Changing directions and incorporating new product lines is nothing new in the construction industry, or any other for that matter. Businesses are at the mercy of trends and the shifting dynamics of markets, thus ensuring that occasionally, the road is already laid out for a company if it wants to remain successful. Large scale changes to products and services can, however, leave a company in the difficult situation of maintaining a brand identity and navigating relationships with clients that go back generations. In instances such as these, innovative thinking is required and fortunately for S3 Precast, they have this in abundance.

Tanks-A-Lot is a provider of quality concrete tanks, catch basins and precast fencing across Alberta and British Columbia and has been in existence almost forty years. The company has built up a highly regarded reputation as experienced and skilled water and wastewater specialists, working mainly in the residential markets. Created alongside the Tanks-A-Lot brand is S3 Precast, which itself has been in operation since 2018. When it came to diversifying the product line, an in-house decision was made to launch the new entity. With a different logo, branding and title, this may seem like a completely new venture from the outside. However, internally it is anything but. Lenil Samuel, Business Development at S3 Precast and Tanks-A-Lot, explains; “S3 Precast was started in 2018 but it is part of a bigger company. It’s more like a new division, with new products, but the company has been in place for a long time. The name reflects our core values of Service, Solutions and Sustainability.”

While the reason for launching the S3 Precast brand has its roots in the past, its sights are firmly fixed on the future. Different opportunities that were becoming available led to the decision to expand and grow with a ‘new start’ attitude. Lenil identifies a clear delineation between the two companies that is borne of necessity. “The companies operate in two separate markets. On the Tanks-A-Lot side of the business, the focus is mostly on residential work. We sell septic tanks, holding tanks, water cisterns. It is a different market with a different end consumer. S3 is going into completely different areas. Most of the end users are municipalities, cities, the government or commercial developers. That’s why it made more sense to start a brand within a brand. It’s completely different.”

Despite the clear lines that separate the companies from a public vantage point, the inner workings of both S3 Precast and Tanks-A-Lot come from the same team of individuals and staff. The business is operated in a much more fluid and seamless manner, with geographical markets or product lines being as closely interlinked as departments within a company. Regardless of how the companies are perceived, internally, there is no division. “We operate the business as one. There is no separate branch or physical location for the two companies. We operate from the same plant, same office building. The ownership is the same.” Unsurprisingly, this gives a wealth of benefits to S3 Precast, something which simply would not be available to a newer company. By sharing a production facility, both companies are strengthened by both scale and experience. In addition to this, the staff working in-house have the required skill-set to manufacture the full suite of products across the board. “Everything happens underneath the same umbrella and there are synergies in that aspect, where a lot of the overhead is shared between the two. With the production team that is actually making the product, again it’s shared which is great as we don’t need a separate crew for individual products. This allows us incredibly flexibility in responding to our customers’ needs.”

“As any company that is entering a new market will attest to, getting the first couple of years under your belt can be a challenging experience.”

With an existing platform of skilled staff and contacts throughout the industry, the S3 Precast brand has flourished. The company, by diversifying the product line and growing into the municipal market, effectively doubled its addressable market. While having a successful business behind it, along with a knowledgeable and experienced workforce, the company still encountered what Lenil refers to as “growing pains”. As any company that is entering a new market will attest to, getting the first couple of years under your belt can be a challenging experience. S3 Precast was no different. “I wouldn’t say it was all smooth sailing from the get go. Even though we didn’t have to start from scratch, in the sense that we had experienced personnel on board, we still faced challenges in setting up and eventually ramping up production. Mistakes were made, but you learn from them and incorporate changes as needed.”

One pivotal aspect of this early development was the opening of a new 90,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility based in Sherwood Park, AB. This state-of-the-art facility was developed to ensure the company could produce to an industry-leading standard all year round, regardless of the punishing winter climate. S3 Precast and Tanks-A-Lot have benefitted from a climate-controlled environment that gives the companies a much greater level of accuracy and sophistication. The expansion involved the installation of a new automated batch plan with preprogrammed inputs that ensures a consistent mix is obtained every time. The company also incorporated ‘drycast’ concrete production. Whereas traditional precast concrete production involves a relatively wet concrete mix, drycast production involves zero slump concrete. This method allows for improved quality and a faster throughput, allowing S3 Precast to meet project timelines on a moment’s notice.

