All the best, The Editorial Team We will keep adding business units that enhance our offering and separate us from our competition. “ ” Editor From The Dear Reader, Welcome to the latest issue of Construction Source Canada, the magazine that highlights the best in building and building products across the country. In this edition, we’ve taken a look at a diverse array of contributors to the building industry, including some industry-leading developers, builders, designers, material suppliers, and providers of real estate and investment services. Dancor, for example, is a leader in the construction and development of industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities across the Greater Toronto Area. From their offices in Brampton and London, they deliver a comprehensive suite of building services and strive for excellence in all they do. For more on how they achieve that excellence, we spoke with Sean Ford, operating partner of the company. Our conversation covered a lot: Sean talked about the advantage of being partners with Coreydale Contracting Co, which is one of the largest earthmoving companies in the province; he talked about how the company’s service is informed by their motto, which is “people like doing business with people they like;” and he talked about one of the company’s latest and most challenging projects to date, a 350,000-square-foot addition to a mass timber factory, which they are delivering without shutting down the factory or even delaying production. NRD Construction is another industry leader featured in this issue, and our conversation with founder and owner Nick De Carlo was equally extensive and informative. His company, based in Ottawa, is a one-stop-shop for commercial and residential renovations with an impeccable record of customer service. We talked to Nick about their sterling record, the reviews and testimonials that reflect it, and everything that goes into keeping their clients satisfied. Then there’s Maxan Interior Systems – they are based in Mississauga, and they deliver the full range of interior solutions to clients across the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. Over the past 30 years, they have become unrivalled industry experts in their field. Over the past five years, they have leveraged that expertise in order to grow at an exponential rate. We caught up with Dane Flynn, president and general manager, and Clint Jensen, vice president of development, who have been leading that growth charge. We talked about their exciting plans for the company to have “a strong presence in every Canadian market” within the next few years. For those stories – and more stories about other industry leaders across the construction spectrum – just keep reading.
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THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA With a readership exceeding 145,000 senior executives, The Construction Source takes immense pride in providing an enticing platform to amplify your message to the most pivotal audience – your valued customers. Whether your aim is to promote an exciting new condo development, attract crucial financial investments for upcoming projects, or establish a commanding brand presence, we’re here to assist you every step of the way. To explore opportunities for featuring your company or showcasing your latest project in The Construction Source, please reach out to our Group Publisher. Jermaine Poulsen e: info@theconstructionsource.ca The Costruction Source Canada 202 - 1200 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M5R 2A5 E: info@theconstructionsource.ca Executive Publisher Jermaine Poulsen COO Alexandra Box Editor in Chief Zach Janes Director of Operations Cathy Ditchburn Jacqueline Van Belois Director of Business Development & Marketing Tamara Breen Business Development Managers Mary Ann Taylor Mike Turenne Scott Carter Douglas Thomson Marnie McGhie Production Manager Brennan Midghall Digital Strategist Pranim Thapa Administration Manager Belyn Quijance-Dorero
SEPTEMBER 2024 DANCOR The right builder partners NRD CONSTRUCTION Satisfaction guaranteed MAXAN INTERIOR SYSTEMS The Maxan Way URBANAGE HOMES Performance, durability, craftsmanship CBRE EDMONTON INDUSTRIAL Helping businesses grow ATLANTIC FENCE Community focused SLIMDOR CONTRACTING LTD. A passion for excellence INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS INCINERATING TOILETS IN THIS ISSUESEPTEMBER 2024 ATLANTIC FENCE URBANAGE HOMES CBRE EDMONTON INDUSTRIAL
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THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA Water connection not required Requires little space No odour Easy installation No frost protection needed Secure for children ash to be emptied No waste handling, only and more Bunkies, For Home, Cottages, Shops, 3 - 4 visits per hour High capacity Propane&Electric models ABOUT CINDERELLA ECO GROUP Cinderella Eco Group is a family-owned company located in the north-western coastal community of Midsund in Romsdal, with deep roots in the beautiful Norwegian fjord-landscape. We have more than 20 years’ experience with the Cinderella Incineration Toilet, a water-free, ecological solution for the management of toilet waste. Cinderella, the natural first choice for those who place high demands on quality and functionality. HIGHLIGHTS OF INCINERATION TOILETS:
