Pro Services is technically a skilled trades mechanical contractor and industrial maintenance contracting company – but when you delve deeper, the company is a lot more than that. Founded in 1987, the company consistently provides dynamic solutions driven by their core values of safety, integrity, pride and teamwork. Pro Services originated with one truck and one man with a passion to provide value to the industrial manufacturing industry. That man, Mike VandeMaele, identified inefficiencies in the way contractors were operating. In the words of Executive VP Roy Lemke, “VandeMaele believed he could come up with a way to deliver better quality and value to the customer, so Pro Services was born.”

After founding the company, VandeMaele was faced with the realization that industrial manufacturers had to hire multiple contractors to get projects completed. This realization was also the key to Pro Services success. According to Lemke, VandeMaele recognized the need for change. “He knew that the best thing we could do to bring value to our customers was grow the company by adding multiple skilled trades groups.” Clearly, this change has led to massive success; the company now has multiple skilled trades including millwrights, ironworkers, pipe fitters, HVAC/plumbing service techs, FMT maintenance techs. Additionally, Pro Services developed a one-of-a-kind registered educational institution called Pro U.

Pro’s proven process, driven by their core values from the top down, sets the company apart from its competitors. This proven process supports shutdowns, capital projects and maintenance programs allowing clients to focus on their core competencies. “Our clients focus on manufacturing and producing their products. We focus on maximizing client uptime and their equipment lifecycle. We provide educated and certified skilled trades and maintenance technicians that give our customers peace of mind.”

According to Lemke, manufacturers face significant challenges in their facilities. The combination of a shortage of skilled maintenance workers and low equipment availability leads to increased costs and the dreaded machinery downtime. Pro Services uses technology, experience and proven processes to ensure its clients work smarter and more efficiently. Pro Services has several outsourced maintenance programs that include skilled trades, maintenance managers and industrial reliability technicians. Outsourcing maintenance to Pro Services has increased production, decreased unplanned downtime and reduced costs for our clients. Pro’s network of experienced employees across manufacturing industries nationwide enables them to work together to troubleshoot the most complex challenges.

“Pro Services has a long history of success, innovation and growth.”

Pro Services has a long history of success, innovation and growth. When asked what the key to its success and longevity is, Lemke points to Pro’s ability to learn, adapt, and progress at every stage of their development. “Pro Services is a progressive company. We are a learning organization and we focus on bringing value to our customer.” Lemke explains that Pro Services has always put the needs of its customers first and this dedication to completing a job, no matter how challenging, gives it the edge. “We have always been willing to do the hard work better than anybody else. We could be given the hottest, dirtiest, nastiest jobs, and our team will do them better, more effectively and more efficiently than anyone else. That’s just the mentality around here. Whatever the challenge, we get it done. We work.”

Pro Services also has a strong presence in the education sector. The Pro U apprenticeship program is the only all-encompassing DOL certified apprentice to journeyman program in the US and was born from a need to educate, certify and professionalize the field of industrial maintenance. Customers began asking Pro to provide skilled tradesman to support their internal maintenance teams on a temporary basis as they were shorthanded and struggling to find maintenance talent. Pro struggled to find skilled tradesman that wanted to work as maintenance technicians because they had gone through a multiple year apprenticeship program to develop their specific trade.

The FMT maintenance division and Pro U was born. Pro U collaborated with an online-accredited training institution that offered virtual training to create a maintenance curriculum and assessment. This hands-on training program combines a curriculum with essential fieldwork to create a holistic experience for workers. “We bring individuals in, and we pay them to go to school. The program starts with 90 days of training at the Pro U education facility. Classroom graduation is followed by an 18-month hands on mentorship program that includes continuing education through online training to earn the industrial reliability technician certification.

Pro Services is growing. Their mission is to have a presence in every industrial manufacturing facility in the country. Pro wants to provide the best skilled trades individuals in industrial manufacturing while educating and certifying tomorrow’s leaders in industrial maintenance. Pro’s customers will become the most cost effective and efficient manufacturers in the world.

Griffin Contract Dewatering is composed of a team of experts in construction dewatering and groundwater treatment. Since the 1930’s the company has been manufacturing equipment and designing dewatering systems for complex groundwater problems in the construction industry.

While the technical aspect can vary, depending on the specific nature of the job, David Singleton, President, and CEO at Griffin Contract Dewatering LLC, explains that the company performs a simple yet essential task. “We help people solve their water management issues.” Typically, this help comes in the form of assisting clients control groundwater in order for them to carry out and perform underground construction.

With such a long and rich history, the company has experience across a number of sectors. To date, Griffin Contract Dewatering LLC has controlled groundwater at 20,000 excavations, which includes over 100 dams, levees, and tunnels. The company has worked on over 60 power and nuclear plants. The team’s knowledge of the dewatering industry is second to none which allows it to design the most efficient, cost-effective solutions to control risk and keep clients’ projects on schedule.

Founded in 1934 in the Bronx, New York, the company has a well-earned reputation for having great expertise and innovation in developing and implementing the most effective solutions for just about any groundwater challenge. The company has worked all over the country, Singleton says. However, as he explains, the goal always remains the same. “We always try to understand the client’s problem [and] what they’re trying to accomplish. Following this, our job is to define the minimum viable solution that will help them get whatever it is done that they’re trying to do.”

The more knowledge, expertise, equipment and locations, the larger range of options available to both the team and clients – all of which Griffin has, Singleton notes.

Griffin Contract De-watering LLC offer help to clients with pre-construction-related services. With experience and knowledge across numerous sectors and services ranging from site surveillance right through to value engineering, it is no surprise to learn that each project looks different from the last. What truly sets this company apart is that it goes the extra mile. Griffin has experience working through the complicated permit process. This typically relates to discharge permitting, relating to the movement of water which has to be discharged legally. Singleton explains that in many instances permits are required in order to carry this out. In addition to this service, Griffin also installs dewatering systems that can lower the groundwater, treat the discharge, and help clients to move water. This is achieved by utilizing the company’s array of pumps, pipes, and other equipment. Singleton explains, “Sometimes it is just moving water from one location to another, and sometimes it’s actually lowering groundwater,” describing the work as “a myriad of any, and all of that.”

“The company has gained such a high level of experience that there is no project it would find impossible.”

Griffin Contract Dewatering recently completed a focus project in Lowell, Indiana where dewatering operations were carried out for wastewater treatment plant improvements. As part of this project, the company installed a variety of well-point systems in order to lower the groundwater which supports a client that had been contracted by the City of Lowell to make the required improvements. With an existing wastewater treatment plant that needed some improvements, new structures needed to be installed as well as new piping – all of which was going to take place below the groundwater level. Griffin needed to use its vast knowledge and skill to ensure that the project was a huge success.

Since its foundation in 1934, Griffin Contract Dewatering has expanded geographically across the country, and into Canada. Over this time, Singleton says that the company has gained such a high level of experience that there is no project it would find impossible. “We have worked on every type of project that you can imagine [including] commercial, residential type construction [and] large infrastructure type projects. Also, we can perform any type of construction that requires the movement or the lowering of groundwater.” Crucially, Singleton believes that the key to the company’s success has been “a focus on our clients’ needs and trying to be responsive to their needs, helping them solve problems.” He states that a large part of achieving this is due to Griffins’ employees. As a company that prides itself on building and sustaining positive relationships, it is clear that this is a vision that permeates every aspect of the company. “I think great people focused on helping clients is pretty important to our success.” Singleton goes on to explain how the company boasts a longstanding relationship with many of its employees – some of whom have been at the company for twenty or more years.

With such a storied history, you could be forgiven for assuming that the company is content with what it has achieved. However, having recently completed a large acquisition of pump and integrity assets from Cross Country Infrastructure Services, Inc., Griffin Contract Dewatering has continued plans for growth and expansion. This acquisition, according to Singleton, has further added to the company’s geographical footprint with six new locations and an expansion to its equipment fleet. This means that now the team has “lots of additional equipment that we can utilize all across the country.” Moving forward, Griffin will continue to look for strategic acquisitions, and at geographies that the team thinks will bring value to their clients. “This company has grown significantly over the last several years, and we expect that that growth will continue.”

In terms of the industry outlook as we move into 2023, Singleton believes it is “overall pretty strong.” After a turbulent couple of years across all industries, he says, “I think there are end markets that will probably decline a bit,” speaking about some of the commercial high-end, high-rise residential mixed-use areas. While he believes that areas such as data center warehouses may slow down a bit, Singleton anticipates “a more robust infrastructure” with bridges, highways, water plants, wastewater plants and flood control-type projects likely seeing an increase. With its strategic growth model coupled with an enviable level of skill and experience, you wouldn’t bet against Griffin Contract Dewatering lasting another few decades at least.

The British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) is a provincial association, serving the industrial, commercial, institutional, and multi-unit residential sectors in British Columbia (BC). The association has four regional partners across the province (North, Southern Interior, Vancouver Island, and Vancouver/Lower Mainland), delivering value to its members, who, through an integrated model, are also members of BCCA.

Chris Atchison, President of BCCA explains that the association works “very closely with that network of regional associations in BC to represent the priorities of the membership and the construction industry.” According to Atchison, the relationship is beneficial for all stakeholders. “Through the partnership, the aim is to make it a better place for contractors to do work for owners, both public and private, to succeed in their infrastructure and development projects and also to be a steward for the taxpayer dollars that are being invested into public infrastructure.”

BCCA’s strategic plan is built on three pillars – building the workforce, supporting construction delivery, and reinforcing communities. These core tenets drive BCCA in all the legislative and advocacy work that it does.

Currently at the top of the list of priorities for the association is working with stakeholder groups and the provincial government to bring forward prompt payment legislation. For Atchison, this move would be of huge benefit to the industry. “This would provide certainty for work that has been completed on projects in BC.” The legislation exists in other parts of Canada, and BCCA is hopeful that it will soon be brought into BC.
Atchison explains, “what we’ve been saying to the province is that our construction community, both the contractors that are building and delivering on services and the owners who are tendering those projects could all benefit from having not just fair, open and transparent procurement processes, but certainty around payment on jobs and work that has been completed.”

Continuing, he says: “we really believe this is a fundamental issue of fairness that can be delivered quite easily to the construction community.” The association has been working hard to make this a reality for workers in the construction industry in BC, with Atchison explaining that the association wants to ensure there is the political will to bring this legislation forward and make sure people in the industry are “being treated fairly on the projects that they’re working so hard on.” He anticipates a “positive momentum” on the prompt payment front in 2023.

Another important aspect of the association’s work is centered around workforce development. Workplace shortages have impacted industries around the world and the construction industry in BC is no different, experiencing both skilled worker shortages and worker shortages in general. In order to address this, the association is partnering with other stakeholders and the provincial government to “try to deliver on things that are going to attract and retain more people to our industry.” For Atchison, this will allow for potential workers to “take advantage of the high opportunity occupations that exist here in BC in the construction industry.”

On this note, BCCA has started many initiatives to focus on attracting and retaining a skilled workforce. One of these is the Construction and Skilled Trades Month in April, with 2023 being the sixth time it has taken place. The aim is to “bring a positive awareness to the opportunities that exist within the construction industry from a workforce perspective and also just to shine a positive light on the projects and the legacies that are being built every day.”

The initiative came about as the members of the association thought that it should proudly share the successes of the industry on a wider scale. “We thought, let’s go and create a month-long campaign of awareness about our industry and how much it gives to every community that we work in across the province.” Focusing on topics such as safety, leadership, and apprenticeship, the month also spotlights the different programs and services that BCCA offers. “BCCA is very proud to be able to have initiated that but also continue to perpetuate it. We need to be the champions of our own industry.”

“BCCA’s strategic plan is built on three pillars – building the workforce, supporting construction delivery, and reinforcing communities.”

Another initiative the association amplified over the pandemic was The Lunchbox Challenge – encouraging construction job sites that were still working to patronize a local establishment during construction month, buy lunch for the crew from one of the local restaurants offering takeout service and then challenge another job site to do the same in their locality. This not only gave back to the workers but also gave business to the restaurant and hospitality sector that suffered due to closures during the pandemic.

Roughly 95 per cent of the construction industry is male, with Atchison explaining that over time there have been some “natural barriers in place that are preventing diversity from flourishing on job sites.” Through research, the association found that there is a lot of attention paid towards attracting people into the workforce, such as good pay, opportunities for mobility and growth – but not as much on retention. He explains “so many people coming into the industry were deciding to leave after a short-term involvement.” The association started to look at flipping the question, with Atchison explaining, “it’s not just about attracting people, it’s about what do we need to do to keep people in the industry.” What BCCA found was that a change in culture on worksites in large part was the way to go. He said, “some of the cultures were fantastic – they had great policies in place, they had good leadership and mentorship programs.” However, overall, the industry is made up of small to medium-sized employers “without a large number of them having any human resources department.”

BCCA determined that these companies may need some help in changing this and developed a suite of tools with the Builder’s Code that “put a lens on safety and productivity of worksites.” In the industry, Atchison explains that there is both a “universal respect for safety” and a “drive for productivity.” When the Builders Code is considered, with a message of safe worksites being considerate to every person on it, the conversation developed further. This started discussions about respect on worksites “and embracing the principles of diversity and equity and inclusion without naming it and really bringing in the emphasis on safety and the importance of third-party safety in conversations and a zero tolerance for bullying, hazing and harassment.”

This is just a small selection of the work that BCCA has done and is doing for the construction industry in BC, with more information to be found on the association’s website including its mentorship program Building Builders the Integrating Newcomer Program and the Employees Benefit Trust.

Atchison states that the outlook for the industry going into 2023 is “very busy,” despite the issues surrounding prompt payment, workforce shortages and supply chain issues – all of which remain of paramount importance to BCCA and most of the members. He explains that “we’ve done an economic analysis in recent months, and it doesn’t paint that rosy a picture for the construction industry.”

Anticipating a slowdown at some point in 2023, Atchison is encouraging all contractors to be “hypervigilant” about what level of risk they accept on projects. He says the association is “trying to remind owners and contractors and sub-contractors to continue having open and realistic dialogues in the face of rising costs such as inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions and workforce shortages. All of these things are still present and they’re putting pressure on the industry both for projects coming and those underway.”

OmniDuct is a commercial HVAC ductwork manufacturer, with four facilities on the west coast. From these locations in Arizona, Southern California, Northern California and Seattle, the company services western USA. OmniDuct builds commercial ductwork and sells it to mechanical contractors, whom Jon Collins, Vice President of Operations at OmniDuct calls the company’s “primary customer base.” While this may be its primary market, the company also serves a wide range of customers that install ductwork. What makes this company differ from its competitors, however, is its unique ability to design custom products with exact specifications for each individual project. As Collins explains, the company is capable of building bespoke products as and when they are necessary. “We are pretty much a full-custom commercial HVAC duct manufacturer, so something we build today we might not ever build again, or we might build tomorrow.” With a product range that varies from custom homes to anything commercial and light industrial, the skill involved in this company cannot be overstated. Collins explains, “We can build products anywhere from three or four inches large up to 20 or 30 feet in size.” What makes this service even more impressive is the speed at which the company can support its clients. OmniDuct operates a 24-hour turnaround time from when customers purchase the order to when the team deliver it on their site.

With such a broad base and a dynamic range of products, it would be easy to believe that OmniDuct could run into challenges. Keeping so many plates spinning must be difficult. Unsurprisingly however, the company is versatile and flexible enough to adjust scale and size on an hour-by-hour basis. It is not uncommon for OmniDuct to have both large and small products being built the same day.
Collins explains that OmniDuct has the ability to switch “at the drop of a hat” in order to service customers. “OmniDuct’s number one goal is to make sure customers are successful.”

Established in 1982, OmniDuct celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022. It’s a multi-generational company, which has always been important to Kyle Brumleu, CEO of OmniDuct. With a rich and varied history, the company has built a reputation on experience and reliability. Given that Kyle’s grandfather Ed Brumleu set up OmniDuct forty years ago as a way of maintaining support for customers of a previous venture that had gone bankrupt, it is easy to see how this reputation has been earned.

Brumleu’s father then joined the company in 1982, becoming President in 1991. Brumleu explains that this marked a period of sustained success for the company. “Through his leadership, we expanded from Southern California to Sacramento, Northern California,” servicing those markets until 2008 when OmniDuct further expanded to service Washington and Arizona.

“With a rich and varied history, the company has built a reputation on experience and reliability.”

With a history dating back three generations, OmniDuct has surely encountered some memorable projects. Given the nature of world events in recent times, it is unsurprising to learn that two of these have been completed recently. The Gila Resorts and Casino in San Tan Mountain, Chandler, which Collins describes as “an interesting project” for the company, is a prime example of the ability that OmniDuct has to draw upon its resources to ensure the client is satisfied. With the project being shut down for a month, fears were mounting that costs and deadlines would surely be missed. When the project reopened, the expectation of completion date had not changed. This meant that OmniDuct had to “ramp up” production speed to enable the customer to meet the deadline. Collins explains, “The General Contractor’s expectations seemed somewhat unrealistic, but through coordination with the customer and our team’s desire to ensure the customer was successful, the project was completed on time.”

Another unique project for the team was the Tule River Tribe Casino & Hotel in Porterville, CA. Collins explains that, in the normal running of projects, a large job site will facilitate the storing of materials. This one, however, did not. This meant that OmniDuct had to come up with a “unique solution.” In an example of the innovative thinking that takes place at OmniDuct, the company delivered products on 53ft trucks. For this project, one trailer would be left on site with the materials needed that week, staggered within the truck in the order it was needed. OmniDuct picked up an empty one on the way back after each delivery. Collins explains, “it was a challenge, but also something that we figured out and it really helped our customer tremendously in being efficient on that job and also sticking to the deadlines that they needed.”

With the exception of the facility in Sacramento, the company has been able to reduce the square footage of the other three facilities, reducing the number of shifts from three to one to produce more duct work each day and more pounds every year. Collins explains the rationale for these changes. “We’ve really figured out how to be much more efficient with our space and with our time. This has helped the company to continue to grow with less space and resources,” adding that for him, this has been “probably our biggest milestone we’ve achieved over the last few years.”

Innovation notwithstanding, the key to OmniDuct’s success runs deeper than clever fixes. Brumleu explains that in his opinion, longevity has been achieved through the company culture. He explains that the company is “driven by our core values – integrity, caring and stewardship” adding that OmniDuct has a “continuous improvement mindset.” This has never been more evident than in the recent past which has seen the company experience a period of sustained growth. “Over the last ten years, our continued drive to become a lead manufacturing company and also really embrace the continuous improvement mindset has led to the team reaching some important milestones.”

OmniDuct’s culture is, according to Brumleu, something the team thinks is “really important to [their] success.” The company has many employees with a “really long tenure.” As Brumleu explains, longevity is synonymous with the company. “Around 25 to 30 per cent of the staff here have worked with us for over ten years.” He goes on to explain that the company is “very family-feeling and oriented.”

This culture is something of huge importance to those at OmniDuct. Brumleu explains that one of the company’s core values is caring, which he feels the company puts a lot of effort into when it comes to employees and team members. He says, “With any decision we make, we ask ourselves ‘is it of the highest integrity?’ and ‘are we doing this with a caring heart and being a good steward of all the resources that flow through our door?’”

