidding on projects years into the future, securing their spot and ensuring their future growth is sustainable.
As Provincial looks to the next forty years, the future is bright. Growth in the United States as a whole is going to be a focus, since there’s so much work there. The team is also always on the lookout for skilled workers to join their team of over 200 employees, some of whom have been there since the beginning. From project work to growth and development, Provincial is staying close to its Canadian, familial roots and with eight great grandchildren for the founder, the fourth generation of Provincial employees are already lined up.
“This is a family company, and it always will be.”
Think Provincial Stores Fixtures Ltd. could help take your project to the next level? Reach out for a quote.