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The right builder partners
Dancor is a construction and development firm dedicated to building timeless industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities. From their offices in Brampton and London, Ontario, they work across the Greater Toronto Area, delivering a comprehensive suite of building services and striving for excellence in all they do. Since forming in 2004, they have developed a proven track record of quality, as well as an unrivalled reputation for going the extra mile to deliver on time and on budget. “Our contractors lead the industry and bring their talent and dedication to each and every project they work on,” says Sean Ford, operating partner of the company. “Ours is a culture of high performance and our team of industry professionals, site-staff, office staff and trade partners are always ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done.” “Our motto is ‘People like doing business with people they like,’” Sean adds, “so we build our relationships with the same level of dedication, attention to detail, transparency and quality that we put into our building projects. And we believe this to be true for our team, our performance partners, and our clients.” Sean has personally been working in the construction industry for much of his life. The same goes for his partners, Danny Sanita and Teresa Carella, who grew up in the industry – their father, Antonio Sanita, was the founder of Coreydale Contracting Co., an earth-moving company formed in 1958. (Ever since, Dancor and Coreydale have worked closely together – so closely that they have applied for and won many awards as one, including being named one of ‘Canada’s Best Managed Companies’ together every year since 2012.) SEPTEMBER 2024
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Over the past 20 years, Dancor has grown considerably in terms of size and scope, and their projects have consistently gotten larger and more complicated. When they started, they were doing buildings between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet. Currently, they are doing a 650,000-square-foot building in London and a 350,000-square-foot building in St. Thomas. They have also expanded in terms of their geographic reach – they now have repeat national clients such as FedEx, whom they work with all over eastern and western Canada, not just in Ontario. That said, even though their work has gotten bigger and they have ventured further afield, Dancor has been careful not to grow too big. As they have grown, they have always been cautious about not taking on too many projects at once. To this day, Sean says they don’t like doing more than seven or eight projects per year. “The buildings have gotten larger, but our principles have remained the same,” Sean says. “We want to provide high-end customer service, and we want to be hands-on as owners – we really keep close tabs on everything that that we’re doing from the time the land is acquired ‘till we turn over the keys.” Throughout the years, Dancor’s approach to building has also remained consistent. They have always strived to construct buildings that would be comfortable and lasting and stand the test of time. “We try to build every building so that it’s not going to need repairs or maintenance,” Sean says. “We try to build something that’s going to last a long, long time. In terms of style and function, we want our buildings to serve people for the next 100-to200 years. No matter how much time passes, we want the owners and tenants alike to be proud SEPTEMBER 2024
to occupy the building, because we know they’re going to spend so much time there.” “People are going to spend eight-to-10 hours a day in our buildings,” he continues. “They’re going to spend almost as much time in our buildings than they’re going to spend in their house. So we want to make them comfortable, functional, inexpensive to maintain and we want to make them expandable and adaptable for different tenants or for businesses that grow and evolve.” Dancor’s commitment to staying small enough for the owners to be hands-on, and their commitment to creating buildings that last, are two of their company’s most significant points of difference. According to Sean, those dual commitments play a large role in why their clients choose them. He also believes clients choose them due to their commitment to staying on budget: “We take a sincere approach,” he says. “We are always looking to minimize changes so that our clients know that when we start off with a budget, unless they add something themselves, they’re going to get from us what we’ve promised to deliver at the price we started with.” “We’re not looking to make our money off of variations or extras, which sometimes happens in our industry,” he adds. “I’m not saying it happens a lot, but it does happen from time to time – the price starts off pretty low, and then the next thing you know, the client is getting billed for all these extras, and the project ends up being more expensive than the client thought it was going to be. And that causes some hardships in some cases.” “That’s not us,” he reiterates. “We’re trying to deliver our clients value for their money. We’re their partners. We’re working with them throughout the project. We’re holding their hands, you could THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