For both Collins and Brumleu, the future may be bright, but this is down to one core facet of the company; the employees. In fact, for Collins, it is the staff that make OmniDuct a successful company. “The success of this company is not from any kind of CEO, or Vice President of Operations, or any kind of a high-level executive. I think every single person in this company really adds to the value of it. Without a group effort by all, it doesn’t really matter who we have at the top. It’s everyone and their collective efforts that really makes the company successful.”

Metcon is a general contractor that performs construction management risk, design-build and general contracting services for a variety of clients across both North and South Carolina. Primarily focusing on municipalities, and local and state government, the company also engage in private work for a range of clients. While the company has vast experience across numerous sectors and services, Metcon has developed a specialty in the education market. Angela Carter, Vice President of Business Development, Marketing, & Community Partnerships at Metcon explains that the company has done “a huge amount of work in the industry.” Carter goes on to describe how 85 percent of the work currently being done at Metcon is for the UNC System and K – 12 public schools.

From humble beginnings twenty-two years ago, the company has experienced enormous success. For Carter, this is, in part, due to the foresight and investment that the company founder made and also due to the meticulous internal planning and strategizing that formed the company’s solid growth plan. “The company founder always believed in investing in the company and investing in good talent for the company. In addition to that, our plan has always been to grow in a very steady and well-grounded way so that we can continue to be successful and not have to have layoffs or anything like that.”

This steady growth has also had the added benefit of creating a culture of sustainability and positive relationships. As Carter explains, relationships and serving clients does not happen by accident and it does not happen overnight either. “We put a lot of time and effort into our culture and into making sure that we are evolving with the times. We put a lot of emphasis on serving our clients and building relationships. We have spent the last ten years really working and focusing on that.”

Some of the company’s standout projects include work on the North Carolina Central University residence halls, which, impressively consisted of three separate buildings. The designer on this project was Victor Vines of Vines Architecture, a 100 percent African American-owned design firm. This detail may be irrelevant for some people, but, as a 100 percent Native American company itself, it lies at the heart of everything that Metcon does. The project was all design built and featured a 100 percent minority design-build team. According to Carter, this is “the first time that this has ever been done in the state of North Carolina.”

Alongside this, the company was able to provide 50 percent minority participation, and HUB participation (Historically Underutilized Business) which was important to the University as it is a “historical black college and HBCU.” In addition to these positive and inclusive details, the project itself also showcased Metcon’s ability to work under intense demands. Carter describes it as a “very complex project” with a total of five construction projects ongoing on the campus at the same time. “Our team had to co-ordinate around other construction managers for deliveries and for all of the workers that were coming in. Logistically, it was incredibly challenging, but we were hugely successful, and we are very proud of the project.”

“The UNC Pembroke School of Business project gave Metcon the opportunity to show its technical skills and work to highly exacting standards.”

Another standout project for the company was The UNC Pembroke School of Business. This project gave Metcon the opportunity to show its technical skills and work to highly exacting standards. According to Carter, the school contained very unique classroom spaces that included state-of-the-art technology and modern tiered classrooms. The project itself involved working on many “high-end finishes” such as acoustical ceilings and “beautiful wood panels” along with polished terrazzo floors. For Carter, the design aspect of the job was “absolutely beautiful.” While the work was aesthetically joyful for the company, the project itself was somewhat challenging due to external forces. It was a public bid project, which Metcon had to bid on and construct during the pandemic.
As any business that has tried to navigate recent global events can attest to, this led to disruption and concerns. Despite issues such as supply chain delays and public health limitations, the project finished on time and has been nominated for several awards. In fact, the company is about to accept the Eagle Award, the ABC Excellence in Construction Award, on November 10th for this project.

With experience and skill working on projects from the design phase onwards, Metcon has the ability to lower costs and work quickly for clients. Take for example the work that Metcon recently completed on the Concord Electrical Operations Centre. This unique building comprised of office space, learning space, training space, fleet management, a data center and a response center for the electrical operations for the entire city of Concord. As a hugely successful project, it is an example of the multifaceted benefits that comes from working with Metcon. According to Carter, Metcon saved over $1 million of the budget and six months off the schedule by being involved early on with the design team. “We were able to mitigate and navigate through some of the challenges at the design phase. This meant that we could design the building in accordance with the materials that were available.”

In a post-pandemic world, the unfortunate truth is that the construction industry needs to maintain a balance between savings and sustainable practices. The difficulty being that these two ideals can occasionally be at either ends of the spectrum. To assist with this, Metcon has become involved in what Carter refers to as “energy positive” work. Through a combination of public-private partnership and grants, along with energy positive initiatives, Metcon can build its clients an affordable building that benefits from energy savings and sustainable technologies. Carter explains how the approach combines both cost effective and sustainability practices. “Not only is it financed affordably and has a lot of grant money and federal funding involved in it, on the back end there are not a lot of operational costs due to electricity.” The buildings are designed and constructed to deliver over 70 percent more energy than they consume through solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling systems, reduced ceiling height and the building envelope. “We use hollow metal, hollow core concrete planking systems to move the air as a thermal conductor. This keeps both the heat and the cool air in for the building. We also have an incredible clean air system that’s installed to make sure that the air is recycled and clean and offers a very clean environment.” Metcon has successfully constructed twelve of these buildings, with many being schools. As Carter explains, this method is something that those at Metcon are striving to build on. “It is something that we are very proud of. Our Native American culture is about protecting Mother Earth, so we are very proud to have that.”

With all this in mind, it is unsurprising to know that Metcon is likely to experience huge growth, with many new projects on the horizon. Excitingly, Carter notes that the upcoming projects are “really unique.” For example, Metcon is working on the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, North Carolina, and The Two Kings Casino and Resort in Kings Mountain. The company is also working on the Hope County Aquatic Center, and several schools for Guilford County in Harnett County, new schools in Washington, North Carolina and Pamlico County, North Carolina.

Outside of this, the outlook for the rest of 2022 is positive, with Carter acknowledging that the company’s books are close to full for the foreseeable future. “We do a lot of design-build work which is already under contract. That means that our pre-construction department and estimators are very busy working and finalizing the total budgets, and prequalifying subcontractors, and trade partners for the bidding process.” While this is certainly reason to be thankful, Carter believes that the company is now in a place where it needs to consolidate, take stock and excel with its existing projects before it sets its sights on further growth. “In 2023 and 2024, we have little room for new opportunities. Most of the projects that we are going to focus on are the projects and opportunities that we’ve already counted in our pipeline.” With a growing track record of excellent services and projects, it is only a matter of time before Metcon grows ever further, proving that doing the little things well is always the best option.

Technicore Underground Inc. is part of the Technicore Group of Companies, founded in 1994. The Technicore Underground branch of the group operates as a heavy civil construction firm and specializes in tunnel and trench work. As a tunneling contractor, Technicore Underground provides infrastructure solutions in both the private and public spheres across a wide variety of sectors, including water mains, sewer lines, subway tunnels and pedestrian tunnels. Technicore Underground build tunnels ranging in diameter from 600mm to 6000mm for different applications.

The Technicore Group of Companies entered the market as a manufacturer in 1994. At the time, the company was specializing in manufacturing tunnel construction equipment. Subsequently, the group vertically integrated into other business lines including construction, steel fabrication and pre-cast manufacturing. Khaled Elnabolsy, Vice President of Construction at Technicore Underground, believes that many factors have contributed to the longevity of the group. Firstly, Elnabolsy mentions the “generational inheritance of experiences,” explaining that the company has been family owned through generations, which gives the Technicore Group a continuity that its competitors don’t share.

While Elnabolsy is keen to point to the many strengths in-house, he also acknowledges external factors have played a part in the company’s success. With the demand for infrastructure increasing by the year in the Greater Toronto Area due to its consistently increasing population, geographical location has certainly played its part. As he explains, the need to work smart has never been more important to a company. “As the cities get more condensed and more populated, clients tend to gear towards less disruptive construction solutions. One way this can be achieved is through tunneling and trench work.” Elnabolsy believes that this gives the company “an edge in that aspect.”

Alongside this, the company’s owner has been “quite invested in different tunneling methods.” This, according to Elnabolsy, gives the company a lot of versatility. “We can actually do different types of tunneling and trenches work, using different technologies. This allows the team to be pre-qualified for different projects of different sizes and complexities.”

Technicore Underground offers a range of services to the market and, while the company is primarily a tunneling contractor, it is also a general contractor and can work as a sub-contractor to perform the tunneling and deep excavation work. Alongside this, the group provides pre-cast concrete manufacturing. This has the added benefit of supporting the company across its divisions. “Most of the concrete precast pipes that we install in our tunnels are made by the Technicore group,” specifically by its sister company, Ewing Fabricators.

“While the company is primarily a tunneling contractor, it is also a general contractor and can work as a sub-contractor to perform the tunneling and deep excavation work.”

One of the company’s standout projects was the Burnhamthorpe Water Project, which was TAC 2021 Canadian Project of the Year. Elnabolsy describes this project as “one of the largest projects that Technicore was the sole contractor on.” The project included around 12km of water and sanitary pipelines, which had to be constructed in the city center of Mississauga using different construction methodologies including tunnel and micro tunnel boring machines along with open-cut excavations. As he explains, the ability to shift lanes and service various markets enabled the company to work seamlessly on the project. “We utilized mostly Technicore manufactured equipment to construct the tunnels.”

The project team consisted of the client, Peel Region, Hatch as the consultant, and Technicore as the general contractor. Due to the constraints of working in the city, the project involved quite a bit of innovative thinking. In order to solve these issues, the company took on a collaborative approach. “We worked collaboratively with the clients in optimizing some of the designs. It was a very successful project overall as, despite it being located in the city center, we were able to mitigate a lot of concerns that the public had.”

Another standout project that Technicore worked on was the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Pedestrian Tunnel which connects the airport to the mainland. As ever, the company used its vast experience and expertise to complete a job that Elnabolsy describes as a “very significant project” for the company. “Work on this project was carried out before I joined the company, but it was a very remarkable project for Technicore and for the tunneling industry in general.”

Looking to the future, it would seem as though things are bright for those at Technicore. The company has recently secured projects which will be completed in the next four to five years. As Elnabolsy notes, these recent successes provide the company with the opportunity to develop and grow. For both the industry and the Greater Toronto Area, he says that the company “foresee[s] that the demand is going to be steadily growing as well.” This, he states, will mean the company is in an enviable position where its greatest challenge is “to try to keep up with the work that’s going to be available. The outlook for the end of 2022 is strong and our goal is to complete some of the major milestones that we have on the books. We plan to do this as a company by remaining open to hiring some strong talents, or even some new workers who are interested in learning more about the tunneling and trenches world.”

With a growing reputation of providing excellence in solutions and a wide array of skills, the company is one that truly stands alone in the industry. Elnabolsy believes that by putting collaboration as a cornerstone of its working relationships, it is a positive outlier in the industry. “We don’t just take what’s in the contract and apply it without thinking. We actually do take the design and we sometimes try to come up with better solutions for our clients. Sometimes when our clients have problems that they’re stuck on, we will work with them to come up with solutions that are best for all parties.”

Looking forward, 2023 is expected to be a busy year for Technicore. Elnabolsy believes that this will translate into even more growth for the company. “We are foreseeing that at some point during the year, there will be between six to eight tunnel boring machines mining at the same time. This will require us to grow our pool of talent.”

With skilled labor being an omnipresent challenge, this might be a spanner in the works for the company. Not so, it seems. As Elnabolsy states, it is yet another opportunity for the company. “We want to encourage engineering students to give some thought to the tunneling and trenches industry. It does provide less disruptive solutions to the public – solutions that are more environmentally friendly to build infrastructure to expand our cities.” Alongside this, he feels the public would also benefit from learning more about the tunneling and trenches industry, saying “you don’t really see anything happening on the surface but sometimes there is a tunneling project that is actually ongoing beside your house. It is always interesting to find out more about how that gets done, and what sort of innovation and new technologies are out there in our industry.”

With steady growth, high levels of talent, and a growing portfolio of impressive projects, it seems that Technicore is at the cutting edge of its industry. By bringing education and information to the table, the company is, yet again, breaking new ground too.

Toro Construction started as a dream between a husband and wife. Now, it is one of the fastest growing Hispanic construction companies, living by the motto: “small enough to listen and big enough to deliver.” The company focuses on general trade packages, specializing in those that are carpentry related. Alongside this, the company manages other trades as well, depending on the projects’ specificity. Thankfully, following a lot of hard work and sacrifices the dream has turned into a very successful business. Luis Vazquez, Vice President at Toro Construction, explains that the road to success was a long and occasionally challenging one. “For so many years we had tried to start our own business, which failed a couple of times since 2005.” Luis and his wife Socorro, President at Toro Construction, had both been working at separate jobs, with Luis working as a construction superintendent for general contractors, and Socorro working as a legal secretary. Eventually, the pair decided that one of them would have to quit their job to get the company up and running “full force.” Subsequently, Luis left his job and worked hard to get Toro going, while Socorro would help in the afternoon with the paperwork.

Despite Toro being relatively new according to Luis, the company has accomplished very important milestones. Since 2014, the company has completed over 300 jobs. Given the incremental growth the company has experienced, it is clear that these successes are to be celebrated. Serving diverse business sectors ensures that the company has experience in a range of areas, including public and private projects, low and high-rise buildings, K-12 schools, privately and federally funded hospitals, retail, and affordable housing buildings. Alongside this, the company also prefabricate buildings – which was added as a service in the last three years. Toro also has a sister company called Integrity Wall, which can help with building projects faster, minimizing the risk by working in a controlled environment.

Despite the challenges that have faced the industry in recent times, the company has seen a large amount of growth, most recently in the last eight months. As Luis explains, it was pivoting to the role of General Contractor that has allowed this period of growth. “We were able to move to a new office [that] has more space. From there, we could expand our services and hire the right team members to help us manage the growth.” This ability to work in a range of fields is not necessarily new to Toro Construction, however. Over the years, the company has undertaken many challenging projects and has taken on the role of prime contractor for a range of project sizes, performing project management services and coordinating specialty trades for commercial and residential projects. In addition to this, the company also provide design input and engineering solutions as additional services. Through these projects, the team has accumulated skills and experience in design and build solutions, project management services, building trades and related engineering works.

One job in particular that stands out for Luis is the Chicago Midway Airport project, a two-year contract that Luis describes as “very unique.” The project itself was considerably larger than any the company had undertaken previously but despite this, the general contractor issuing the contract believed in Toro Construction and was sure that the company could deliver “such a complicated and large project.” Over time, projects like this have allowed the company to develop a deep well of experience. In addition to this, Toro Construction specializes in building schools, both new and renovations. In the same year that Midway was completed, the company delivered three “ground-up schools,” with Luis explaining that the team learned a lot from the help they received from the general contractors they were working for, who helped them gain massive experience.

“Over time, projects like this have allowed the company to develop a deep well of experience.”

Toro Construction delivered a project called 4400 Grove, the first affordable housing building for Toro Construction that had to be prefabricated. Prior to installation, the company tested it out and satisfied with the results, completed the job. For this specific project, Toro proved that it could compete with larger companies. Clearly, the work being done at Toro can match that of any rival. “We competed with a very large company that specializes in that type of building. As a minority company and as a new company in the prefabricated industry, we successfully completed the project which led us to winning other projects off the back of that.”

With all these projects, Toro Construction prides itself on the customer satisfaction it receives. Luis explains that the company is known for delivering projects on time. For him, the secret to the company’s success is clear. This is a company that is persistent, it doesn’t do anything by half, and it maintains a clear vision. Luis states that this vision is based on community and excellence. “Our vision is to create a great culture in our company. We have to have market dominance, but we also need to ensure that we have a great reputation in terms of customer satisfaction. This can only be accomplished by hiring the right team members and offering a great working environment because we are only as good as our employees.” Luis explains that at Toro, the staff are the driving force behind everything. “We always try to be very good at training our team members the right way so they can deliver the best services for our customers.”

Toro construction is confident that it will be a $60-90 million construction firm in three years, with Luis explaining that the team will achieve this through a combination of relationships and reputation. “We can accomplish this by maintaining excellent customer relationships. Also, because of the work we have done for the city, estate agencies or private customers – they are committed to continuing to work with us. They know that we can deliver.” Luis explains that the company has seen the results of this in the past eight months and has no doubts about the potential for further success. “It’s just a matter of time. Our customers truly believe that we can get to that point, and they won’t hesitate to continue awarding contracts to us based on our growth and based on our capacity.”

Despite the big goals the company has set out, the team keep a close eye on the growth, trying not to grow “faster than our system allows,” to ensure the team can continue delivering contracts at the standard customers are used to. Luis explains that in a post-Pandemic environment, the wise move is to be strategic. Fluctuating prices, coupled with delays and funding issues mean that there is a certain level of risk across the industry. “2022 was always going to be a bit of a challenge because many of the jobs have been on hold.” Alongside the supply chain crisis, this makes customers hesitant to formally commit to a contract. Despite this, this year has been a successful one, according to Luis. He explains that while things have bounced back slightly, the near future looks to be far more positive. “Our bar was set up a little higher for this year, thinking that the pandemic is over. We expect it to be a good year. However, I feel that next year is going to be even better based on what we have in the books.”

In addition to growth and success, there is another aspect of Toro Construction that matters hugely to Luis, its legacy. With a growing business that is proving its worth in a crowded industry, Toro Construction really is a story to be celebrated. For Luis, encouraging other minority businesses is as important as the success of his own business. He knows how to listen, and he knows how to deliver. “There’s not a lot of us Hispanic general contractors out there. We try to encourage other Hispanic-owned companies to follow the path and grow the company so we all can stand up and stand together as a minority-owned companies.”

Coastal Precast Systems LLC (CPS) is a heavy marine and highway precast company, specializing in highway transportation, ports, and marine construction. With prime locations near the Chesapeake Bay on the Elizabeth River, Cape Charles, VA and Wilmington NC; Coastal Precast Systems holds the enviable reputation of being able to service clients up and down the entire east coast, into the Bahamas and Caribbean.

The company’s true value is in its employees.  CPS employs over 400 people between the three plants and have full engineering and drafting department to support the most difficult schedules.  According to Dave Neal, Vice President of Sales at Coastal Precast Systems, “We have great people at all three plants, we are fortunate to be able to retain a high percentage of employees from year to year”.   CPS roots run deep; the company founder Paul Ogorchock remains the owner after 50 years.  His father Jack Ogorchock started a ready-mix company in 1946.  Paul founded the precast side of the business in the early 1990s.  The Ogorchock’s have run a family business in construction related activities for over 75 years and look to continue far into the future with Paul’s children, Brian and Kristen both working for the business.