The company also recently obtained its Canadian Precast Concrete Quality Assurance (CPCQA) certification. This comprehensive, third-party administered and audited certification program is a testament to S3 Precast’s commitment towards quality and directly reflects its focus towards sustainability. After all, quality ensures your products stand the test of time.

One beneficiary of this production overhaul is the Imagine Jasper Avenue project. The innovative and forward thinking project, to revitalize and rejuvenate downtown Edmonton is a high profile and, more importantly, vitally important piece of work for both S3 Precast and the people of the City in general. When discussing the value of being involved in a project such as this, Lenil is unequivocal in his view. “The intent of this project was to revitalize Jasper Avenue – the main street located in the heart of downtown Edmonton – to make the space more livable and pedestrian friendly. It was really incredible to be part of this project, considering obviously that we’re a local producer located right here in Edmonton. It was good to be a part of this long term project for the city and to kind of leave our mark on it.”

“We are not really limited by geography and there are a lot more precast products that we could supply to our customers.”

In addition to being able to improve the city, the company was also able to showcase its innovative approach towards projects. “You can imagine, because the work is taking place downtown, it’s all tight corners, tight streets, there’s not a lot of room to move. The original design involved conveying stormwater using circular pipe from point A to point B. Our approach involved an alternate design whereby we were able to maintain the conveying capacity while reducing the overall length of the conduit. This innovative solution avoided crossing a major intersection, thereby eliminating further disruption to traffic and saving the project a lot of money – a reflection of our core value of providing solutions.” Given that the S3 Precast brand has effectively grown from product diversification, it is interesting to consider the next destination for the company. In order to maintain the rapid growth that has seen it become a leading member of the precast industry in Alberta, Lenil and those at S3 Precast are aware that they cannot afford to rest easy. As economies around the world react to stimulus projects and the possible recovery from the pandemic, it is important to ensure that the path ahead is well planned for and achievable. For Lenil, the future is one of sustained development and growth. “I don’t think we’ve kind of hit the peak of what we can achieve in terms of expanding, both geographically and in terms of our product line. We are not really limited by geography and there are a lot more precast products that we could supply to our customers.” Given the success that has been made with the S3 Precast brand so far, you wouldn’t doubt it for a second.

Being part of a family business is unlike any other job. It is instilled in you from a young age and training begins long before you set foot on the site or in the office. The language and terminology, ethos and determination; this is all shared in a casual and unofficial way. For many, it is a path that is laid out, the road map of an industry that is already part of you. Intergenerational businesses benefit because continuity, a much wanted feature in any company, is ingrained from childhood. What happens, however, when a family business closes, leaving the people that have invested their lives in a company with a difficult decision to make? For Megan Kitchner, there was an obvious choice and that was to start The Next Generation.

Atlantic TNG is a precast concrete solutions company that specialize in sanitary and storm drainage structures for underground. These structures include manholes and catch basins. The company is rightly proud of the high level of products it brings to the market and is a leader in the precast industry throughout the state of Florida. Megan, Owner and General Manager of Atlantic TNG identifies the vast reach that the company has throughout the location. ‘’Florida’s infrastructure is built upon the precast products we produce – new communities, FDOT roadways, commercial buildings, and underground sanitary and storm water systems are all manufactured right here at our plant in Sarasota, Florida.’’ The company sets itself high targets in terms of both the service it can offer its clients and the products that it produces. ‘’Our goal is complete client satisfaction, and we deliver. Our team is comprised of creative problem solvers, attentive customer service professionals and a product manufacturing team that is second to none.’’

The company is celebrating ten years in business this year which, in itself, is no mean feat. However, that only partially tells the story of Atlantic TNG. Atlantic Concrete was set up back in 1969 and built a strong reputation as a specialist and pioneering member of the precast community. In 2010, following on from the difficulties experienced through the global recession of 2007, a decision was made to close the Florida division of the company. Megan, granddaughter of one of the company founders, had grown up with the company and made the decision to carry on in her own right. ‘’The corporate office decided to close the Florida division of the company in 2010, after my grandfather passed. I was the sales manager at this division in Florida, and I decided to try to do it on my own, to purchase the Florida division and branch off. That’s what I did and here we are having our ten year anniversary this year.’’

