agricultural industry,” says Fred. “We’ve also absorbed some competitors’ equipment.” Their consistency with product and on-time delivery has positioned Duracon well in the local market. They now employ a staff of eight in the slower seasons, growing to 13-to-14 in the busy season. “We get local contractors and general contractors from bigger centers,” says John. Government and agricultural jobs make up the bulk of their business. “The farmers are great people to deal with.” “Our radius for delivery is 250 kilometres,” says Fred. “We have big trucks. Mostly trailer units. Timing is critical as we need to be able to load all the concrete on the trucks for that job and send them off to sites. Sometimes the last truck is batched while the first truck is a half hour away from getting to the site.” Maintaining the loyalty of these clients is paramount with Duracon. “We’re honest with our clients,” says John. “If there’s an issue we will sit down and discuss it and work things out between the parties. The ease of dealing with issues is number one.” Many of Duracon’s clients go back many years – for example, Fred says they just finished a job with a client that’s been loyal to Duracon from the beginning. When it comes to their suppliers and vendors, Duracon strives to form similarly longstanding and loyal relationships. “Our suppliers are easy to deal with. All of them are longstanding suppliers,” says John. “The same ones we started with are still helping us.” “This is a small community and you have only one chance,” agrees Fred. “There’s not a lot of choice for suppliers. You want to treat suppliers and customers well because memories are long.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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