This success is aided by the company’s extensive footprint. Due to the large capabilities from the company’s two Virginia plants, the company can, according to Neal, “Service the east coast and Caribbean by marine transport.” The CPS Wilmington facility services the Carolinas down to Georgia. While the locations may differ in geography, the quality of products and materials coming out of each of these plants is in strict conformance with the CPS gold standard of quality. The three plants, each strategically located on the east coast, deliver the same quality products with Coastal Precast producing many structures for Department of Transports (VDOT, NCDOT, NYSDOT, MDOT), federal projects, and private enterprises.  These include precast/prestressed such as bridge beams (Bulb Ts), pile caps, and piles in addition to other specialized structures such as segmental bridges, precast coffer dams and fendering for port projects. The plants do, however, differ in size and range from an impressive ninety-acre facility in Cape Charles, VA which was acquired in 2019 (formally Bayshore Concrete Products), to the forty-acre plants in Chesapeake, VA and Wilmington, NC. The Chesapeake plant being their main precast yard with four barges slips serviced by gantry cranes, Mi-jacks, and fixed rail cranes.  Chesapeake offers heavy lift capabilities, with a 400-ton crane for lifting the larges precast components. All three plants are PCI and DOT certified and have Central Mix facilities, which gives the company the additional benefit of being able to produce its own concrete to meet the most difficult mix designs. 

Impressive equipment and facilities make a good resume, but it’s the integration of the parts that make CPS unique to the industry. If contractors require a heavy lift precast component, CPS has the equipment, property, and skilled labor to handle the largest and most difficult precast projects. 

The company has an extremely high capacity when it comes to production and handling the largest transportation and marine projects. It offers a wide range of services to its customers, mostly for DOT highways, bridges, and sub-structure. However, Coastal Precast doesn’t stop there. Its in-house skillset allows it to assist in design-build projects for navy piers, container facilities and port projects. Alongside this, the company manufactures square pilings ranging from 12 inches to 36 inches and cylinder piles from 36 inches to 66 inches in diameter, along with DOT-type pre-stress beams starting at 29 inches and going to 95 inches in height, and 200 feet in length.

“Impressive equipment and facilities make a good resume, but it’s the integration of the parts that make CPS unique to the industry.”

Diversity in utilizing its resources, CPS offers a broad range of products and services seems to strengthen its core business. As testament to this, the company also does a large amount of custom concrete work, specific to each job, with Neal noting “there’s not much we say no to as far as product lines – we’ll build just about anything.” This versatility is aided in no small part to the facilities and resources Coastal Precast has at its disposal. The company boasts its own fleet of in-house trucks, with 20 available to service the company’s trucking department. Alongside this, the company owns its own 56’ X 220’ ABS Barge with a 3,500-ton capacity, that handles marine transportation.

The exemplary work being done at Coastal Precast can be seen in every project it takes on. However, several recent projects stand out for Neal when asked about company successes. He explains that working on the Harry W. Nice Bridge in Maryland, a two-and-a-half-mile long bridge connecting Virginia to Maryland was “high profile.” In addition to this, the three and a half mile Marc Basnight Bridge in North Carolina was an opportunity for Coastal Precast to demonstrate the full repertoire of its skills. Neal explains that the bridge was “a combination segmental and conventional girder construction,” with 284 segments along with 400 girders. For Neal, the project was interesting in terms of the volume of technical skill required. “That bridges were a nearly a complete pre-cast structure, similar to the Harry W. Nice Bridge in that sense, from piling, foundation tubs, columns to precast caps and girders.”

Currently, the company is working on the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, a four-billion-dollar project for VDOT (the largest highway construction project in Virginia’s history), which includes two new tunnels and nine miles of above-ground bridges connecting the tunnels to land. What is interesting about this project is that the products used are made with carbon fiber reinforcement, utilizing CFCC pre-stress strands and reinforcement from Tokyo Rope USA, along with the piles and girders. Neal explains that this is a ground-breaking project and truly shows the innovative services available to customers of Coastal Precast. “CFCC is new product that hasn’t been used by a lot of different departments. Now, it is being used on a large scale for the first project ever.” These products will include 1,023 54-inch cylinder piles utilizing carbon fiber, ranging from 75 feet to 140 feet in length. Alongside the piles, Coastal Precast is doing much of the pre-cast pile caps with stainless steel reinforcing and will provide bridge beams from 29-inches to 85-inches in height and lengths from 60 feet to 140 feet, all with carbon fiber pre-tension strands. Neal stated, “Carbon fiber strand and stainless is the way of the future for marine applications”.

Looking forward, the future for Coastal Precast Systems is a positive one. For Neal, this ongoing success is not only a good thing for the short term, but it also provides a steady platform on which the company can grow and develop into new markets.  With enough work for the company to maintain its current trajectory for decades to come, it is now looking to expand into the wind turbine market. According to Paul Ogorchock, the potential benefits in this area are enormous. The company has just picked up the Portsmouth Marine Terminal in Portsmouth Virginia where a new offshore wind port will be built, with Coastal Precast Systems providing 1400 36-inch square piles. Paul believes that this project will have a massive positive impact in the area. “This will be the biggest thing that’s going to happen around here in the next ten years.” Alongside this, the company is currently working on several jobs that will put Coastal Precast firmly on the map in terms of the offshore wind market; something that those at Coastal Precast are very excited about. “We believe that this is where the future is for us. As far as big projects go, offshore wind will be a huge focus.” With site locations providing excellent strategic advantages and a wealth of experience and skill in-house, it seems that Coastal Precast has everything in place to remain a leading player in the precast market. What truly sets the company apart, however, is its ability to pivot and grow in a seamless way. Coastal Precast has the impressive ability to anticipate the industry’s needs and position itself accordingly. In moving towards offshore wind, the company is once again showing itself to be an industry leader. You wouldn’t bet against it growing once more and identifying the needs of the market long before its competitors.

As anyone with experience will tell you, structure is one of the most important aspects in achieving success in business. It is that thing businesses strive for and once achieved, forms the literal backbone of an organization. It is the tangible and reliable cornerstone that those within a company look towards for support and balance. For Surespan Construction, the decision to create Surespan Structures was a simple one. Surespan Construction, itself a construction specialist that provides a world-class service across multiple disciplines from heavy civil construction through to the energy and industrial sectors, set up Surespan Structures, its off-site fabrication arm, in 1989.

Based on Vancouver Island, the group provides full spectrum precast concrete products and services for both concrete and steel deck bridges. In addition to this, the company produces architectural and structural concrete panels, earth and retaining walls, coping, road barriers, girders, pipe and pipeline weights and anchors, precast floats as well as utility vaults.

As with any organization, organic growth has been a consistent aspect to the success of Surespan Structures. When the company was founded over 33 years ago, the goal was to focus on precast concrete and steel decks for bridge construction. However, as Zoran Stanojevic, Director of Technical Sales at Surespan Structures explains, the expertise within the company led to a gradual growth to incorporate a multitude of services. “While the company started out in the precast and structural steel bridge deck market, it can now offer a wide range of services from architectural precast, insulated claddings, precast parkades, box beams and girders for the bridges to insulated panels or solid panels for the industrial buildings.”

With this experience and skill comes the ability to meet clients need, regardless of the project brief. The company excels with products ranging in size from small to large, including pre-cast barriers, vaults, and underground vaults for electrical services, while also providing bridge and building components for both industrial and commercial uses in warehouses and parkades. For any other company, there could be a temptation to rest on its laurels and continue producing these high-quality products alone, secure in its market position. However, at Surespan Structures they do things a little differently. For them, diversity is key and for Sheena Shaw, Executive Assistant at Surespan Structures, there are many facets to the service the company offers. “The majority of our work is the bridge structure components as well as building structure components. However, alongside this we also perform installations on some of the buildings we work on.”

This variety of services is something that truly sets the company apart. It is also a considerable factor in the ongoing growth that the company has experienced in recent years. According to Dave Nott, Business and Sales Manager at Surespan Structures, the precast side of the company has “diversified a lot over the years.” With an output that is currently almost triple what it was 10-15 years ago, it is clear to see that the company is doing something right. For Nott, it is this diversification that has led to the high rate of growth and the attraction and retention of talented skilled labour, technical and project management staff. “We have grown in quality, grown in quantity, [and] grown in the diversification of the different products that we use as well.”

In addition to this, the company has also taken innovative approaches when it comes to the delivery and installation of these products. One key example of this is the company’s Accelerated Bridge Construction Method (ABC) where everything comes to the site precast manufactured, meaning the installation on site is faster. For Nott, this method is something that positions the company as an industry leader and has been a learning tool for the company. By using the experience gained through this approach, Surespan Structures can now apply this technique across multiple disciplines. “We have now taken the ABC method and applied it to parking structures, marinas, and wall panel jobs to mention a few. The benefit of this is that, instead of having your site occupied for months, Surespan can come in and put up the building in a week. Obviously, this is going to save a huge amount of time on site.”

“We have now taken the ABC method and applied it to parking structures, marinas, and wall panel jobs to mention a few.”

While the company is clearly on a positive trajectory, challenges will always need to be managed. The geographical location of the company can throw up issues in the form of transportation and shipping logistics. Simply put, the company is on an island, whereas most of the population and the projects that Surespan Structures will be working on, are on the mainland. For Nott, this challenge is simply something that needs to be overcome and by doing so, lends even further confidence in the company’s ability to complete a job to the highest level. “We have to do a lot of extraordinary stuff to overcome that geographical challenge and to win some of these jobs but when we do, we can compete almost anywhere.”

With an ever-growing portfolio, the list of high-quality projects that Surespan Structures work on are numerous. One groundbreaking example of this is when the company introduced insulated cladding to its product line. With improvements in technology, these panels now allow for more efficient weather performance and significantly improved insulation in the panels, something which Surespan is delighted to offer its customers. Ponderosa Commons in the University of British Columbia was completed in 2013 and is one of the company’s stand-out projects, receiving the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects 2018 National Medium-Scale Award. Surespan Structures designed, supplied, and installed the precast concrete insulated system –for the first time in the company’s history—for two new seventeen-story student accommodation buildings at the university. One building consisted of 1,465 precast panels, while the other used 998 and included the use of colored concrete. During the project, the company rectified a two-month delay and assisted in the completion of the second building eight months ahead of schedule.

While Surespan Structures may be located on Vancouver Island, that does not stop the company from working right across the country with bridges being supplied in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario & Quebec, as well as into the US. The company’s ability to deliver the highest quality on its projects has earned it a reputation envied by its competitors. This reputation is well earned. Within BC, the company has produced bridges and buildings across the province. The company worked on the Kelowna Memorial Parkade in 2016, which is one of four parkades they have completed in Kelowna. They have also produced multiple high-profile jobs in the Vancouver area including the supply and install of the Habitat Skirt, an artificial shoreline skirting three sides of the Vancouver Convention Centre. This project received the CPCI’s Project of the Month in May 2019, and as Stanojevic explains, it demonstrated an ability to meet both demanding and unique requirements. The Habitat Skirt was installed from the water, with the 80,000lb pieces being installed using a crane on a large barge. The project consists of an underwater staircase-shaped precast in the tidal zone. What really makes this job stand out is the additional details that went into it both from a scientific and sustainability standpoint. It was designed with recesses in the precast panels allowing for sea life to live in them, creating miniature tidepools. The idea behind the project was that every time the tide came in, barnacles would be left behind to grow. According to Nott, the project had a positive impact on many levels. He explains that soon after the project was completed, a report was released which stated that sea life was already present in and around the structure and, given that it can take a number of years for animal life to return to an area post construction, this was an unequivocal success.

While all this points to the level of expertise in-house at Surespan, you might think that it is happy with its success today. Unsurprisingly however, the company has no intention of resting on its laurels. In an example of the quality the company produces, we only have to look to the number of times it has been awarded for its work. Surespan won the 2019 Gold Award of Excellence presented by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association for their work producing the Simon Fraser University’s SE3P Building Architectural White Precast Cladding Panels. Surespan supplied & installed 736 pieces featuring curvilinear white textured prestress concrete made using custom form liners, imported aggregate and cement powder. This work, rightly awarded, is testament to the quality the company provides.

The company’s largest project to date was the precast deck for the Port Mann Bridge. As the largest bridge in Vancouver the project proved to be a testing one which, with over 1200 panels, took over a year of casting. Nott explains that the level of skill required to complete the job meant that Surespan Structures had to bring its best to the job, every day. “The job consisted of fairly complex panels. It was a shape we hadn’t really dealt with before with fancy formwork. Having said that, it was another very successful project because it allowed us to demonstrate our ability to complete large scale mass production of high-quality precast which is something we excel at.”

Going forward, the outlook for Surespan Structures remains positive, with the company focused fully on continuing its growth and expansion. While Stanojevic acknowledges that the company experiences the same challenges as anyone else in the market, he feels that, with its high-quality products and innovative processes, the company is in excellent shape to move forward with confidence. “We have the same challenges as everyone else. There are always challenges with labor shortages and rising prices, but I think this is a problem which everybody has. At Surespan Structures, we prefer to focus on the positives. We are fully booked, and we are working at the top of our capacity.” As they say in the business, if you ever want success, structure is vital.

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction trade association with 68 chapters across the country. The Keystone chapter is one of the oldest within the association, set up in 1959. ABC Keystone has 625 member companies and represents 33 counties of central Pennsylvania, stretching from the New York border down to the Maryland border. David Sload, President and CEO of ABC Keystone, explains how the chapter has three main focuses: advocacy, networking and business development and education and upskilling.

In addition to this, ABC Keystone partnered with the Eastern and Western Pennsylvania chapters to create an organization called ABC Pennsylvania, which acts as the lobbying arm for the chapters. According to Sload, ABC PA employs full-time lobbying staff and works on behalf of ABC in dealing with prevalent industry issues across the state. Sload says that the organization “probably plays defense more than offence from a legislative perspective.” However, he acknowledges that the organization has had to fight potential legislation and file suits against departments within the state to prevent introduction of harmful legislation.

Currently, the organization is trying to promote changes in apprenticeship legislation in Pennsylvania, with Sload explaining “it’s been a long battle, but we’re still fighting for it.” The issue, primarily revolving around apprenticeship ratios, is one that has been on the agenda for many years. Sload explains that apprenticeship “in and of itself [is] a complex, convoluted process.”

However, according to Sload, ratios are required regarding the number of apprentices you can have on a jobsite compared to journeypersons. While he acknowledges that this is not a new requirement, Sload notes that union contractors within Pennsylvania “enjoy a different set of standards than non-union contractors do.”
The legislation that ABC PA is fighting for is “purely to level the playing field so that any construction company, regardless of [union] affiliation, would have the same rights.”

Since 1968, ABC Keystone has been a provider of registered apprenticeships in the 11 trades and is recognized by both the state and federal departments of labor. Depending on the type of education, these are two- to four-year programs where students are fully employed while also attending classes twice a month through the organization to obtain their journeypersons’ credentials. Sload explains that, “with apprenticeship upskilling, the student attends classes for theory but at the same time we put them out in the shop for hands-on experience.”

“With apprenticeship upskilling, the student attends classes for theory but at the same time we put them out in the shop for hands-on experience.”

This experience takes place in the apprenticeship area at ABC Keystone’s facility, set up with an 8,000-square-foot shop surrounded by classrooms. Described as a “little unique” by Sload, the classes that students attend are held during the day, as opposed to the traditional method of night classes. ABC Keystone has just added the 11th trade to its apprenticeship program called ‘Assembler in Pre-Engineered Buildings,’ with Sload explaining that ABC Keystone is the first in the Commonwealth to provide it. “We are always looking at ways we can expand and improve apprenticeship education opportunities for our members and for the industry,” said Sload.

In order to support the industry in key areas such as skilled worker shortages, ABC Keystone has a two-step process regarding workforce development—getting people in the industry and creating a pathway to keep them in it. Alongside apprenticeships, the organization offers a range of other programs to educate the next generation about a career in construction.

Around five years ago, ABC Keystone got “very serious about connecting with the school systems” and now runs a career awareness program twice a year for middle schoolers. In addition to attending talks by employees in the field about working in the industry, this program offers students the chance to come in, spend a day working to create a project introducing them to trades such as sheet metal, carpentry, plumbing, masonry and electrical. The organization also offers pre-apprenticeship programs designed for 11th and 12th graders run both in ABC Keystone’s facility and in schools. Sload describes this as a “higher level construction awareness program” as students come out of it with some certifications such as OSHA 10, which the organization can then give them credits, should they enroll in an apprenticeship program.

ABC Keystone also runs an All ‘bout Construction (ABC) camp over the summer for 14- to 18-year-olds where students can spend time in the shop with apprentices and instructors while also going out on jobsites. Regarding getting people into the workforce, Sload foresees the need for change to “onerous laws within Pennsylvania that have been around a long time.” One aspect that is in need of change is to open the doors for the reentry process of potential employees, which Sload describes as being a “potentially good pool.”

Sload goes on to explain that once people are in the industry, retention is key. “Apprenticeship is one part of workforce development, but we provide education and training for the construction worker from laborer to CEO,” said Sload.
This broad suite of training and support programs can be seen throughout the initiatives that are offered through ABC Keystone. From upskilling in estimating, project management, blueprint reading, specialized courses around skilling up and a CEO roundtable peer group along with training sessions, the opportunities are endless. Not including apprenticeships, there are around 160 offerings a year for these courses for people who are already in the industry. Sload states that “if you need education and upskilling in the industry, you think of ABC Keystone.”

Safety is very important to ABC Keystone: the organization has a full-time director of safety on staff, whose focus is to provide safety training including first-aid CPR, OSHA 10 plus OSHA 30, confined space training, NFPA and E70 electrical training. Sload says that ABC Keystone can provide “just about any safety education that’s out there in the construction industry.”

While Sload expects the outlook for the industry to remain “sustainable” for the rest of 2022, there is concern for 2023. As supply chain issues, materials prices increases and workforce shortages have impacted companies across the country in 2022, members’ backlogs remain “fairly consistent” while job schedules are getting longer. This, in turn, leads to a drop in margins as companies must now absorb higher costs. “There is an extreme concern, not for early 2023 but for late 2023. We’re sensing in the industry that we could be looking at a recession in late 2023,” said Sload.

According to Sload, the nationwide construction industry is currently 650,000 people short. Sload says that, although the data suggests this trend will continue to worsen, the overall picture is one of positivity. “Construction is still one of the few ‘great American dream’ careers. So many of our members, so many of our contractors in [the] industry started in the trenches of labor, and they now own their own company. There [are] very few industries in which you can accomplish those kinds of dreams.”

Finding the right people to do business with can be like finding the right friend — but what qualities make a great friend? For starters, you want loyalty, right? Everyone wants a friend that has their back. But you also want a friend that’s fun. Someone who can not only support you in your endeavors but make the journey that bit more entertaining. Well, to the people at AGC of Mississippi, their members are not just members, they are friends. Not only will they advocate for their members by supporting and fighting for the issues that impact them, but they also know how to have a little fun while doing it.

The Associated General Contractors (AGC) has a long history in the construction industry that spans over 100 years. Classing themselves as the voice of the construction industry, the AGC are committed to improving physical environment through the principles of skill, integrity, and responsibility. However, the AGC is made up of multiple chapters dispersed throughout America, with Mississippi originally having more than one.

AGC of Mississippi was initially made up of 3 separate chapters: AGC Coast Chapter, AGC Central Chapter and AGC Utility and Infrastructure Chapter. However, after some negotiations with the board at that particular time, the Coast and the Central Division merged and became AGC of Mississippi — later followed by the Utility and Infrastructure chapter. Now, each chapter functions under the umbrella term of AGC of Mississippi, which has benefitted the association, especially with recruiting members.