say, because it can be a scary process – if it’s your job to make sure the building is built properly, your reputation and your livelihood could be on the line if you pick the wrong partner to go with. We want to give our clients confidence that we’re the right partners.” “Our goal is always to take really good care of our clients and make sure that they don’t have to go back to their superior with bad news,” Sean says. “We minimize bad news. We really, really do.” Minimizing bad news can be challenging at times, Sean admits, but Dancor has proven their ability to do what it takes and overcome those challenges. For example, the pandemic presented a lot of supply chain challenges, which caused project delays industry-wide – but not for Dancor’s clients. “COVID put us to the test, really put us to the test,” Sean says. “It forced us to become very, very resilient and very, very tactical in how we were going to get building materials that were almost impossible to get. But we made it happen.” “We probably lost a few years off our lives doing it because it took a lot of stress and yelling and screaming and a little bit of money,” he adds. “We had to pay some extras to make things happen. But it all got done. The clients that we built with throughout COVID were not affected. Schedules were not affected because of the pandemic.” Sean credits Dancor’s resilience primarily to the expertise and talent of the company’s team – a category that includes their direct staff, as well as their roster of subcontractors and suppliers. Even in non-COVID times, Sean says it can be challenging to keep a project on track and on budget, but he says Dancor can do it because they have developed such a strong team both internally and externally that collaborates so seamlessly. SEPTEMBER 2024
“We have great staff,” he says. “We have great staff who have a ton of experience in the industrial and the commercial marketplace. They’re seasoned; they have lots of projects under their belt. On the estimating side, they’re able to anticipate not just what the costs are today, but also some of the hiccups that we’re bound to run into. And you always run into hiccups. No project is without them, but being ready for them financially and staffing wise is critical – and so we are.” “We also work with the same sub trade partners on a regular basis,” he continues. “We’ve got two or three per trade, two or three per division that we work with on a regular basis that we trust, that we know can deliver, and we’ve been working with them for 20 years.” “We have a philosophy that we like to work with people we like, both clients and trades,” he reiterates. “That makes the projects go better, because we can turn to our partners, our friends, and say ‘I need a favour. We need to expedite a schedule. We need some additional work done.’ And they almost always give us that cooperation, which makes all the difference.” As previously mentioned, Dancor enjoys a particularly strong relationship with Coreydale Contracting Co., which is the fourth-largest earthmoving company in the province. According to Sean, having Coreydale as a close partner gives Dancor a “pretty strong advantage over others” in the industry. “They’re able to get us off the ground, which is usually the biggest worry on a project,” he explains. “Earth always has a bit of mystery to it. There are a lot of questions when you start a project that you don’t have answers to until you start working. ‘How much topsoil do we have? What are the conditions underneath? What are the things that we’re going to run into? What about water?’ But when you’ve got an earthwork company like Coreydale, you know that when you start the project you’re going to be okay, you are in great, trusted hands.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Lots and lots of communication In addition to being a builder, Dancor also has a property management division. On the property management side, they have many tenants who have been with them for almost 20 years. Sean credits that loyalty to Dancor’s commitment to helping their tenants grow. “If they’re in a smaller space and as their business expands, we will take them out of the building that they’re in and put them in something bigger without any penalty,” he explains. “They don’t have to worry about ‘What do I do with the building that I’m renting now?’ Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of that. We’ll get you into the new building and we’ll roll over the lease into that new building.” “As a landlord partner, we’re here to make it possible for our tenants to grow their business without worrying about the roof that is covering all of their equipment,” he adds. “Leave that stuff to us. The box that keeps everything dry and powered, we’ll take care of that. SEPTEMBER 2024