Diverting from the heritage and legacy of a family owned business was a brave decision, and one that was certainly not a guaranteed success by any means. The industry, and economy in general, was struggling and start-up companies carried a huge amount of risk. Tapping into the strong client relationships that she had nurtured until that point was a vital aspect of the companies early ability to stay afloat. ‘’When I was younger I met a lot of contractors and some of them still work with us today. I don’t have a problem asking for help so as a result a lot of folks helped mentor from a contracor’s perspective.  It has helped me see the job from all sides of the fence. I am very thankful for those early years that exposed me to this great environment and great people were so willing to help me and teach me things. In 2010, the year I started on my own, wasn’t great because of the recession. We struggled to get work. I was fortunate in that  I had so many friendships in the industry and people were saying we’ll support you, we will buy from you. So with that support, a couple of years later, the economy started to turn around and we were able to turn things around, start to grow our products, improve our equipment and start making plant improvements. So, after a couple years and a lot of patience and faith, things started to work out.’’

“In addition to being a leader in the precast industry, Atlantic TNG is also very active in the community and dedicates a large portion of its time and energy to charity work.”

Navigating the construction industry can be a difficult task. As a new business, winning over clients can be a challenge. While Megan felt that, perhaps initially, there may have been scepticism regarding her knowledge and credentials in what is largely a male inhabited industry, she feels that her track record and expertise is enough to silence any doubts about her ability. ‘’I think we all encounter challenges, and none of us have all the answers, but we can step up for the challenge and find out the answers.  It makes you stronger and I’m always up for a challenge. There have been strong women leaders in this industry before me. I saw what they were doing and I was impressed and I just knew I could do it. I had my family backing and I was never told that I couldn’t do something so I didn’t really doubt my ability to take this on.’’

While this resilience and belief is an enormous aspect of the success that Atlantic TNG has experienced, ultimately, a business will stand on the merits of its products and client relationships. Simply put, if clients are happy with their experience and the product they receive, they will return. Having identified building relations from a position of trust and honesty, Atlantic TNG has experienced growth from a solid foundation. According to Megan, this focus on trust is a huge aspect of the company goals. ‘’I really just think it comes down to the relationships that you build and that you’re honest, that you have integrity. You really have to have respect for the people that you work for, the engineers, the municipalities, the contractors, all the way down to the homeowners. You have to have respect for their timelines and you have to be honest with them.’’ Megan also believes that this level of honesty is such an integral part of her company’s values that it can occasionally cost her business opportunities. ‘’I would never promise something that I couldn’t commit to. I’ve always been very honest and I think people know that about me. I’ve given up jobs because I knew I couldn’t do what they want.  Sometimes though, it gives you more respect and the next time they are considering giving someone the job, they will remember that at least we are honest with them.’’

With the company now in its tenth year and experiencing steady growth, it can be easy to overlook the difficulties experienced throughout that time. Starting out on the back of a recession, not to mention the ever fluctuating market conditions and ongoing COVID related challenges, the company has shown excellent flexibility and resilience to get to where it is. This is, in no small part, down to the knowledge and skill within the staff. ‘’I attribute it to my team here. I think I’m very fortunate, as you know, the first couple of years were hard and we struggled. After that I was able to really dedicate more time to educating employees, to getting a strong group of people that wanted to be part of the success and it really helped us. We do a lot of training through the National Precast Concrete Association. We typically go to their conventions twice a year. There are different education pieces they can also do such as Master Precaster certification training. They can become master precasters and it just makes you feel like you’re part of something. It is our daily goal to absolutely get up and do the best job every day.’’