The most important aspect of AGC of Mississippi is the association’s members. They are at the forefront of everything the association does. When AGC of Mississippi is not lobbying or advocating on a federal level for their members, they are planning on hosting continuous networking events across the state. Executive Director at AGC of Mississippi, Bob Wilson, is more than familiar with the events hosted by AGC of Mississippi and the magnitude of work that is done on behalf of its members.

“We have crawfish boils. We have 401k Skeet and Trap Shoot. We have fish fries on the coast, we have drop in socials that are all around the state. We have membership dinners on the coast where we have featured speakers. We have a weekly and a quarterly newsletter. We have an AGC online plans room that is available to our members. We have two offices in the state, one here and one in Gulfport and both of those have meeting and training facilities and conference centers. So those are available to our members at no cost. And then that’s where we also put on our educational programs which is another benefit as well.”

While it may all sound like fun and games at AGC of Mississippi, the reality is somewhat more serious. The people and businesses of Mississippi have endured great challenges in recent times. For instance, Mississippi struggled due to effects of economic recession and the recovery from this was a slower process than other areas in the country. Unfortunately, as the state’s economy was returning to previous levels, the pandemic hit. With members continuing to work through this time, the association itself was forced to shut down completely which greatly affected member recruitment and retention.

“The most important aspect of AGC of Mississippi is the association’s members. They are at the forefront of everything the association does.”

The usual advocacy work carried out by AGC of Mississippi became difficult to accomplish due to restrictions and safety measures, but there were more pressing issues at hand. The construction industry began to face a supply shortage which prevented work from being done. Alongside this, a workforce development problem developed which left the construction industry — along with many other industries — in an unfortunate situation that the state is still processing.

Mississippi’s Governor had declared construction work essential during the pandemic. This meant the state did not suffer as much economically as other states, but it also meant that materials were in high demand. Bob touched upon a very valid point in our conversation regarding this issue and suggested the pandemic was not the cause of all the supply issues.

A lot of truck drivers who were responsible for delivering materials were suddenly out of work and in search of other jobs. When business began to pick back up, suppliers did not have the same resources on hand to deliver materials to the people of Mississippi. This then led to project times being dragged out, which in turn caused serious financial strains on all parties involved. These were the types of issues that members were raising at board meetings, and is why AGC of Mississippi is now so excited about the introduction of the infrastructure bill.

“The state was appropriated $1.8 billion a couple of years ago. In 2022, at the end of the session, they spent about $300 million of that $1.8 billion in infrastructure funds to projects that were all over the state and were shovel ready. And they went ahead and got that done. That leaves $1.5 billion to be appropriated in 2023. So now that they’ve got all this other stuff out of the way, I think our members are going to be extremely happy when that $1.5 billion comes to play.”

AGC of Mississippi is continuously pushing for updates regarding the infrastructure bill because the association understands the potential impact this bill will have for its members. AGC ofMississippi has highway construction members and wastewater construction members that will benefit from the bill immediately. However, the bill also impacts people outside of AGC of Mississippi too. These highways that are being built open doorways for commercial developments and allow for new businesses to flourish. Injecting investments into the construction industry ultimately provides Mississippi with an opportunity to build and grow together as a state.

“With all the stimulus money and with our state being open up, our individual state revenues coming into our general fund just went nuts. And for the last two years, we’ve been 50-60% ahead of our projections. So last year during the recession, they had $900 million in excess funds, in addition to the infrastructure funds that was appropriated to smaller construction projects, to public buildings, to expansion of public buildings and repairs and maintenance to public buildings. So those are the things that are really helping a larger part of our membership.”

AGC of Mississippi’s goal is to create a better business climate for the construction industry in Mississippi and to serve as a spokesperson for the industry. In order to do this, AGC of Mississippi are currently developing a leadership council to help appeal to a younger demographic. The association is looking for participants under 40 that either work for construction companies or have their own, because they believe that young people come at things differently and are the future of the association.

If the previous pandemic years the world has experienced have taught us one thing, it is that when people come together for a common goal, anything can be achieved. And ultimately, that is what the AGC of Mississippi is, a collection of people who share a common goal. So, whether you are considering joining for business reasons, or simply for the networking aspect, you can be sure of one thing: If you are in Mississippi, you have a friend in the AGC.

As the old saying goes, it’s what is inside that counts. To this statement, in the construction industry, the structure of any building is the top priority. Division 5, a full-service steel fabricator based in Winston, GA, has been at the forefront of the industry since its founding in 2001. The company fabricates structural steel for general contractors servicing commercial and private buildings, such as e-commerce distribution centers for Amazon, Target and Walmart, as well as manufacturing companies and food distribution centers. With a rich history and significant in-house experience, Division 5 offers expert services across multiple industries.

Ron Stoffel, President of Division 5, describes the company as one that lets its wide range of skills and expertise do the talking. “We can work on everything from general multistoreys to MOB’s (medical office buildings) and other retail commercial offices.” While this variety sets the company apart from its competitors, Division 5 also prioritizes investing in training and fabrication technology. For example, the company has recently invested in a Lincoln PythonX, Peddinghaus drill lines, plating machines, and a Dragon – a piece of equipment that fabricates handrails. Alongside the new investment in equipment, Division 5 integrated updated ERP and accounting systems, Tekla and Spectrum, that according to Rhonda Wylie, CFO of Division 5, work “hand in hand.”

As mentioned, Division 5 recently invested in Peddinghaus machinery. Manufactured in the US, the product range includes large saws, drill lines and coping machines. This investment has resulted in significant benefits for the company. For Wylie, these machines are driving positive developments from both a production and efficiency standpoint. “In addition to giving us the ability to fabricate structural steel more efficiently, the machines have also enabled us to automate the shop.”

Alongside Division 5’s investment in machinery, the company acquired an AISC-certified steel fabricator in North Carolina in 2020 with over 210,000 square feet of combined space across its two locations. An AISC (American Steel Institute of Construction) certification ensures that fabricators meet the highest industry standards. Bryan Hill, CEO of Division 5, notes, “every year AISC audits you to ensure that your quality control and your processes are following their guidelines. The larger jobs that we work on typically require AISC-certified fabricators. By making acquisitions, it narrows our competition.” Also, as Wylie puts it, “these additional locations have increased our production capacity and also allowed us to service our customers in more locations.” In addition to the fabricator acquisition in 2020, Division 5 opened an additional 60,000-square-foot building in Tallapoosa, GA in 2019 and a rail shop in Douglasville, GA in 2020 to contribute to its expansion.

Ron Stoffel recently joined the company as President, bringing with him an arsenal of experience that includes multi-state/region NASCLA contractor licenses. When asked what Stoffel brings to the company, he explains that his experience will allow Division 5 to broaden the scope of services. “Hopefully, I can bring an expanded list of customers. By doing so, we can enter new markets.” As Division 5 has shown in the past, the company is capable of expanding quickly when the customer requires it. To this end, Stoffel feels that his experience will benefit the company by offering “full turn-key packages.” His goal is clear: “We would like to become a one-stop shop where we can offer any service the client needs. From estimation, right through to installation, we strive to develop the capabilities to cover it all.”

The term ‘one-stop shop’ is used often, but it is clear from speaking to the Division 5 team that the collective goal is to offer clients a comprehensive suite of products and services. To this end, no turn-key package would be complete without detailing, the most critical aspect of the fabrication process. Unlike many of its competitors, the Division 5 detailing team is trained to offer the highest level of automation and design available in 3D modeling with SDS/2 detailing software. According to Wylie, “detailing is the most critical aspect of any job, and its proper execution is the foundation of a successful project. Using advanced detailing software, our trained SDS/2 detailers work to interpret engineered drawings and convert them into shop drawings for our fabricators and erectors. The successful execution of the detailing process sets each project on the proper course and gives our fabricators and project managers confidence behind every weld and connection.”

“Importantly, Stoffel has multi-state and regional NASCLA contractor licenses, which will help Division 5 to grow the business in new states.”

Of course, every business faces its challenges. To meet strict regulations, Division 5 must maintain specific licenses to offer its comprehensive services. Importantly, Stoffel has multi-state and regional NASCLA contractor licenses, which will help Division 5 to grow the business in new states. As he explains, “to offer turn-key packages, seventeen states require the fabricator and the erectors to be licensed and have general contractors’ licenses in those states and with NASCLA. This level of licensing will open doors for us to do more comprehensive packages.”

Division 5’s dedication to excellence is evident through its increasing portfolio of large and complex projects, such as a recent project on a Target distribution center. Having completed similar distribution centers for Amazon and Walmart, the company is somewhat of a ‘go-to’ when it comes to buildings of this magnitude. In addition, Hill explains that Division 5 has supported buildings of Fortune 500 companies, such as a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility for Eli Lilly. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company recently completed a project for the Forsyth County Courthouse in Winston Salem, NC, and is currently working with FedEx and Performance Food Group on distribution centers.

So, what does the future hold for Division 5? The company continued strong during the pandemic due to its loyal customer base and is accelerating forward as it explores new markets. As Wylie explains, “we are actively looking for future acquisitions and see many opportunities in Texas.” In addition, Hill is enthusiastic about growth in the ‘big box’ industry. “Houston is one of the largest big box industrial markets, with a growth rate of over 11% in 2021. Second to that is Phoenix, AZ at 10% growth.”

With over twenty years of experience, there are no surprises for the team at Division 5. The company is aware of the need for continuity to maintain its status as an industry leader. For Stoffel, the pathway is clear. “Our goal is to grow internally by maximizing our current production facilities, and at the same time expand externally. We want to continue this growth and build on the success we have achieved so far.”

According to company President Eric Sommer, Spring Valley Corp (SVC) turns owners, architects, and designers “ideas into reality”. The relationship between company and client is simple and straight forward with Sommer explaining that clients come to the company with a concept of what they want to do, with the “expectation that we’ll be able to help them.” An idea, however, is only as good as the plan behind it so, in order to create this reality, SVC sets about using its wide knowledge base and multiple skill sets such as geometric work, energy efficiency reviews and budgetary requirements. The end result is a solution that has been weaved with all of this information in mind. SVC does all the “shop drawings, the engineering, mock-ups, and we can also provide installation services” according to Sommer.

SVC offers a “comprehensive” range of services and products, designed, and engineered for complete building envelopes. The company can work with a client to achieve the best outcomes, regardless of price points and budgets. Its products are suited to all budget ranges, right up to those products where buildings are used as “architectural expression.” According to Sommer, long term investment in these projects is crucial and it therefore makes sense for clients to invest in a cladding system “that will be there for a long period of time and will perform for many years.”

The primary focus and passion of Eric Sommer and Spring Valley Corp is in the manufacturing of Ultra High Performance Concrete. Their signature product “CAAST” stands for Concrete Art and Applied Science Technology. This is where the skill and innovation within the company really comes into play. For Sommer, this is a truly special product. “This is not just regular concrete, it’s beautiful concrete – it’s concrete art.” On the Applied Science side, Sommer explains that while CAAST concrete “is a piece of art, it’s fully engineered, and it is science in the form of particle density theory and chemistry combined to formulate concrete that can do the job that we need it to do.” Sommer goes on to explain that the technology is the “whole package” and that, with CAAST, “we can achieve budget and we can achieve high-end geometry as well.” The reason for this is that SVC can, by “using a specialized method of forming concrete,” make very thin concrete that has enhanced strength and durability over traditional precast.

Spring Valley manufactures both Ultra-High-Performance Concrete and High-Performance Concrete – mostly defined by their comprehensive strength, and to be used depending on the project at hand. HPC is between 90 and 120 MPA and UHPC is 120 MPA and over. Sommer explains that HPC is appropriate for the majority of projects however, in situations where a project demands, UHPC can be made. There are multiple factors which influence which concrete is used, such as its flexural strength and its water resistance and, for those at SVC, all factors must be considered. UHPC is made using nano-technology – regular concrete uses aggregates that are ¾ of an inch down to a millimeter or .1 of a millimeter, whereas nanotechnology uses 2 millimeters down to .1 of a nanometer – very tiny particles that achieve high strength and high resistance to water absorption. This innovation has numerous benefits on a project, one of which being the overall weight management. As a result of the product’s high strength, SVC can produce thin concrete profiles which reduce the weight of a cladding system. The benefits to a project are truly staggering as, instead of having between 6 – 8 inches of concrete on building cladding, it can now go down to below an inch.

“SVC offers a ‘comprehensive’ range of services and products, designed, and engineered for complete building envelopes.”

SVC’s ability to make thin concrete profiles is also important when it comes to environmental issues and sustainability. Sommer explains how concrete has received “a bit of a bad rap” due to the carbon footprint created by the manufacturers of Portland cement coupled with auxiliary issues such as mining and transport. According to Sommer, there is a simple way to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete; use less of it. “If we can make a building using concrete, but we can do this by using much less of it and formulating it in such a way that it has more durability, then we’ve kind of hit it on multiple fronts.” Simply put, reducing consumption, and improving the longevity of the product increases the sustainability of the whole industry. Next to water, concrete is the most consumed product by humans on this planet. “I believe the most effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete is to use less of it… concrete is going to be with us for a long period of time until somebody finds something that will replace that – let’s find better ways to use concrete so that it can be a more sustainable product. Every product that you use in a construction project has to be used to its own best-optimized use… as we gain knowledge of how each one of these affects the environment, and how each one can contribute durability to a project, we can optimize the use of all of these products to be more sustainable.”

The company recently completed work on Hotel X, a luxury hotel on the grounds of Toronto’s Exhibition Place with exposed archaeological ruins below it. This project, according to Sommer, was a “perfect application for UHPC.” The design required that the concrete panels be structural while also perforated, as the designer wanted to achieve a high level of detail on the surface of the panels to communicate the message behind the structure. This meant that SVC had to create molds with very fine details in them, and the mix had to fill these with minimal amounts of air bubbles. Sommer explained that a double-sided pattern is “difficult to achieve in any medium but probably most achievable with UHPC.” The strength of the concrete made the attachment system “very simple”, according to Sommer, with each panel being held up by quarter-inch structural screws. In addition to this, UHPC was also very important for Hotel X due to the project’s exposure to the elements. Sommer explains that, due to the volatile nature of the surroundings, the benefits of UHPC were really front and center. “The freeze-thaw action of the elements has a huge effect on anything they would’ve used, so UHPC will have high durability in that application.”

So, what is next for those at Spring Valley Corp? It seems as though the benefits of collaboration and an innovative take on one of the oldest building materials on the planet will ensure the company goes from strength to strength. A new project, in collaboration with Malcolm Hachborn of CPCI, has led to the development of an insulated wall system called Dreamwall which uses UHPC on both the inside and outside. Both Sommer and Patti Overgaard, the owners of SVC, are very excited about the future of SVC and CAAST Concrete. Sommer says of the venture, “without the support of other industry partners it wouldn’t be possible to do what we’re doing.” With doubling sales and a new facility being opened in 2023, the outlook for SVC is a bright one with Overgaard going on to explain that the company is a “forerunner in the thin concrete world and architects are now taking notice. We believe we have a really bright future.”

With inflation at record level rates across Canada, a shortage of skilled workers along with rising costs of materials, the future of the construction industry looks uncertain. These are the thoughts of John Mollenhauer, President and CEO of Toronto Construction Association (TCA). TCA is a mixed trade association, largely representing the industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors of the industry. The association segments its members into five categories – owners of public and private projects, allies to the industry (consulting engineers, architects, designers), trade contractors, general contractors, and a division the association calls the manufacturing service and supply sector.

Suzana Fernandes, Vice President of Operations at TCA, explains that the association offer day-to-day services such as selling construction documents and providing related services. Alongside this, TCA has a full-fledged construction institute and provides discounted opportunities for ongoing professional development to its members that is targeted at just about anybody in our industry. Another vital component in the work being done by the association is around education. This is largely achieved by ensuring that its members are kept informed about what is happening in the industry on topics such as legislation, the discussions governments are having regarding changes to the industry, and how these decisions affect the industry at large.

The Greater Toronto Area, in high-rise construction terms, is the busiest market in North America. With 225 out of 440 tower cranes in North America housed in Toronto, this area is a hugely positive environment for the industry. This level of high-rise construction does, however, have unexpected drawbacks. In addition to exacerbating the already high levels of congestion in the city, it can lead to an increase in noise levels; something the city managers are eager to minimize. This, Mollenhauer explains, invariably leads to difficulties. New legislation that seeks to create balance in the city by attaching higher costs to any noise generated early or late in the day has resulted in a greater difficulty in delivering material and equipment to sites in Toronto. With global supply chain issues yet to be resolved, Mollenhauer explains that this legislation is adding an additional layer of complexity for stakeholders. “We’re always trying to compensate for delays when we can’t get materials and equipment. So, when it arrives you need to move it quickly to the site. It’s expensive to move it onto the jobsite unless you do so during the day and then it is congested when you do.” Mollenhauer explains that by introducing these measures to protect consumers in the city, it has the unintended consequence of driving the cost of construction up, thus, putting the future of the industry in uncertain territory.

As the industry emerges from the Pandemic, it is important that those within the TCA reflect and grow from the changes and challenges that the industry faced throughout the past two years. Mollenhauer notes that throughout the pandemic, despite infrastructure being classed as an essential service and therefore protected under the COVID legislation, productivity was actually down due to newly implemented safety protocols and physical separation. Projects disrupted by COVID had “ridiculously high costs”, according to Mollenhauer. Unfortunately for those at the coal face, it was almost impossible to recoup these costs as contracts were solely based around lost time. This has meant that the industry has had to rely on buyers of construction recognizing that the pandemic could not have been foreseen when these projects were tendered and are therefore a reasonable recoverable expense.

“As the industry emerges from the Pandemic, it is important that those within the TCA reflect and grow from the changes and challenges that the industry faced throughout the past two years.”

On the union side, Mollenhauer explains that this was a “collective bargaining year” with labor agreements being renegotiated at considerably higher costs. This is something which, he argues, indirectly affects all labor and when coupled with labor and supply shortages, is hugely problematic for projects in the region. In a time when the industry is in need of stability and calm, this is unfortunate. Furthermore, with inflation rates currently hovering around seven percent, the market is in a place of deep uncertainty. Mollenhauer explains that normally in this situation the Bank of Canada would raise interest rates and bring inflation under control, but this is not so easily done now. According to Mollenhauer, banks are concerned that “Canadians have amassed too much debt,” meaning that if interest rates go up quickly, they will be unable to make their mortgage payments which will cause more damage than it would fix.

Despite all of this, the Toronto Construction Association is committed to bringing change, stability and positivity to its members and the wider industry. Fernandes states that the TCA is always asking questions and seeking to discover “the biggest issues that our industry is facing.” By instigating conversations, identifying what needs to be done and by speaking to legislative bodies about what needs to change, she believes that the association can provide the best outcomes for its members. To this end, Mollenhauer represents TCA on the board of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), advocating aggressively on behalf of the industry in Toronto, informing the CCA on key national issues and “influencing favorable legislation to help the industry.”

TCA also has an eye on the future development and growth within the industry. According to Fernandes, the association has developed a young construction leaders committee which aims to engage people in their youngest years about viewing the industry differently. Fernandes explains, “TCA is committed to raising awareness about the importance of considering a career in construction and really bringing that engagement piece to not just those that are seasoned in the industry, but those that are new to the industry and considering the career.”

With this in mind, it could be easy to assume that the outlook is a guaranteed success. However, by noting that The Old Construction Sector Council in Ottawa forecasts a shortfall of over 300,000 skilled workers, a third of the entire skilled labor market in Canada, Mollenhauer is aware that issues are still present. Despite this, he is cautiously positive about the future. He explains that recent global events have created a great deal of uncertainty in the market. “The high cost of construction theoretically drives investors elsewhere. While the government would love to spend money on infrastructure, we need money for other things at the moment. Particularly in the wake of the pandemic.”

However, in terms of the outlook for the rest of 2022 and into next year, Mollenhauer believes that positive changes are imminent, and the outlook is one of huge potential. With an ever-growing demand for both housing and infrastructure, the scope for growth is certain to continue. “No market can be this superheated and not have kind of a legacy supply into the future.” This demand, amplified by the cut and thrust of business in markets where many companies are downsizing and therefore moving from one space to another, puts those at the Toronto Construction Association in a positive mood for 2023. With the association backing its members to continue the post-pandemic bounce and make gains across all aspects of the industry, it seems that the future is one of genuine potential. A future based on education, solidarity and excellence.

Branch Civil is a general contractor that specializes in earthmoving, performing primarily in Virginia and North Carolina. The company is one of three business units within the Branch Group, which operates as an ESOP.

In an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), the company’s employees are also the owners. The President at Branch Civil, Brian Quinlan, explains that the company is unusual in that it is 100% employee-owned, meaning there is no other partial ownership involved. With close to 900 employee owners, and a “couple hundred” more ex-employees who still own stock, the company is hugely valuable to local communities. Quinlan explains, “Our owners [are] just everyday folks that live in Virginia and North Carolina and are invested in the company and in the markets in which we work.”

The history of Branch Civil is similar to that of many other general contractors. The difference, however, is that upon his retirement in 1982, the founder Billy Branch decided to sell the company to the employees. This decision led to a company ethos of accountability that permeates through every aspect of the business, including safety. According to Quinlan, Branch Civil has an “Absolute commitment to safety.” With this in mind, it is no surprise that the company has received over 40 safety awards in the past five years. Quinlan explains, “You always care about your employees, but in this case, our employees are also our owners.” He says that the experience of being on a job where a serious accident has occurred acts as a driving force in his safety-led focus. It informs, says Quinlan, “an underlying philosophy where everybody goes home the way they came to work.” To this end, the company promotes a culture of safety rather than a dictatorial approach. According to Quinlan, Branch Civil does not police safety because it believes it is not the most effective approach. Instead, the company believes that “everybody has to be committed.”

The safety department is a corporate function of the Branch Group. Safety representatives cover geographic areas by inspecting on a weekly basis all jobs in that area regardless of the business unit, but “the trick is when the safety guys come on-site, they don’t come on and start writing people up or threatening. They come on and they conduct inspections, do a joint review of the inspection results and talk about what can be improved.”

According to Quinlan, the company’s safety results are a testament to this approach, with projects getting very good scores from these inspections. Quinlan believes this is a “leading indicator,” explaining that “If you can improve your leading indicators then your results always come out better.”

Branch Civil typically works on large roadway projects for the DOTs in North Carolina and Virginia. On the private side, it also specializes in large site development jobs. The reason for this is that Branch’s earthwork and pipe-laying skillsets easily transfer back and forth between the two markets.”

In order to ensure the smooth delivery of services and timely execution on projects, the company owns approximately 300 major pieces of equipment. All the company’s newer equipment is fitted with telematics that both helps the company track and manage the equipment and allows for proper maintenance. According to Quinlan, “Almost all dozers, excavators and graders are also fitted with GPS grade control systems.”

“Branch Civil is currently working on a $300 million progressive design-build for VDOT on Route 58 near Lover’s Leap in Stuart, VA.”

Due to equipment being of such importance to the earthmoving business, Quinlan explains that the company made a conscious decision a number of years ago to augment its equipment fleet as a means of enhancing the service it could offer. “We committed to having quality equipment and taking care of the equipment we have so that we could put it to the most efficient use we could.” This, according to Quinlan, ties back to the telematics of the machines. “The machines are so smart now that if you just listen to them, they will tell you where they are, how many hours they work, what shape they are in, when they need maintenance, and if they’re being abused.” This has led to the company setting up their Situational Awareness Room, gathering all the incoming information from the equipment and putting it into readable reports, which facilitates effective management of the equipment fleet. Quinlan believes that this approach to equipment management has given Branch Civil a significant competitive advantage. He adds, “We also do all stringless grading, relying on in-house electronic modeling and equipment equipped with GPS controls, which another factor in the success of Branch Civil as an earthmoving company.”

Branch Civil is currently working on a $300 million progressive design-build for VDOT on Route 58 near Lover’s Leap in Stuart, VA. Despite the area having a somewhat tragic and romantic folklore surrounding a scenic area where lovers leapt off the side of a mountain, the project will be strictly business for Branch Civil. Branch Civil has a long history of working on Route 58, but this section in particular, according to Quinlan, gives the company the opportunity for the company to showcase the full range of its capabilities. “It’s a little bit different for us because it’s primarily a rock job, whereas most of our work in Virginia has been in Eastern parts of the state that tend to be more sand and clay moving.” With design nearing completion, Branch Civil is mobilizing multiple equipment spreads to start work on the project in the coming weeks.

Given the difficulties facing many across the industry, where is Branch Civil sitting currently? The answer, unsurprisingly, is in a very good place. Quinlan describes the outlook for Branch Civil as “great,” with about twenty active projects and one of the largest backlogs in the company’s 60-year history. According to Quinlan, the market is looking good in keeping with the Infrastructure Bill uptick, which is a welcome change from previous years where projects were delayed due to capital concerns.

While supply chain issues have certainly been a challenge to the company, when asked about the main difficulties facing Branch Civil, Quinlan identifies another, more omnipresent issue. He explains that there has been a trend in America that portrays “sitting behind a desk as a more admirable career than working with your hands.” Quinlan believes that this has “made it very tough for construction companies to attract and retain skilled labor.” By way of a solution, Quinlan believes that education is key, particularly at the high school level. He cannot stress how important it is to spread the message that construction “..really is a great career. It’s got good pay, even for entry-level personnel.” He goes on to explain that he has “worked with amazing people that have made it all the way to the top of the profession; general superintendents, project managers, presidents, and company owners, and some accomplished that without graduating from high school. It is one of the few careers that provide that opportunity.”

For those considering construction as a career, Quinlan adds the best thing about construction is that when a project has been completed, you can point to something and say “Hey, I helped to build that.”

Atlantic Coast Dismantling (ACD) is a full-service demolition contractor specializing in heavy civil and plant demolition projects. With a rich and broad history, the company specializes in demolition across multiple contexts and settings. From building demolition to mechanical demolition that would typically involve the removal of boilers, chillers, and cooling towers; this is a company that can do it all.

The company was founded in 2008 by three partners including one of the current owners, Ben Ketschke.In 2013, demolition industry veteran Steven Testa who owned a successful demolition company for 30 years joined forces with Ben. Steve brought new business with his team of experts, clients and a wealth of knowledge in the field of specialized demolition. According to the VP at ACD, Colin O’Hearn, the steady progress being done at the company has translated into a period of significant growth. “We have seen some substantial growth over the last six years. Our company has grown from being a $9 million company in 2016 to almost a $50 million company this year.” Clearly, those at ACD are doing something right.

Atlantic Coast Dismantling joined the National Demolition Association (NDA) around three years ago. O’Hearn has worked for many demolition contractors in the past, all of which have been members of the NDA. By being available and accessible to its members, he feels that, as an organization, it is a “great resource for contractors.” In addition to this, O’Hearn explains how the NDA help to spearhead different projects around the country, helping out with certain aspects of demolition that other associations may not engage with. “When it comes to disposal or trucking or just means and methods, they’re very knowledgeable people. It is really good to get together and discuss demolition with multiple contractors from around the country and around the world.”

The NDA hold a big demolition event every year – an event which O’Hearn describes as a superb opportunity to get first hand experience with equipment and products. This insight is, according to O’Hearn, invaluable. “Multiple vendors will be in attendance and you have the opportunity to try out their products. That way, you get a feel for how it’s going to work on the jobsite.” An added bonus is that the event allows multiple members from across the country to meet and develop connections.

Since O’Hearn joined the company in 2016, ACD has experienced continued success by having “one or two large projects” a year. Last year, for example, the company was tasked with demolishing the existing North Washington Street bridge – a swing bridge that had been built in 1898 over the Charles River in Downtown Boston. Given the enormity of the project, it is no surprise that the job required multiple layers and tasks as evidenced by the need to both demolish the superstructure and also hammer all the substructure out.

“Instead of having to go out and rent a crane, now we have our own crane whenever we need it to bring to jobs.”

With this ongoing success, the company has needed to expand its fleet of equipment and last year was no different in this regard. ACD acquired a Montauk MLC 300 (300 tonne) crawler crane which has already been put to good use. Initially at Wittpenn Bridge in New Jersey and next with an upcoming project at the Harry Nice bridge in Maryland. For O’Hearn, this addition has already paid huge dividends. “It is a big help. Instead of having to go out and rent a crane, now we have our own crane whenever we need it to bring to jobs.” Alongside the crane, ACD also purchased two brand new CAT 395 excavators; 95 metric tonne excavators weighing about 200,000 pounds, and multiple smaller excavators including CAT 374’s, CAT 349’s, CAT 335’s, and CAT 325’s. O’Hearn explains that this investment in the company fleet is another way of offering the best possible service to its clients. “In 2016, we had about $4 million worth of equipment and now we have about $25 million worth of equipment. As we grow, we are continuously adding to our fleet. This makes us a stronger competitor in the market. We can pretty much tackle any job that comes across the board.”

Atlantic Coast Dismantling recently subcontracted with Siefert Associates, LLC to perform the engineering for the demolition of the existing Wittpenn Bridge connecting Jersey City to Kearny, NJ. Siefert performed analysis of the east approach, truss spans, tower spans, lift span, and west approach. Siefert also devised plans for the float out of the existing lift span and removal of the supporting towers. This particular job has proved to be one of the company’s standout projects in recent times. While working on the project, ACD encountered a lot of site constraints which required outside-the-box thinking. The bridge was built adjacent to a Conrail lift bridge which was not ideal and, to make matters more difficult, the new route 7 bridge that was already in place was also nearby. ACD started on the East approach, hammering down 15 spans using large excavators, shears, and hammers before getting into the trust and lift spans. O’Hearn describes how the company had to use innovative thinking to solve these issues. “Traditionally, we wire saw the counterweights and then pick them with the crane. For this project, we came up with a new idea. We had a vendor come in and we used strand jacks to lower the counterweights from their resting position up top of the tower down to the elevation of the roadway. That way, we could use excavators with hammers to hammer the concrete in place. As a result, we didn’t have to pick it with the crane in the end.” Following the removal of the counterweights, the company manoeuvred those strand jacks, cut portions of the bridge off and lowered the lift span to a barge waiting in the river below.

While ACD has experienced huge success and cause for celebration in recent times, it has not been without its challenges. It has, like everyone else in the industry, been impacted by supply chain issues. O’Hearn explains that “it’s been hard to procure new equipment due to ship shortages and other port shortages from around the world.” While this is to be expected as the industry recovers from the pandemic, the supply chain issues have also been impacting the company in a more indirect manner. As GCs around the country wait for materials to arrive, ACD feels the knock-on effect of this. “While it doesn’t necessarily delay us when we are doing our job, it certainly can delay us starting jobs in certain aspects because of the fact that the general contractor needs these materials to build something new.”

In terms of the outlook for 2022, O’Hearn is positive about the future for Atlantic Coast Dismantling. By continuing to expand the fleet, develop and nurture talent and skills, the company can build on its massive recent success. “I would say that we’re continuing to grow. We projected $50 million sales this year, and on top of that, we are adding to our team.” With such positive growth in place since 2008, you wouldn’t put it past them to, as always, go above and beyond that goal too.

The Florida Transportation Builders Association (FTBA) represents over 500 firms involved in the infrastructure space in Florida. Of its members, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers of material and equipment make up the majority. In addition to this, its membership also includes engineering companies that specialize in design and inspection work, lobby companies and lawyers who represent firms in construction disputes. According to President of FTBA, Ananth Prasad, its members are focused on “horizontal, or surface, work” in the transportation sector such as roads, bridges, airport runways and tunnels. Prasad identifies a clear delineation between the work its members do compared to more “vertical work” which would include residential and commercial buildings.

Clearly, events of the past couple of years have caused hardship for companies across all industries and transportation is no different. Prasad acknowledges that the most notable challenge has been supply chain issues which, when coupled with ongoing labor shortages, is a “big issue.” To work through this, FTBA engage with state and decision-makers to ensure that contract provisions are fair and contractual remedies are there when materials are not readily available. Prasad explains that its work with legislators has ensured members are supported where possible. “Florida’s Governor has been working with the port’s, businesses and supply chains stakeholders to potentially divert some of those supplies from a port that is disrupted to a port that is open.” However, he is quick to note that this is a slow process and one which needs to be given due consideration. “All of that takes time and we need to make sure we recognize the issue, adjust accordingly and acknowledge that jobs may just take a little longer.”

Florida’s population is growing exponentially, passing New York in the last 10 years to become the 3rd largest state in the Union. By 2030, it’s projected that another three million people will move to the state, taking the population to 25 million. Understandably, this increase brings challenges, the biggest of which can be seen in urban areas. This raises the question of how to best accommodate and solve local mobility needs. As Prasad explains, the increase in population density may not guarantee increases to the state highway network. Unfortunately, a very real consideration in this is the geographical layout of the state. “Building mass transit takes a lot of investment upfront. While this can be a potential problem, the bigger challenge is how to make sure that you get the modal shift in the urban areas.” Florida is a “tall, elongated state,” a peninsula that Prasad estimates to be around 150 miles from east coast to west coast, with no point in the state being 100 miles away from the coast. With the main population centers being located in the bottom half of the peninsula, driving distances to north of the state are enormous. This means that the advocacy work being done by FTBA needs to be carefully considered and researched. As Prasad explains, the job of FTBA is to ensure “that we’re making the right investments, coupled with obviously a lot of backroad trends [such as] fuel efficiency, increases.”

Alongside this, Florida sees around 120 million tourists every year and is projected to grow by a further 30 million by 2030. While this is a welcome position in some respects, it also comes with its own challenges. Prasad states that “congestion is growing with tourists coming to our state,” and explains that, regardless of the method of transportation, this “puts infrastructure in Florida in the crossroads.” Ultimately, the net result is a growing need for further infrastructure development and smart mobility. “It’s important not only for the residents of the state but also all the tourists who come and want to have a good time in the state of Florida.” A big issue, however, from FTBA’s standpoint, is to continue to advocate at both federal and state levels to ensure that infrastructure investment is keeping pace with the growing needs of the state.

“Ultimately, the net result is a growing need for further infrastructure development and smart mobility.”

Fuel efficiency has been a topic of conversation for FTBA recently. According to Prasad, an aggressive fuel efficiency standard is now posing an issue for its members. Simply put, the metric used –Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT)—has risen in the state of Florida. “That means that more people are driving equal to, or more than, previous years and while [from an] increased fuel efficiency standard they are consuming less fuel, that creates a problem from a funding sustainability standpoint. How do you continue to make investments with that kind of model?”

Another big issue facing FTBA is electrification, with Prasad explaining that, due to the subsidies and exemptions that are applicable to EVs, there is a growing deficit in available funding. “With an EV you could be driving 5,000 miles a year and pay nothing. That is a conversation that Florida needs to have. We need to implement policy to ensure that electric vehicle owners are paying their fair share for use of the transportation facility.” While the percentage of electric cars is currently quite small, Prasad is concerned that, if projections are correct, the ability to spend on the maintenance of infrastructure will be greatly hindered. “If you have 30-40% of vehicles [that] are electric, that means that a substantial number of infrastructure users are not paying. That is going to have a huge impact on our ability to invest further in that infrastructure.”

FTBA benefits from a “diversified revenue stream,” according to Prasad. He goes on to explain that the association also gets some growth management fees, which are typically associated with building houses. “A portion of those fees come to transportation so as our state continues to grow, that’s a revenue stream that will continue to grow.” While there are currently caps in place with regard to this, it is something that is high on the FTBA agenda. Talk has already begun with policymakers in this regard. As Prasad explains, “Florida has changed.”

Indeed, it has been a record year for investments in the state with this years $12 billion budget being an all-time high. Meanwhile, there are a lot of high-capacity projects across the state. Prasad is quick to point out that, due to this growth, FTBA “need to look at our critical corridors and provide some redundancy in it.” These critical corridors include the I-4, the major corridor east-west. This stretch connects the metropolis of Tampa, Orlando, and Daytona, making this one of the most congested corridors in the state. A change that needs to be made regarding this, according to Prasad, is expanding the four lanes into eight. The two main north-south corridors (I-75 and I-95) also face significant demands with Prasad explaining that much work is going into figuring out “how we can build some redundancy in the system to address the growth we’re seeing, but also be the environmental stewards. We have to make sure that it is not environment or infrastructure, it is environment and infrastructure. Both have to co-exist in order to maintain the quality of life that Floridians expect.”

NSG Life Safety caters to the multi-faceted needs of the construction industry pertaining to life safety systems, ranging from fire alarms to mass notification systems. The company offer a suite of services. Not only does it engineer the safety features, it also delivers, program systems and offers a detailed training program to assist the owners who use them. In addition to all this, the company offers aftermarket services for the lifespan of the product.

When NSG Life Safety was featured in Apeiron in August of 2021, it was noted that the company took no shortcuts. Unsurprisingly, since that feature the company has gone from strength to strength.

President at NSG Life Safety, Daniel Chauvin describes the company as a “one-stop-shop for large, complex systems in commercial buildings.” While it may seem like a grand claim, it is backed up by the figures. Every year since the company’s establishment five years ago, NSG has doubled in size. Incredibly, while we are only midway through the year, the company has performed this feat yet again. Chauvin calls this the “breakout year” for the company – something he depreciatingly puts down to “a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work.”

The company has grown exponentially since August of 2021, experiencing rapid growth, and doubling in sales as of June 2022. When asked about this, Chauvin said he would attribute the majority of the company’s incredible success to his skilled in-house team. “We have a really great group of players here that are extremely committed to the success of the organization and the satisfaction of our client base.” Furthermore, he believes that the team’s “commitment to [NSG’s] success is the key ingredient.”

NSG were fortunate to have foreseen the supply chain issues that are now taking the country by storm and were able to react quickly to counter them. The company stores materials to accommodate projects long before they are needed. Chauvin explains that many companies buy as needed, ensuring it is delivered just in time for the job, whereas NSG orders the materials up to a year in advance and will collect, inventory, store and insure the materials. This long-term approach allows the company to deliver on time, something that Chauvin describes as a “catalyst” to the company’s success.

This forward thinking is the result of a wealth of experience, gained over many years. Chauvin himself has been working in this industry for thirty-eight years and, understandably, can recognize what works and what doesn’t. As stated in last year’s article, the company does not take shortcuts. To emphasize this point, Chauvin explains that the work NSG does is very “detail-oriented.” He goes on to describe the importance of presenting drawings, engineering and every piece of information required for the contractor to install the product. Chauvin believes that this is what “keeps them coming back.”