In addition to being a leader in the precast industry, Atlantic TNG is also very active in the community and dedicates a large portion of its time and energy to charity work. What started out as a personal initiative for Megan soon grew into a company wide ethos. The company holds various fundraisers each year ‘’to be part of something bigger than you.’’ This acknowledgement of being one part of a larger entity is also at the forefront of Megan’s thoughts when asked where the company will go in the future. It is unsurprising that someone raised within the context of a family business is concerned with continuity. Ensuring that the company has a succession plan is of huge importance to Megan. She feels that, by ensuring the company is in safe hands, continued growth will be a by-product. ‘’I learned a lot growing up in the industry and I wanted to make it the best experience that it can be for the people that come behind me. I want to make sure we’re educated and involved in our industry. Nobody is indisposable, not me, not anybody, and you never know what’s around the bend. I feel that if a company is good, it should run without certain people and so I have to keep moving in that direction; making sure people are trained adequately, and that they’re ready for whatever the next step might be, with or without me. The goal is just to keep doing us day by day and getting better and making sure the next generation in line is going to be ready too.’’

Understanding the requirements of an industry is not an easy feat. Being able to respond to a  client’s needs, to work with them to identify and execute a project to their specifications, even more so. It is a hard learned skill and one which separates industry leaders from the pack. Many companies share a desire to move ahead of others, to offer a service that surpasses all competitors. While this may not always be possible, the most forward thinking businesses are the ones that try. Cemcast Pipe and Precast is a company that, while still technically in its early days, has gathered enough experience to work with its clients to provide an unsurpassed service. To achieve this, the company uses its two main skills; knowledge and people.

Cemcast Pipe and Precast was set up in 2015. However, the heritage and history of the business goes back much further. In 1993, Carl Carlson set up the Carl V. Carlson Company in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The company was a concrete contractor, specializing in both curb and gutter and storm sewer inlets. By 2012, having amassed a huge amount of expertise in the industry, Carl explored ways to develop and grow the business even further. ‘’I did about three years of research, we looked into the concrete pipe and manhole industry. We felt we had a very good knowledge and understanding of how the product worked and we thought it would be a good fit for us because we have people in the company who are very good with concrete and reinforcing steel. In 2014, we moved ahead with the idea and we opened the concrete pipe plant in May of 2015.’’

“Today, the company is an industry leader in concrete and precast products with a focus on customer service and satisfaction.”

Today, the company is an industry leader in concrete and precast products with a focus on customer service and satisfaction. This combination of knowledge and service is at the core of everything Cemcast Pipe and Precast sets out to achieve. Within the company is a focus on meeting the wants of the customer. Carl believes that timing and efficiency is a huge factor in becoming a leading figure within the industry. ‘’I think we are the leader in our industry in our state. We believe delivering on time is delivering when the customer wants the product. And we do everything we can to make sure that we deliver when the customer wants it.’’ This is achieved by working closely with clients to understand their production schedule and also by allowing an element of flexibility to their own production techniques. Carl feels that being adaptable can foster a mutually supportive relationship with the customer. ‘’We are continually updating our production schedules. We leave forms open so that when we get that call at five o’clock, we are able to produce a product and deliver it the next day for customers. By the end of the day all forms are set and poured, but we wait and leave some open until the very last minute so that we can accommodate those schedules. We are also very proactive in speaking to our customers continually about their needs. What do they see upcoming? What is their anticipated ship date? We are vigilant about that, and we spend a lot of time between sales and engineering. Knowing when our customers want their products is critical to on-time delivery.’’

In addition to this, there is the small matter of quality. Years of experience and knowledge goes into every product the company produces. This ensures that the customer receives exactly what they need for their particular requirements. ‘’We also believe that shipping a quality material is paramount. It is the most important thing we do for our customers is to provide a quality product that is accepted by the engineer on the jobsite the first time.’’

This commitment to quality and timing permeates throughout the production process. For Cemcast Pipe and Precast, the goal is for client satisfaction right through the installation process to enable an ease of use that isn’t found anywhere else. ‘’The best part for our customers is that it goes together in the time that it takes to put it together. What this means is that there is no struggle with it. They don’t have to fight or maneuver to try to get the pieces to fit together. They go to get together very well, and all of our products have gaskets so they are watertight. That lowers the operator’s frustration.’’ Carl is aware that, in order to build a relationship with customers, the company needs to deliver on its commitments. ‘’Our customers trust us because we come through on what we promise. We do not promise things that we cannot come through on. We are realistic with what we can do but we are also very motivated to give our customers what they need, when they want it.’’