NSG doesn’t “sell to everybody,” according to Chauvin. “We sell to a tight group of clients that respect us, pay their bills and give us business.” In turn, Chauvin states, the company’s many clients receive “extreme customer service” from the team who will go out of their way to answer questions and solve problem with a same day service. In addition to this, the company boasts a wide range of “top tier” products, with Chauvin explaining that “when you get into the larger complex of integrated solutions you need to have the best products.”

One of NSG’s key manufacturers, according to Daniel, is Johnson Controls (JCI), which offers a tier-one life safety system platform called Autocall which was launched in 2016. While there are now over one hundred dealers of the product, NSG was one of the first. This early adoption of the product has led to a keen understanding of how it works and why it is important for clients. To that end, NSG has consistently been the number one sales organization for the Autocall system and were recently awarded the Top Gun award in 2021. Chauvin explains that the detail used by the company combined with a deep well of knowledge has led to this success. “Because of our method to market, the way we do things, [and] the loyalty of our clients, we’ve been fortunate enough to be the number one sales organization for that product in North America, Canada [and the] United States of America since the inception of the award.” For the company, this recognition is very important, with Chauvin stating that it is “inspirational for our team to be recognized.” He goes on to explain that it “develops appreciation” while also sets the company “apart from our brothers who are selling it as well.”

Interestingly, Chauvin used the word competition, before replacing it with brothers – something which demonstrates the key facets of NSG’s success. While this is a company that is founded on success through hard work and merit, there is also a tangible sense of community and a drive for collaboration. As Chauvin speaks, the saying about rising tides lifting all boats springs to mind. He explains that the team regularly receives calls from dealers, looking for guidance and advice. With Autocall having at least three major dealers in every market, Chauvin explains how the team will happily help and give advice to those who are not in the same market as them. “At the end of the day its friendly competition, but competition nonetheless.”

As anyone that has followed the upward trajectory of NSG Life Safety can attest to, the growth the company is experiencing is expected to continue. Despite this, Chauvin acknowledges the importance of remaining cautious, saying that while he doesn’t foresee a problem with achieving the Top Gun award again, “if you get cocky you get taken out so we [have to] be humble and demonstrate some humility.”

NSG is trying to grow “intelligently” according to Daniel. The rationale for this approach stems from a desire to consistently offer top-quality service. Currently, the company has used this period of growth to invest in training the team. The result of this is the development of integrated security “at a higher level” – something which clients had been asking NSG to provide for a while. In order to ensure this development runs smoothly, the company has developed internal subsets that will handle integrated security. In a display of cyclical development, the team will emulate previous successes, operating in much the same way it did five years ago with the Autocall JCI systems. “That team started small and worked our way up. Only good things are going to happen from here on out.”

NSG has recently been awarded the Cleveland Rudman Federal Courthouse project in Concord New Hampshire, a design-build life safety solution to the GSA. The team was selected not based on price, but on performance, credentials and their approach to the complex retrofit of life safety systems in the facility. The company was also recently awarded the Massachusetts Department of Health Laboratories in Boston, a multi-building site which Daniel describes as a “difficult job” from an implementation standpoint. NSG was selected to provide the life safety systems while also doing the tier 2 engineering on it and the implementation plan.

NSG also recently completed a large-scale retrofit of their life safety mass notification system in the Biogen Building 8 – a two-story vivarium in Cambridge Massachusetts which “required some very unique signaling” to ensure the building could operate as normal. Despite the stress and intensity that comes from working on such complex and high-profile projects, Chauvin feels that they reflect how far the company has come. As he says, with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, NSG Life Safety is continuing to scale new heights. “We are proud of these projects – to even be entertained is a big deal but to be selected speaks to how far we’ve come and the need to keep doing what we are doing.”

The Long Island Contractors’ Association (LICA) represents the interests of Long Island’s premier heavy construction general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and industry supporters. Their industry is focused primarily on building and maintaining our region’s vital infrastructure: its highways, bridges, and transit systems, as well as utilities, water quality, wastewater systems, and other public works. They carry a sense of pride that many of LICA’s 160-member firms are multi-generational, family-owned businesses located on Long Island, who continue to work and employ neighbors in their communities. Marc Herbst, Executive Director, describes LICA as a “very active unionized community.” 

While the last few years were particularly difficult for Long Island and New York due to the surging COVID-19 pandemic, LICA continued to contribute to the local infrastructure and economy as construction was deemed an essential service in NY State. With little traffic on the road, and fewer people using mass transit, Herbst says, “we went forward and got a lot of improvements done faster.” Herbst went on to say that the decision to categorize construction as an essential service kept LICA members working at a time they were needed most.

Now, LICA has turned its attention to another critical issue; budget negotiations over a new 5-Year New York State Capital Transportation Plan. With a budget due April 1st, LICA is very active in conversations. “Our goal is to ensure the State Legislature and Governor’s office provide adequate infrastructure funding for Long Island and throughout NY State,” said Herbst. While there will continue to be a historic influx of infrastructure funding coming from Washington D.C., Herbst’s job is to ensure that the money is going to the right places.

Initially, $4.6 billion was allocated to NY State from Washington for infrastructure investments. However, Herbst is worried only about half of those funds are being allocated towards projects related to infrastructure. “What happened to the other money?” asked Herbst.

“We need to make sure that money isn’t being siphoned off for other purposes,” said Herbst. 

The goal for LICA and its members has a much wider scope than anticipated, however. Contributing positively to its own corner of the country ensures that the collective benefit is felt further afield. The way Herbst sees it, more construction is better for the economy. Not only do these projects have a direct impact on the local workforce, a slightly less tangible, but equally important benefit is felt. It raises the quality of life, fixing bridges and roads, reducing traffic, ensuring better safety. According to Herbst, better infrastructure is also a draw to lure more folks into investing in local communities and building permanent lives. 

“According to Herbst, better infrastructure is also a draw to lure more folks into investing in local communities and building permanent lives.”

Not to mention, better roads and highways come with increased safety. Sitting on a freeze-thaw line, Long Island roads are constantly “pummeled (by weather) and in terrible condition.” This can lead to dangerous and damaging potholes, as well as severe traffic congestion. 

Despite possible allocation fights, New York has an enormous investment opportunity thanks to the historic bi-partisan Infrastructure Bill signed by President Joe Biden. This unprecedented level of funding will give a welcome boost to the economy but, crucially, it will create real, living changes to the lives of those living in New York. Not only will New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority benefit, but Herbst is particularly excited about the roads and bridges program. “The current condition of our roads and bridges is dreadful. Congestion levels are high, and this program will help with that,” said Herbst. In addition, needed investment improvements will come to airports, telecommunications, broadband, and more.

However, one important issue that Herbst foresees, is the ongoing issue regarding the global supply chain. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has resulted in costs rising exponentially and, when this is paired with unsustainable supply chain issues, it results in massive challenges for companies across the industry. While these difficulties will impact companies in all facets of construction, a big concern for LICA is that the pricing and availability of materials may hamper long-term improvements to infrastructure projects. “We see steel, lumbar and all these other types of materials and aggregates – the prices are going up,” stating that along with the rise in spending, businesses across the country are now dealing with added costs,” says Herbst. 

Managing the issue of rising costs can be difficult at the best of times; however, when it comes to steel, a perfect storm of supply shortages, pricing and bureaucracy is emerging which results in even greater headaches for LICA’s members working on bridge projects. This instability in the market leads to a frustration with the bidding processes with governments. Said Herbst, “a lot of times they’ll put out a bid and delay the award,” explaining that over time this leads to them facing fluctuating prices, and sometimes losing suppliers: “How do you put a bid price out here and all of a sudden you don’t know when the job is really going to take place when we have such uncertainty in the market right now?”

Ultimately, the outlook is bright. There are major projects underway after the recent influx of funding for sewer programs in the region in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy – to provide resistance and resilience in a region where 75% of the area does not have sewers. Alongside this, Herbst explained that there are two large transit programs ongoing, one including the first track on the Long Island railroad in over 100 years to be added.  

“I think we’re in good shape. The future is very positive for Long Island,” Herbst said. 

Power and Construction Group (PCG) is a “vertically integrated” utility construction company according to Executive Vice President and Owner, Pete Wierzba. Pete explains how the utility industry in New York State is heavily unionized, but PCG is different; it is a merit shop, and its employees have a steady payroll. The company do not take on a lot of large projects, focusing instead on choosing smaller ones that are more suited to the size of the company.

The company states that it –and many other merit shop companies—will not bid on any projects with a PLA on it, feeling it is unfair to win work on a project and be “forced to use a percentage union labor that we don’t know and keep our own employees home.” According to Vice President at PCG, Thomas Murphy, all this achieves is a reduction in bids which ultimately drives the cost of the project up for the taxpayers.

Through multiple divisions, PCG “provide a complete solution” and can do everything for the customer. The company can also provide aggregates, with Pete explaining that PCG can “work with the customer for concrete or other considerations” such as gravel or sand products that suit their needs. PCG make its own specialty products as opposed to going out to the market and finding them, with Pete stating that the company “try to provide that integrated solution that we can handle so a project manager can deal with just us rather than 5 subcontractors – we can provide that complete solution.”

PCG has multiple divisions within the company, including:

• Electric
• Traffic (handles intelligent traffic systems such as sensors)
• Gas
• Civil
• ‘Subway’ (focusing on conduit systems (manholes, underground wiring))
• Transportation (delivers and stores material for customers and can implement a railroad sitting next to the Jobsite or customers bunks at service centres for ease.)
• Inspection
• Environmental (supporting not only the crews but also customers with small scale environmental needs)

In addition to all of this, PCG has an aggregate division which it acquired in 1983 called Valley Sand and Gravel. Valley Sand and Gravel produce New York State DOT material for concrete and asphalt plants while also supplying materials for gas and water mains and storm sewer pipes. Thomas describes it as a diverse plant with a variety of products, with its focus being a support tool for the overall business. “We supply back to PCG for their needs and then to the big concrete national companies that are in the area.” Valley Sand and Gravel built a new state-of-the-art PLC controlled plant five years ago, meaning the plant can be run by just five people, an advantage in its effort to supplement the divisions within PCG.

Valley Sand and Gravel also get into specialty work, having recently designed and made thermal sand (high resistance sand) of which there was none in the market. This willingness to engage in such thought-provoking projects is something that sets the company apart from its competitors with Thomas stating “like PCG, we will take on those challenges as a company that other people don’t want to.” Thomas goes on to state that, for the company, “our diversity is our strength.” This comes from the ability PCG has to be the “one-stop-shop” for contractors and is something that sets them apart, alongside the fact that, according to Thomas, many other companies don’t want to do the work they do and wouldn’t take on the specialty work they do: “that’s what separates us, we believe, from the other contractors.”

According to Thomas, longevity, as the company’s president Scott Ingle says, is about the people. With a company focus of upskilling and promotion from within its own ranks, PCG strive to hire qualified people and train them in other areas to increase their ability to move within the company. Thomas states “we look at our people as the most important part of our organization,” explaining that the people the company hires are integral to its growth: “We look at how do we grow as a company, but it starts with the people. Anybody can buy the trucks and equipment we have, so it really is the people.” Pete explains that PCG’s philosophy focuses on being a “good place to work” providing people with opportunities to excel while focusing heavily on safety. PCG get a lot of their prospective employees through referrals or from people who have worked for other companies but have found a “home” at PCG.

“With a company focus of upskilling and promotion from within its own ranks, PCG strive to hire qualified people and train them in other areas to increase their ability to move within the company.”

Pete explains that within the company there are a lot of very talented people who can think creatively, work hard and work safely – something very important to the company’s ethos. With an approach to problem-solving he describes as “entrepreneurial,” Pete explains that this means “putting people into a situation where they’re equipped, they have the right experience.” By way of example, he notes the instability of projects and how anything can change on a job at a given moment. Pete believes that, because of this, “you just have to trust people to make good decisions, and you do that by equipping them with the right tools, training and support.” The company has an excellent track record for safety – providing solutions to customers without injuries, accidents and disputes, something which Pete credits to the company’s “stellar” workforce.

Yearly in December, the company hold an employee appreciation luncheon where they go over PCG’s safety record for the year and speak about “what is going on with ABC and other company news.” The owners also give out profit-sharing checks to all employees, with Thomas explaining “as a company we believe all the employees are the reason for our success so that is why it is shared back with them.”

Thomas explains that it is this community led culture at PCG that makes employees want to stay, describing it as a key component of why they continue to grow in such a progressive fashion. Pete describes an environment where it is no uncommon to see the company President in a bulldozer pushing dirt around, explaining that “there is an approachability to management – even senior management” with everyone on a first-name basis, adding that they are not big on formalities. Thomas follows up by explaining that, when in need, one division can call another division for advice or help, saying, “nobody is trying to step on somebody else to get better – everybody is helping.”

Thomas said, powerfully, “We call ourselves a team because we all step forward together.”

Pete explains how PCG is not a very “showy” company, and “not much” for titles, hierarchy, and structure. Recently however, the company have been named one of ABC’s Top Performers after having participated in the STEP program for the past seven years. This is a proud moment for the company as, according to Thomas, the criteria for getting this honor is very strict. PCG take a lot of pride in their safety, with STEP pushing them even further, making them become a better company according to Thomas. Becoming an ABC Top Performer puts them in the top 200 of 14,000 ABC contractors rating number 76 overall and number 10 in specialty contractors. This recognition is something that the company have been striving for “all along.”

Thomas explains that this achievement is very important to the company, explaining “it’s something we’re proud of and every single one of our employees knows that they are part of a team that’s one of the best in the country,” describing how their employees wear PCG branded clothing on personal days and at weekends: “that says a lot. It means you’re proud of your company… we wear it with pride.”

In terms of standout projects, Pete explained how for PCG, their standout projects are the day-to-day ones as opposed to the handful of larger projects that they would get yearly, saying “I’m [prouder] of all those other projects adding up to something, rather than just one here and there.”

The company are constantly looking for growth opportunities through their strategic business plan, but will only expand into areas that fit with what they do, describing it as a “controlled growth.” This measured approach ensures that the impeccably high standards the company sets can be maintained on every project it commits to. As Thomas explains, they are not afraid to take on challenges, but being stretched out and not being able to provide the same quality of work is something they are not willing to consider. “What we deliver to the customer is so important to us that we will not take on something unless we think we can do it right.”

As President of Central Precast Inc. John Mion explains, the company started out as a “Canadian dream story” in which an Italian immigrant, with only sheer determination to help him along, came to Canada to make a better life for himself at a young age. What started out in a backyard garage has now become an “empire”, according to Mion, that has been servicing the construction industry for the past 65 years. The company is a generational one started by Mion’s father, Luigi, with John himself representing the second generation and Stefano – Estimator at Central Precast—representing the third. While this in itself is indicative of the familial continuity that has earned the company huge success, it does not end there. Stefano is joined by his brothers Marco and Carlo, cousins Claudio and Carlo Mion and nephew John Licari. Clearly, the growth of the company has secure foundations. In terms of product lines that they supply to the construction industry, Central Precast is part of The Precast Group; one of the largest and most diversified Precasters in Ontario.  

The company’s main product line is their precast panels, but they also produce a variety of other products. Central Precast is a dealer for landscaping and masonry products and a big part of the business is their custom product line, supplying specialty precast products ranging from small (for example, custom entrance features) to the not so small. As an example of this, the company points to its recent, and hugely successful, project with New College. According to Stefano, the company supplied 20,000-pound canopy pieces cantilevered from a very slender column and installed inches apart that “required detail engineering in order to maintain that cantilever design.” Stefano also explained that the company is “willing to take on many different projects and custom projects – we’re always open for a challenge.” Central Precast recognizes that their willingness to take on unique and challenging projects allows the company to grow in its abilities, with John explaining “not many companies will take projects on like that… those are the things that get you the next call when somebody has another specialty project.”

The company celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2021, with John explaining that the key to longevity for the company relies not only on its service but also on its customer base and employees. The company takes pride in the service offered to clients, along with their “very good and dedicated” staff, according to John. He is also quick to give special recognition to the company’s long-term clients – some of whom have been with the company for the 65 years they have been in business.

Central Precast value their dedicated employees, with John explaining that they “reinvest in the company; not only in equipment but also in our people,” holding continuous training and leadership programs which allows their employees to work their way up through the company. This, which proves to be of huge benefit to everyone, also allows them to grow both alongside and within the company. Some of these employees have been with the company for upwards of 25 years, including one with over 50 years of service. Central Precast holds several customer and employee appreciation events throughout the year to “give back to them” and “show appreciation for their work and dedication,” John says.

This dedication is a trait which runs through the company at all levels. Notwithstanding the community ethos that permeates the company atmosphere, it is evident in the expertise with which the company delivers on projects that other companies may find too challenging. Take for example the Amazon Fulfilment Centre project that Central Precast took on recently. The company was met with a tight schedule in the midst of a global pandemic and supply chain issues, which required the team to question “how do we take care of these challenges?” This, John believes, is one of the reasons Central Precast has celebrated 65 years, and a key detail that sets them apart from other precasters.

Stefano explained that it was “pretty interesting” to have one of the largest companies in the world as a client, saying that it was a “pretty prestigious project to take on.” The project was a 720,000 ft warehouse, with Central Precast supplying around 650 insulated sandwich panels ranging from 8ft to 40ft. While working on the project, the company were facing unprecedented challenges in the form of the Covid19 pandemic and continuous supply chain issues, with Stefano explaining that there were “a lot of challenges with labor and supply chain issues that we had to deal with as a business manufacturing and installing those pieces.” As this was the second project that Central Precast had worked on with Amazon, the company was aware that these projects tend to be fast-tracked with little time to plan and execute the scope of the project. Understandably, this presented a significant challenge during a period of global issues – in terms of getting materials on time and staying on schedule. The project, however, demonstrated to the company just how dedicated its staff is, many of whom working seven days a week (including over the holidays) to meet the schedule set for the project, with Stefano explaining that “they were willing to come together and realize the importance of supplying a project like this.”

“The project was a 720,000 ft warehouse, with Central Precast supplying around 650 insulated sandwich panels ranging from 8ft to 40ft.”

Like companies across the world, Central Precast faced challenges with regards to ordering materials due to ongoing supply chain issues, with Stefano stating that “it’s an extra thing that you’re spending time on.” Stefano explained that before the supply chain issues, they could get a price on a product and know it will be available when needed. With COVID however, this is far from the case. He explained that “now it’s a matter of ‘you don’t know if your supplier is even going to be able to supply it for you.’” This additional layer of challenges meant that Central Precast have gather additional suppliers as a backup so that the company can do its utmost to ensure a project remains on time. “It is a case of keeping our options open with our suppliers and they have all been pretty good assisting us through these issues.”

These issues also meant that Central Precast had to carry extra inventory on certain items, as, according to John, many projects don’t give much lead time. The resulting time spent negotiating and discussing can mean that a project may need to be started the next day. “it’s very difficult,” said John, “so you need a good few resources to draw from.”