While most industries are struggling to various degrees with restrictions brought on by COVID-19, Carl believes that the local industry coped well in comparison to many others. Aside from some additional protocols, the adversarial effects were minimal. Instead, Carl identifies securing workers as the key challenge for the company. While he admits that sourcing people can be difficult, he believes that the people within Cemcast Pipe and Precast are of the highest quality. ‘’Finding skilled labor frankly is impossible and those skill sets we need do not walk through the door. We have an aggressive training program where we get people up to speed quickly and now our people are multi skilled. That’s always our goal, to be multi skilled. We want people to be problem solvers.’’ This approach ensures that the company is benefitting from both a highly skilled and highly motivated workforce. ‘’The best people are mechanically inclined and really enjoy being part of this. It excites them. We try to treat people extremely well and we seek their input on how to do things better. When they can voice their opinion and identify the changes that make their day easier and more productive, the results are phenomenal. Above all, the reason we are successful is because we have wonderful people who are talented, who want to learn more and they work hard. They do a great job. It’s because of our people that we are successful.’’

One thing that the company is eager to avoid is waste. In order to ensure this, the company has engaged in a dedicated training programme to identify and implement Lean goals. Carl believes that by incorporating Lean goals into the business process, the company benefits on multiple levels. ‘’Lean is primarily about creating flow and at the same time, decreasing your inventory levels significantly. So, what we did, we have a supermarket of products in the yard and we predetermine the amounts and quantities of what we would like to have there. That becomes the scheduling point for the plant. They can look outside and see that we are down to five stacks. It is a signal to make three stacks of pipe. We also use a Kanban system. Essentially this is a self-perpetuating signal to reorder materials, and through using Kanbans, we’ve been able to always have what we need, while maintaining minimal inventory levels of raw materials. The goal is always to eliminate waste, it’s not to work harder. By eliminating waste, you’re able to produce more. And when you can produce more with the same amount of labor hours, then everyone benefits.’’

“Above all, the reason we are successful is because we have wonderful people who are talented, who want to learn more and they work hard. They do a great job.”

Carl believes that this focus on flow allows the company to redistribute staff wherever they are needed, ensuring efficiency and thereby allowing the company to offer their customers and staff the best possible experience. ‘’By improving your processes, you need less people. You know what we do when we figure something out and we get better at it through our continuous improvement projects? We repurpose those people to do other things that need to be done. This helps improve our flow even more.’’ It seems as though this is a company fully aware of the need to work more efficiently and sustainably. While these Lean goals go some way towards achieving that. Carl is fully aware of the carbon emissions of concrete, largely through cement production. In order to address this, the company is always trying to reduce the impact it is having on the environment by identifying and working with the most sustainably minded suppliers. ‘’We met with our cement supplier yesterday, Holcim cement. They are working towards creating cements that reduce the amount of carbon released.’’

Cemcast Pipe and Precast is forecasting steady growth and further success long into the future. Carl feels that the area of precast box culverts is where the company will focus in the coming years. In response to this goal, the company will imminently be opening a new specialized facility to support the company in this regard. However, the issue of sustainability is still at the forefront of Carl’s mind and he is eager to stress that the evidence for any sustained future development is borne from the history and reliability of concrete. He is keen to point out that in comparison to other materials used to produce pipe, plastic for example, concrete seems to be bearing the unfair majority of blame when it comes to environmental issues. ‘’One thing that I really want to stress is that plastic pipe comes from petroleum. That’s why it burns. It’s a petroleum product. Plastic just disintegrates, it doesn’t ever go away. It just disintegrates into smaller and smaller pieces. And what’s beautiful about concrete pipe or precast or anything we make is that, 100 plus years from now, it may need to be replaced but you can take that concrete pipe out to an aggregate quarry where they can crush it, recycle it and turn it into aggregate with no waste. So, I look at our product as fully recyclable. While our industry is working towards reducing the carbon emissions, we are not a petroleum based product. You know, we’re not a fossil fuel product.’’