In 2021, Central Precast acquired a 23-acre facility in Ottawa’s West End, contributing to a further expansion of its landscaping sector. John explained that the current location in Bongard is centralized within the city and easily accessible from every direction bar the west. The west end had been growing rapidly in the last few years but Central Precast was unable to service clients in this area as well as it would like. Thankfully for those at Central Precast, this new property will allow them to do so. With 2021 acting as a soft opening for the new facility, 2022 looks to be “full-on” according to John, with the company excited about the new acquisition as it “will really take care of a lot of the needs out that way.”

Central Precast are anticipating another big year in 2022, specifically for the landscaping and masonry product lines, as these industries have seen a big increase in sales and demand. This year the company have numerous exciting projects coming up, including supplying several large modular buildings for municipalities and utility companies across a broad area of Canada. The company will also be supplying other large warehouses both this year and next.

Central Precast takes great pride in its ability to fundraise for the community that has supported the company for almost 65 years. The company gives something back by making financial donations to vital initiatives such as Queensway Carleton Cancer Centre and Ottawa Hospital. John explains that these projects are more than lip service. For Central Precast, it is a way of delivering on their side of a communitywide partnership. “We have been very fortunate. We have had great clients, great employees and tremendous support from the community over the past 65 years, so we like to give back and we like to be involved with the community that has been supporting us – that’s very important to us.”

AT-PAC is a family-owned and operated business that has become a leading provider of scaffolding rental and sales both in the US and globally. Founded in 1995 with six locations across the United States, AT-PAC provides a range of engineering and design services to its customers, including on-site management solutions through their sister company GSS using its technology platform Hi-Vis to manage scaffolding execution on large scale industrial and commercial projects.

AT-PAC founded GSS in 2016 based on an “unconventional philosophy through work packaging, early planning and engineering” according to Managing Director at AT-PAC, Mathew Horwood. GSS shows companies “how major projects can be executed differently to the way that they currently are” across the U.S., according to Mathew. AT-PAC take a “more robust approach to the scaffolding program from a planning and engineering perspective,” which is, as Mathew explained, something quite uncommon in the industry. AT-PAC takes an early focus on how the company can get the most out of the scaffolding resources it will have on-site, attempting to design and engineer the scaffold to ensure it can be used for multiple disciplines and trades after being erected once. By adopting this approach, the company can minimize the disruption caused by the team going in with more scaffolding which, as Mathew points out, can raise costs and cause schedules to slip.

GSS assists customers in ensuring that the “utilization and effectiveness” of the scaffolding programs on their sites is at the “highest level – underpinned by our scaffolding technology Hi-Vis.” This innovative software “enables customers to have full transparency and visibility” into the scaffolding program onsite through “live data analytics and dashboards.” As Mathew is quick to explain, this gives customers quality assurance, schedule predictability and cost certainty – three important things to the team at AT-PAC. GSS and Hi-Vis are “definitely changing the way that scaffolding is perceived on large scale industrial projects, particularly facility owners and large EPCs,” Mathew says.

Giving customers schedule predictability and cost certainty is important to AT-PAC. Mathew cites “customer focus” as the key to the company’s long-standing success, explaining “we listen to our customers – we’re very close with our customers.” One of its main priorities is doing the right thing by the customer and for the customer the first time; “when we reach a new customer, we ensure that we stick to them – we don’t want them going anywhere else. If we tell our customers, we’re going to do something we have to stick to our word.”

“One of its main priorities is doing the right thing by the customer and for the customer the first time.”

AT-PAC is extremely customer service focused, with Mathew describing the team as “attentive and responsive.” He goes on to explain that remaining focused on the customers and ensuring they’re given the best service that the team possibly can is a driving focus of the company. Furthermore, Mathew acknowledges that the company places high expectations on itself and that this is “definitely something that has led from the top of our business all the way down.”

AT-PAC can provide custom scaffold solutions for the unique needs of every client, something which Mathew says goes back to the company’s in-house engineering and design team. He explains that they “work very closely with our customers to ensure that we understand their needs, we know exactly what the scope of work is.” Customer satisfaction is a priority at AT-PAC, with the team constantly ensuring that the customers are getting “exactly what they need from us and that our designs and the engineering that supports that is exactly what the customer needs.” The company doesn’t use an “off the shelf design product,” stating that everything they do is “custom for our customers” right down to the calculations and any required PE (Professional Engineer) Seals – all is done in house to ensure quality service and constant communication between the team and the customer.

AT-PAC is one of the largest providers in the country of the OEM Ringlock System and has a full range of scaffolding and shoring solutions at its disposal to ensure that whatever the customer needs, the team has. From boiler founding systems to large span access, stair tower access, dancefloors and trip-free work zones, AT-PAC can accommodate it all.

AT-PAC was awarded the Global Pass project in Port Arthur, Texas, in late 2021 and has been working on-site for the last six months on the largest LNG construction project currently being undertaken in the United States. The company was selected as scaffold material, planning and technology provider for this project, encompassing all its services. This came off the back of several major projects completed for McDermott over the last couple of years, with this being the company’s second major LNG project since 2018 in the US. Mathew explained that AT-PAC was selected for this project due to its “equipment availability and long-tenure in the LNG history” having completed 14 major LNG projects globally, and 4 in the US, stating “we’re probably the most experienced scaffolding equipment provider globally on these large-scale industrial projects – particularly LNG.” AT-PAC have an accomplished background in being able to provide predictability with scheduling and costs, and “mitigating the risk on these large industrial projects.”

The company recently completed a project with ExxonMobil/SABIC (GCGV) in Corpus Christi, Texas – one that Mathew describes as a “standout” project for the company. The reason for this, Mathew explains is because this was the first time Exxon had “taken a different approach” – AT-PAC’s approach – in managing scaffolding on this facility. The company has been working there for over a year now, with Mathew explaining that “the cost savings that we have been able to realize for them and materially show them are well into the 25 and 30% across the different areas of their projects.” Excitingly for those at AT-PAC, this is something Exxon is looking to recreate in different U.S. facilities, according to Mathew.

Mathew is incredibly proud of his team, describing the team working at GCGV as a “fantastic bunch that are really delivering on the value that we promised we would deliver to Exxon/SABIC.” According to Mathew the culture at AT-PAC is very team-focused, explaining that no matter what part of the country the team is working in, they are “constantly working together” to provide the best service possible to the clients. Mathew describes his team as being made up of “the best people in the industry,” stating that this is what he is most proud of. Mathew went on to explain how there is not one employee he would “swap” with someone else; “we’ve really put together a team of individuals that [are] committed to the success of our business, committed to the success of our customers and committed to their own success.” He goes on to explain how the team have not only set goals for the business, but also for their own personal growth – something which AT-PAC fully support; “We want our people to be successful – the only way we can be successful is if they’re successful.”

In terms of the outlook for AT-PAC in 2022, Mathew describes it as “very bright.” After navigating its way through the pandemic, the company had their best year globally in 2021, with Mathew saying “we’ve really come out with a bang” in 2022. This, Mathew states, is something the company is very proud of, especially as they were fortunate enough to come through the pandemic as a “much stronger business.” Mathew owes this success to his team, explaining how it was the individuals on the team who navigated the business through this period of unprecedented challenges, saying “I’m very proud of the team that we have, and I think we’re only going to get stronger from here.” AT-PAC is continuously looking to evolve the business, and in the next 3 to 5 years are looking to double branch locations across the US to better serve their customers, with Mathew explaining that AT-PAC is “increasing [the] amount of assets we have on the ground significantly over the next 2 to 3 years so that we’re able to have as many products and services available as close as we possibly can be to our customers,” stating “it’s an exciting time to be a part of AT-PAC.”

Evercast Concrete Inc. is a pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete focused manufacturer with a footprint that today services Washington DC, down to Florida, and all the points in between. Evercast Concrete was featured in our May 2021 issue, and as expected, it has gone from strength to strength. While the industry inches slowly towards a tentative return, post pandemic, the company has been steadfast and committed to its core values.  According to CEO of Evercast Concrete, Inc. Jeff Chastain, the company has spent the past year “continuing to grow the business without jeopardizing our values or commitment to our customers.”

Chastain explained how everything that has been going on in the past eight to ten months has been “pretty diverse and active.” Since the feature in 2021, Evercast Concrete has acquired two more companies – MST in Central South Carolina and Winchester Precast in Winchester, Virginia, which Jeff describes as a “pretty substantial change.” On top of this, the company has added a new bridge line at MST, which Chastain says will be “up and running in the first quarter of [the] calendar year 2022.” Evercast Concrete has acquired what used to be a mothballed facility with Seminole Precast in Macon, Georgia, which will service the gap between MST in South Carolina and Seminole Precast in Florida and is due to be opened within the same timeframe.

With this new facility, both Chastain and Michael Barnes, VP of Sales and Marketing, hope to be able to provide more products and services to their customers in that part of the country. With an already impressive footprint, this new facility will further expand the company’s reach, allowing Evercast to develop and grow into an area that was not previously achievable by their facilities. Chastain explained, “we made the strategic decision to open up Macon, to be able to serve customers and really be able to connect the gaps between our southern market in Florida and our Mid-Atlantic market in South Carolina.” The company has “completely revamped” and spent capital on upgrading this new facility, aiming to be ready for commercial sales in the aforementioned timeframe. The new facility will be, according to Chastain, “focused primarily on the infrastructure market,” – a venture Jeff describes as “very exciting.”

Evercast Concrete has an “aggressive growth strategy” which includes both organic growth achieved by bringing more products and services to existing facilities, and acquisitions – “growing our footprint into strategic geographies to help us grow and create more value across a broader range of areas.” The company plans to continue focusing on precast and prestressed concrete products and services – with one important aim at the forefront of what they do, as seen in their Vision statement; creating value for the customers and communities the company serves. To do this, they aim to improve their current capabilities and grow in these product ranges.

“Evercast Concrete has an “aggressive growth strategy” which includes both organic growth achieved by bringing more products and services to existing facilities, and acquisitions.”

Since May 2021, Evercast Concrete has successfully executed one of its organic growth strategies by bringing new product lines –including both wet and dry utility products—as well as box culverts to Seminole Precast in Florida and North Carolina. Chastain explains that Evercast Concrete are “adding lots of products, adding lots of people and we’ve added a couple of businesses along the way too,” describing the past year as “pretty aggressive… but a great growth year” for the company.

Every one of Evercast Concretes’ plants is NPCA certified. Each of their bridge lines (at Eastern Vault in Princeton, West Virginia and now at MST in Central South Carolina) is PCI certified. Currently, the company is in the process of completing the capital project and bridge line in South Carolina – a line which Chastain describes as a “compliment to the products that we currently make in West Virginia” and one that will allow them to reach customers that they would have been unable to serve from only their West Virginia facility. Chastain explains that the company is “excited to get that line up and running” – the line required a large investment, but due to the high demand for the types of products Evercast Concrete make across the bridge business, the investment is one that the company believes will be well made.

Chastain spoke about why exactly he believes Evercast Concrete can be so successful, attributing it to “the brands and businesses that we have been able to successfully acquire,” explaining how each of the businesses “bring so much to the table in the markets they serve themselves. By connecting with other businesses in common markets [it] allows us to share best practices and exchange knowledge and ideas across different facilities,” which in turn mitigates the risk of any serious mistakes occurring. “It’s a pretty big undertaking to say you’re going to get into the bridge business,” adding that having an expert staff and the chance to share knowledge across multiple sites allows Evercast Concrete to take that venture on with reduced risk while also “ramping up” the learning curve for that new facility to ensure effective timeframes for our customers. Serving their customers in a time-efficient manner is a very important aspect to the service that Evercast Concrete provides – and one that the bridge line expansion is a “great example of”, with Chastain explaining that “the team in West Virginia was, and will continue to be, greatly involved in not just the construction of the facility, but also its operations.”

Regarding the future of Evercast, Chastain believes that “the future is bright for us,” attributing this positive path forward to a “really strong team, strong businesses and growing markets” where demand remains high for the company’s products. “We have a team that’s focused on the vision and guiding principles of our company to grow the right way and to create value for our customers.” This all while continuing to invest in the markets and their businesses to “help create even more value for their customers than they do today,” with Jeff saying it is “an exciting place to be.”

Chastain explained that the company is flourishing, saying “we’re growing, we’re hiring – we’re adding more people every day,” and going on to explain that they are “changing the way that our businesses have worked together and how we share ideas and best practices.” Evercast Concrete are continuing to execute their acquisition strategy, with Chastain explaining “we’re going to continue to look for the right pre-cast and pre-stressed businesses that are in our target markets that share the same values that we do and are interested in becoming part of a larger precast and prestressed organization focused on creating value for our customers and creating great opportunities for our employees and the communities in which we serve.”

Proudly explaining that throughout the many setbacks recently, Evercast Concrete continues to thrive, Chastain concludes, “in spite of the many setbacks and challenges that every business is facing with the pandemic and supply chain constraints,” Evercast Concrete continues “working through the health and safety of our employees and ensuring that we’re doing the right things for our organization and our communities – we’re still able to continue to grow and do things that are going to create long-term value.

“it’s an exciting time to be in the pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete space in the US.”

Cleveland City Forge (CCF) are an innovative manufacturing and engineering company that combines product development alongside production to produce standard and custom structural steel components. The company was established over 155 years ago, and since then have held a stellar reputation for consistent quality in the forged steel structural hardware industry. CCF started out manufacturing structural hardware for the Lake Erie marine industry, but by the 1920’s had expanded the product line to include clevises and turnbuckles – two important products used in the construction industry.

The company’s expertise varies from working on projects ranging from architectural detailing to structurally supporting bridges, buildings, and infrastructure. The AISC – the governing body that develops high-quality standards for construction projects – teamed up with CCF when writing quality standards for parts used in the construction industry.

The company makes hardware ranging from 1 pound up to 250 pounds in weight. Shelly Fairchild, Sales & Marketing Manager at CCF, explains, “This allows us to partner with a number of different market segments on various projects, worldwide.” She went on to speak about how important its products are within the myriad requirements for heavy construction. “Not only is our product going into the building, but it’s now being used as part of the construction of the equipment that is used for that building.”

CCF has the capabilities to produce completely custom forged and machined structural hardware and metal components used in high strength and performance applications. All parts are domestically manufactured to maintain close quality controls. As Shelly explained, “Our engineering, quality, and production management teams are committed to work with companies to produce custom fabricated parts designed for their specific applications.”

To ensure the quality of their products reaches the highest standard, Jim Evans, General Manager at CCF, explains, “Everything is done in-house – we do our own forging, we do our own machining, we test the assemblies, and anything that is processed outside, material coding for example, is inspected at least three times – once when the materials go out, in-process, and once when the materials return.” Labs test the strength of the materials, with Jim stating that “CCF has full oversight on everything that [they] do”, which allows the company to keep the quality of its products high.

A standout project CCF worked on was Longfellow Bridge in Boston, MA, also known as the “Salt and Pepper Bridge” – a huge restoration project classed as a historical landmark. According to Shelly, “The bridge was built in 1900, so taking the technology from today to update the bridge while maintaining it’s historical integrity was a challenge.” CCF engineers worked closely with the restoration team to apply current structural standards on the project.

“CCF engineers worked closely with the restoration team to apply current structural standards on the project.”

CCF partners with colleges and universities as a corporate manufacturing sponsor, which leads to an added benefit of allowing the company to work on highly innovative projects. Recently, CCF partnered with the University of North Carolina College of Engineering to assist on an infrastructure project with the department of transportation in North Carolina. The project involved temporary support of a deteriorating bridge. CCF provided engineering and structural component support to assist in this project.

CCF maintains its status as the “manufacturing leader” in the forged steel structure hardware industry. In July 2021, Edward W. Daniel, LLC joined the team at CCF. Shelly explained, “Our combined experience of over 250 years will continue to set the standards for the construction industry. We look forward to providing the same quality products and care that our partners have always received.”

Shelly is enthusiastic about the future of CCF. “Since our start in 1864, we have seen many changes throughout our business. With change, we understand, comes opportunity. For over 155 years, Cleveland City Forge has been on the forefront of innovative manufacturing. As we reminisce about our successful past, we look forward to a future filled with opportunities with our old partners and new to support the most amazing projects to come!”

Highbury Concrete is a concrete superstructure company based in New York City. They have worked on the skeletons of many buildings visible in the New York City skyline. George Villalobos, Highbury Concrete’s Director of Safety, explained, “We are the first ones there. There’s no ceiling above us, we’re going up and creating that for everyone else.” Many of their projects involve architectural concrete, 80 Adams Street being a prime example of this which won an award for its design. Greenpoint Landing, another recent Highbury Concrete project, proved to be a massive success. With the use of post-tensioning, they created a ‘stairway to heaven’ appearance by creating Cantilevers, something that had not been done on that scale before in Brooklyn.

For Highbury Concrete, safety is their number one priority. The company follows federal and state requirements for safety but takes them a step further, going above and beyond. Daniel Oswald, Highbury Concretes Health and Safety Manager, describes their job as being “to ensure that not only are all those regulations met, but we exceed them.”

Highbury Concrete is recognized as a leader of safety in the construction industry in New York City. It is their approach to safety that has brought them this reputation. Highbury Concrete is markedly different to any other company in the industry; while many just do what needs to be done to meet standard requirements, Highbury Concrete goes further than the bare minimum, setting trends across the city with everything they do. The company was the first to make the switch from hard hats to helmets to counteract the chance of them falling off when working at high altitudes with heavy winds. Their rule ensures that helmets are always secured, an initiative that Highbury Concrete started but one that was quickly adapted by many companies across the city. Alongside this, the company also uses a color-coding system, with helmets and vests coded to distinguish different workers, from laborers to carpenters, new hires to foreman.

While looking deeper into the company, Highbury differs from its competitors on almost every level. It has a hiring process that goes beyond the norm. In an industry where potential staff could approach jobsites in search of work, Highbury Concrete adopts a full hiring procedure through their website, where prospective applicants fill in an application and take an exam. If they pass this, they are then brought in for an interview and undergo multiple trainings before being placed. Furthermore, the majority of Safety Managers at Highbury Concrete are members of The Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and OSHA Outreach Instructors with George explaining, “That’s what we want to be known for – people who come to work for us have a safe environment to work.” Further evidence of this approach to safety and staff wellbeing is the lengths the company goes to in ensuring its workers are best equipped to handle the physical demands of the jobsite. From their analytics, Highbury can conclude which incidents are the most common in the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 53,000 foot injuries per year in the workplace. In response to this they partnered with Redwing – a boots manufacturer and distributor across the US. Through this partnership, employees receive a discount to purchase top quality boots that abide by ASTM and Highbury standards and are equipped with all the safety features needed.

“The majority of Safety Managers at Highbury Concrete are members of The Board of Certified Safety Professionals.”

Highbury Concrete has developed their own app called HICON (Highbury Interactive Concrete Operations Network.) The app, available for Apple and Android, gives their employees access to a library of safety/equipment manuals, employee handbooks, safety training through the app, allowing employees to call in sick and make a complaint or suggestion. George explained that through this app, he wants their employees to feel connected to management with a direct line of contact, giving each employee a voice. They explained that daily reports and daily logs can be uploaded through the app, along with safety data sheets. It is a requirement for every employee to have access to safety data sheets on the site – before, it was kept in a massive binder which made it difficult to find a singular sheet. Safety data sheets are of extreme importance as they contain information regarding what needs to be done in case of an incident involving certain chemicals, so it was especially important to make these more accessible.

Safety managers on site are required to do daily reports for the New York City Department of Buildings, but Highbury Concrete also use these reports to gather their own data, allowing them to see trends and safety protocols they can improve on. By utilizing the safety software, Highbury Concrete is able to take reports and add numerical values to each question, generating a daily score. Doing this digitally also allows for visual evidence by attaching media and allows management to see what is happening on the field in real time.

During the pandemic, the company also used the HICON app to show employees the nearest vaccination center to their location, allow them to upload proof of vaccination, give them access to their company vaccination policy and their Pandemic Preparedness Plan. Highbury Concrete’s Pandemic Preparedness Plan is a template to help themselves and others get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a period that Danny described as “one with many sleepless nights”, the company studied the events unfolding internationally, allowing them to prepare a plan for when it hit the United States. The company had already started to order gallons of sanitizer and masks, and had trained employees in the use of electrostatic sprayers for disinfection. According to George, their preparedness allowed them to, “educate the workforce on the seriousness of COVID-19”, while giving employees, “the opportunity to stay at home with their families and have their job waiting for them when they felt comfortable enough to return”.  This also gave employees the option to go to work in a safe environment. During the pandemic, Highbury Concrete ensured that material coming in was sprayed with disinfectant by trained employees before it touched anyone’s hands. Surfaces were cleaned daily, and sanitizing stations were set up throughout worksites, with social distancing being adhered to – starting from the moment COVID-19 hit US shores. This allowed Highbury Concrete to continue working throughout the pandemic, allowing them to complete their West 38^th Street project in the Hudson Yards as well as their project on 125^th street in Manhattan.

Many of Highbury Concretes employees have been there since the company started eight years ago, with Danny explaining that, “they’ve worked their way up” through the company. Highbury Concrete encourage employees to obtain more certifications, through training programs, paid for by the company with Danny stating, “if someone wants to take the initiative, we’re there to support them 100%. George describes Highbury Concrete as, “One big family, from ownership to laborer,” with every employee receiving a new jacket each Christmas, monthly incentives and a care package on their first day.

As part of their efforts to go green, Highbury Concrete is piloting the Milwaukee MX fuel line. Equipment which would typically run off gas is now powered by MX Fuel Batteries, cutting down gas emissions. Highbury Concrete has begun pre-fabricating materials instead of using lumber (with millions of dollars’ worth of lumber wasted during projects). They have taken the initiative to manufacture their own reusable materials made of aluminum and steel and brought to life by their team of engineers and mechanics such as Ronan McLaughlin and Raul Lucero.

Recently, the city of New York selected one project from each of the five boroughs to host a lunch –three of them were Highbury Concrete projects. The company continues to expand at an exponential rate, the buildings they take on continue to become more challenging and complex.

The ownership at Highbury is not scared to take a leap and are always looking for the “latest and greatest in safety and concrete”. As Danny put it, “We are supported 110%, giving us the backing to explore new and better methods of safety. Most companies are comfortable with just doing enough as long as the money is coming in – it’s not enough for us… we want to be known for something more.”

JR & Co. install, service, and maintain the exterior envelope of commercial buildings including roofing, roofing metal, wall panels, solar arrays, and more. In 2021 the company celebrated their 35th anniversary – the key to longevity, according to CMO Dave Layman has been a “strong foundation and a willingness to focus on growth, regardless of the challenges facing us.” This foundation has been tested during the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses across the country faced adversity on an unprecedented scale. Throughout this time, JR & Co. has expanded the types of clients they are pursuing and strengthened financially to minimize expenses while maintaining double-digit growth. The company have been keeping their “wits” about them as they work through material shortages, an issue posing great stress to JR & Co., along with many other companies throughout the country. Despite these challenges, the company has not had to lay off labor throughout the pandemic to any great extent.

Caused in some extent by the ongoing pandemic, the main issue facing JR & Co. is material shortages. Dave explained that there is demand – people need roofs, and while the company are positioned to acquire the business, “performing it is going to be over a much longer period of time than it would normally take” as a result. JR & Co. has worked to stockpile materials that they could find early but the reality is that is of little benefit if clients are not somewhat flexible. “If you want a system that we don’t have the materials for now, it might be next fall before we can get them.” Coupled with this is the invariable knock-on effect these delays can have to pricing. It is an issue which the company sees as being “volatile” and is one of many ways the industry has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. “There will be inflationary factors that play into the cost of that material during that wait time.” The situation is a dire one, with prices rising for clients, companies unable to attain materials and both the client and company facing longer wait times, with Dave stating, “there’s no silver bullet to this situation – strong companies are going to survive, and weak ones will not – that’s what it amounts to.”

Dave spoke highly about how the companies’ sales team and accountants have persevered through the pandemic, explaining how they have been “really creative in the last year in the way they have solved the problem.” Ultimately, clients tend to need a new roof for a reason, and they can’t wait a year for a new one to be installed. The company provide a variety of services, including sustainable and cost-effective options. JR & Co. are not afraid to make a bid that will save the client money, even if it differs from the original spec sheet. This was the case with the Kansas City Convention Center – Bartle Hall – who had a $5 million budget, with JR & Co. bidding and winning the job at $2.3 Million, saving them over half of their allotted budget. They were additionally awarded a 5-year service contract on all city-owned buildings in Kansas City to the amount of $2.7 million (the amount they had saved on the project) as the city had been impressed with the company’s ingenuity and the system they had proposed. Dave explained that securing these projects takes a team of people that can “build trust and provide expertise to meet the clients’ needs”, along with a client “willing to listen to options that are better value.” Dave went on to state that “the recognition is great, but more importantly we have two more happy customers.”

“They were additionally awarded a 5-year service contract on all city-owned buildings in Kansas City to the amount of $2.7 million.”

Sustainability to JR & Co. essentially means providing options that require on the necessary replacement of fully expired roofing materials. The company has been successful for over 35 years providing options to include Wind Ballasted Roofing systems that bring many positives to the client and the environment. Wind ballasted, or vented, roof systems do not require the removal of most existing insulation and coverboard which create tremendous haul off costs and fill up local landfills. In addition, anything that is removed must be replaced so the project costs of materials and labor are substantially less. Wind vented systems employ a science where the membrane is secured by using the power of the wind. While most systems are mechanically fastened down to the deck by plates and screws or held together with adhesives, wind vented systems are only mechanically attached at the perimeter, again using less materials and labor. Instead of securing the field of the roof with the same attachment system as the perimeter, an air seal is created around the perimeter and strategically placed vents create negative pressure as the wind travels up the side of the building and hits crosswinds. This pressure causes the membrane of the roof to draw down while mitigating moisture in the process. The more the wind blows the more secure the roof system is to the building.

In addition, JR & Co. has an in-house Solay System Installation division which complements their roofing program by including some of the tax benefits of solar system installation to the roof installation. Solar is becoming more and more popular, especially with companies that have a high commitment to sustainability.

JR & Co. have an extremely safety-driven and family-oriented culture. The owner is committed to “people first” and the company has more in-house crews than most companies. Their mod rate (the rate that OSHA uses for ranking safety) of .69, means their jobsites are 31% safer than the average company. Dave explained, “what we provide for you is an opportunity to make a living and have a nice standard of living but it’s about a lot more than that – it’s about doing it safely. An added benefit is that an emphasis on safety not only protects our employees but helps us compete for business that requires a strong safety focus. For many companies safety is just a buzz word, but when it’s authentic it manifests itself in better teamwork, better results and better growth.”

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) is a membership driven advocacy organization, working in the interests of the roofing industry in America. The NRCA engages in advocacy work at different levels for roofing contractors and the broader roofing industry at large by engaging with building codes, engaging with ASTM about standards for roofing materials, engaging with the federal government and government agencies that regulate roofing, while also ensuring the rule book that contractors must follow is written in a manner fair to both the contractors and consumer. It also advocates before the insurance industry – a large purchaser of roofing but also a large provider of insurance for the industry. Essentially, the NRCA advocates for roofing contractors at every place they interface throughout the economy. It has three full-time lobbyists in DC who work with the federal agencies and administration to keep them aware of what is happening in the industry.

When speaking to Reid Ribble, CEO of the NRCA, it is apparent that for the roofing industry it has been a tough couple of years. The end of the COVID ERA appears to be a mystery, with no one knowing when this is going to end. Ribble seems confident about a “hybrid” version of business, one including both face-to-face consumer relations and video conferencing. Pre-pandemic, the NRCA would hold training and conferences in person, meaning the association was not prepared for a sudden move to a virtual space. Reid explained that video conferencing “allows us to have a certain level of connectedness that we otherwise would not have had,” one allowing us to read tone and body language, two incredibly important aspects of communication. Despite this, according to Ribble, there is a real desire for consumers to be back in touch face to face, “where the humanity of what we do and who we are begins to reconnect.” For roofing contractors everything changed. Estimating was no longer tactile and with the onset of COVID, it went digital. Worryingly, this poses risks. Ribble explained that many customers will say “I buy from people, not businesses” – if you take the people out of that equation, you risk commoditising an entire industry.

Though COVID has inevitably caused issues throughout every level of society, roofing is an industry that will last – every citizen needs protection and shelter, meaning that no matter what is going on in the wider world, there will always be a need for it. The NRCA has 65 domestic affiliates – virtually every state has an affiliate roofing contractor organization. The NRCA often participates in affiliate meetings and provides worker training and certificates; pre-pandemic this proved to be quite expensive but the move to an online space has saved members a lot of money and time. Ribble expects the NRCA to continue with virtual events, while also including in-person events. 

The NRCA is focused on helping the industry rebound, though it hasn’t been damaged much by COVID due to stimulus from the government being pushed into the system. The industry has been living through a period of high demand – this is complicated, however, by a serious material shortage, coupled with extreme price volatility expected to last well into 2022 which leads to, as Ribble puts it, “too many dollars chasing too few goods.” Ribble anticipates price volatility to be part of the paradigm leading out of the pandemic – it used to be a case where you could give a client a fixed total price on a roof (including the cost of materials and labor) but that’s not possible today. Across the entire supply chain, price volatility is too great. Distributors and manufacturers of materials are not quoting projects until the project is ready to ship, because the price could change too much in the time between ordering and shipping, with clients being told: “the price will be whatever the price is when we ship it”. The NRCA is working hard to inform their members of their rights and give them all the information needed to deal with the problem of price volatility and supply shortages, with an entire webpage set up on its website devoted to these matters, which includes language for contractors to put into their contracts to protect them and the consumer. Ribble explains that enhancing communication and ensuring everyone knows what is happening is the best way to protect everyone, with the NRCA at the forefront of that communication. The issue of material shortages and price volatility was not a direct result of the pandemic, with COVID acting merely as a catalyst – it had been coming for a long time due to bad policy at federal level on transport and infrastructure, according to Ribble. Ribble explained that the roads have long been inadequate for the level of truck traffic on them, an issue that needed to be addressed 25 years ago because this date, unfortunately, was predictable.

“The NRCA is working hard to inform their members of their rights and give them all the information needed to deal with the problem of price volatility and supply shortages.”

Through the Pandemic the NRCA has engaged more with state governments across the country to provide support to their affiliates by explaining to local government leaders what an essential service meant. It was imperative to stress that if roofing was not considered essential and someone’s roof was leaking but couldn’t be fixed it could lead to all sorts of health problems due to the onset of mould. 

The NRCA held their long-running legal conference virtually for a second year in 2021. Previously, companies may have chosen to send one representative to save costs, but the information given out at the conference is critically important to members from many divisions within a company – when held virtually, representatives from each sector within the company could attend meaning the reach increased exponentially. Ribble expects there to be a mix of virtual and in-person conferences in the future.

The NRCA sponsors Informa’s International Roofing Expo and holds its annual convention concurrently with the event. Ribble describes this industry gathering as “a must go to event if active in the roofing industry.” While it was pushed back to August last year, the next one will be held in the first two months of 2022 in New Orleans where the NRCA will be among hundreds of exhibitors, ready to spread information that is essential to a healthy roofing industry.

In the future, the NRCA’s main priority is to help the industry navigate the supply chain. Ribble feels the biggest threat to the roofing industry is the loss of workforce in the US – down to the fact that the population is ageing, birth rates are declining, millions of people have retired early (who may have gone on to work another 10 years) during the pandemic, along with a restrictive immigration policy. As Ribble puts it, it’s a “perfect storm for a workers shortage, unlike anything we have seen.” In 2021, for every unemployed American there are 1.4 jobs – meaning there are 40% more jobs than there are workers to fill them.

Everything the NRCA does is to professionalize the work that the roofers themselves do, through providing professional certificates for them which would allow them to earn more money. The NRCA wants to ensure its training is the best in the world and on par with every other trade so that “when young people are looking at a career in construction, they come to us first” according to Ribble. Ribble explains that this requires a change in the way the industry thinks about things and how employers invest in people – what they are willing to pay them, benefit structures, how they will certify and treat them once they are professional – this, according to Ribble, will be the future of the industry. “Focusing on people” will be the key to long-lasting success – “It will always be people. Technology will make lives easier and more efficient for those people, but the people will still have to do something. In roofing, it will still take people to put components together – that human relationship and how you treat each other and your employees and how you care about the health and wellbeing of them and their family all really matter” according to Ribble. 

The NRCA puts so much emphasis on worker safety – as Ribble explained it is not about meeting government regulations, it is about making sure roofing company owners never have to call someone’s family and tell them that a worker isn’t coming home today.

“If we become good employers, we will have good employees”.

Founded in 1976, Cooling Tower Maintenance Inc. (CTM) is the largest and oldest independent maintenance and service company for cooling towers in Canada. With over thirty employees between two sites, this generational business is critical for climate control in buildings such as hospitals, care homes and industrial settings. Because of this, the company is considered an essential service provider which allowed it to work through the Covid-19 pandemic and emerge without any major damage done, though not completely unscathed. 

Cooling Towers essentially act as giant radiators which provide cold water for air conditioning units on a large scale. Cooling Tower Maintenance does exactly what the name says – it services, repairs, and replaces cooling towers, while also humidification solutions and air conditioning units for lease and sale. With roots dating back to the 1950s, CTM has always had a ‘people-focused’ approach to business. Asked what the secret to longevity was, General Manager of CTM, Mitchell Cross, had no hesitation in responding with one word that said it all – “people.” Explaining further, Mitchell went on to say that a “stable” ownership group, along with the people you employ, are essential.

According to Mitchell, family businesses offer a generational approach, whereas other companies may look to be bought out when they reach a certain size, losing that relationship they had established between the company and the client – “without a generational approach, ownership sells, and people move on.” When a business adopts a generational approach, it builds a relationship between the company and the client, a relationship that proves to be essential to the business’s reputation. Mitchell explained to me that “being out there on a regular basis has helped to create a brand awareness,” with CTM receiving parts requests from across Canada. Quality of service at a fair price is extremely important to CTM, providing clients with options that best suit their needs and their budget. Such as repairing or rebuilding tower rather than replacing it can save thousands of dollars. Also, the option of top quality parts, but not at the OEM price. And regular servicing and maintenance contracts to help prevent unnecessary repairs. 

CTM were deemed an essential service through the Covid-19 Pandemic – machinery continues to break down regardless of what is going on in the world, and service companies need to be on hand to fix them. If anything, due to decreased numbers of employees working in the offices as they were mostly working from home, more work ended up being done as opposed to less. CTM’s work, according to Account Manager Patrick Sweeney, is loud, intrusive, and disruptive, as the site needs to be shut down for them to undergo their work. Alongside this, the cooling towers are positioned outside, with employees working in crews of two, meaning social distancing was not a major concern as CTM provided all the PPE required. Throughout the pandemic, CTM were able to overcome issues arising as a direct result of restrictions put in place and fulfil their obligations to their customers. 

“Being out there on a regular basis has helped to create a brand awareness, with CTM receiving parts requests from across Canada.”

One major aspect that was a true casualty of the pandemic for CTM was labour shortages. With many people being offered sixty per cent of their usual wage for staying home throughout the pandemic, it has led to fewer skilled professionals being willing to work in the same way they had in previous years. CTM found that to attain skilled professionals to employ, they are continuing to have to offer a higher wage, oftentimes for less skill – raising the prices of those higher up in the field, rightfully so – but this acts as a cycle that may prove difficult to break for companies. This, along with the cost of materials rising exponentially, raises the question for Patrick – is “stagflation” making a comeback? With service and maintenance roles, you must do a lot of hard work all year round, and both Patrick and Mitchell expressed their opinions that currently there is more incentive for skilled professionals to stay at home, as opposed to working in all types of conditions all year – with most (65-75%) of CTM’s work carried out mainly in the months of September to June, as Air Conditioning cannot be worked on while it is being used in the summer months. 

CTM have established a great reputation for themselves in the HVAC industry in Canada since their establishment; they have been regular attendees of the Trade Show for almost fifteen years, where they would connect with potential customers and other companies – though in the last six years, for CTM the trade show has become more of a way to remind people that CTM is still there and pushing new products that they are releasing. Throughout the pandemic, Patrick explained how “B2B (business to business) has become a major casualty” as now, most of the sales he completes are through email. The previous, direct interpersonal method of selling is a thing of the past, and has been replaced by online orders and video conferencing. This is proving to be more cost-effective and time-efficient for the company as it eliminates increased travel costs and better time management. As Patrick put it “If you’re not focusing on the online stuff now, you’re so far behind.” Both Patrick and Mitchell explain to me how most of their “marketing and advertising has been pushed to an online presence now,” as is the case with many other businesses – moving to an online presence had been happening previously, but Covid has accelerated the change. By way of explanation, Mitchell explained to me how previously he would travel to CTM’s office in Calgary every nine weeks for two or three days, whereas now only travels out twice a year because is everything is changing and moving to a virtual presence. 

Beyond towers, CTM has seem significant growth in the Humidification Division since the pandemic. They have carried a carbon-free and low energy line, the UltraSonic line for many years now, sold as a green energy product; but due to the results of recent studies, they have seen a tremendous uptick in the sales of these products. Studies showed that high levels of humidification in the ranges of forty-four to fifty-five per cent in winter pays a tremendous benefit to mitigate the transmissibility of viruses. Because of this, CTM’s UltraSonic line along with their electric humidification products has grown exponentially, due in part, according to Patrick, to “high profile companies wanting to show their staff their Covid preparedness.”  When asked about what’s next for CTM, both Mitchell and Patrick explained that they have seen tremendous potential in the growth of Humidification and that they “understand it extremely well in a marketplace where most don’t,” as they not only sell it but take care of it long-term for the client. They plan to roll this out nationwide in due course. CTM are also planning to expand to an office in British Columbia within the next five years, which would allow them to reach other areas of Canada not covered by their current two offices. At this point in the business’ lifetime, it is more about protecting the brand than expanding it. They have already done a lot of the “start-up” work, such as speaking to businesses, and creating a universal presence – meaning now it’s all down to the people. Mitchell explained that when “opening an office in a new area, you have to have a local presence – you can’t run a business from another province and make it work properly – it’s all about hiring local sales staff and techs.” With all this in mind, it’s clear that CTM are facilitating the reopening of businesses following the Covid-19 Pandemic – with humidification being so important in mitigating the spread of Covid-19, CTM are making it easy for companies to adjust to the post-pandemic way of working.