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We want our tenants to go out and run their business the way they need to run it and know that the real estate will be fine.” On the building side, Dancor consistently demonstrates that same dedication to their client’s success and profitability. According to Sean, that dedication is what earned the one of their most exciting projects, which they are working on currently – a 350,000-square-foot addition to a mass timber factory in St Thomas. The operator of that factory is a company called Element5, which specializes in the design, fabrication and assembly of contemporary timber structures. They are the tenants of Nexus Industrial REIT, who are a repeat client of Dancor’s. In this case, Sean believes Nexus chose Dancor because “they knew that we were up to the challenge of working side by side with their tenant.” “They knew that we could allow their tenant to continue producing and pumping out timber buildings that are so desperately needed in Ontario and throughout Canada and the United States, especially as part of the housing initiative in Ontario. They knew we could pull off this addition without stopping or even delaying their operations.” Pulling that off, Sean admits, has been a complicated – but it’s also been “interesting and fun.” “We’re adding on to an existing building, and they’re still working in that building,” he explains. “They are literally crossing over our job site in order to get access to their building. That means SEPTEMBER 2024
we have to be 100 per cent cooperative with each other. We’ve got to be the best partners going. We’ve got to be the best partners going, because we both have to work on the same site with each other to ultimately build this 350,000-square-foot building that the client is looking for.” Achieving that level of cooperation, Sean says, requires “lots and lots and lots of communication, both in advance and while it’s happening.” Additionally, it also requires looking ahead and planning for different contigencies. This year, for example, there has been an inordinate amount of rain – but Dancor was ready and quick to act when that rain causes issues. “We’ve had times where we’ve been flooded out, but have been able to adapt to get water removed and we’ve been able get access restored to parts of the property that they need to have access to in order keep their product moving.” “Nothing we’ve done to date has delayed them in any way, shape, or form,” he adds. “We’re very pleased about that, because they’re great people to work with. They are doing fantastic work making renewable buildings, and using renewable lumber to do it. There’s a tremendous amount of demand for what they’re doing and we have to always keep in mind. We’ve got to allow them to keep making their product for their customers while we’re making our product for them.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Having fun Moving forward, Dancor’s vision is to keep building industrial and commercial projects of various sizes. In Sean’s view, the size of the project isn’t all that important: “We’re not worried about sizes,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if we end up doing a 30,000-square-foot project or a 300,000-square-foot project or a one million-square-foot project – we’re going to approach it the same way. We’re going to provide the same high-end service, the same attention to detail, and we’re going to be just as hands-on.” What interests Dancor is not the size of the project, Sean explains, but the challenge. That’s why they have enjoyed working with Element5 on their factory addition so much. “The projects that we really, really enjoy are ones that are schedule driven to the point where we have to find a way to make up a couple months. It’s a puzzle, and it’s a puzzle we love solving. We would be really happy doing more complicated things that challenge all of us.” Most importantly, however, Sean says he wants to enjoy what he does, and he wants his team to enjoy it too. With the size the company is at now, and with the kind of work they are doing, he says “we really do have fun” – and he wants that to continue, which means the company doesn’t have too much room to grow. “We’re at a size now that we like,” he says. “We’re not like a lot of other companies that are trying to grow and employ 200 people. We’d rather work with people we like and enjoy the work we do. We want to enjoy coming to work every day – and right now, that’s the case. We all enjoy what we’re doing. We all get a kick out of it, and I don’t think we would enjoy it as much if we were double the size.” “So we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” he concludes. “It’s successful, it’s fun. I don’t want to change any of it.” SEPTEMBER 2024
For more on Dancor and what sets them apart, more examples of their past projects, and to get in touch with Sean and his team, visit https://dancor.ca/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Satisfaction guaranteed
NRD Construction, based in Ottawa, Ontario, is a one-stop-shop for commercial and residential renovations. Since forming in 2020, they have built a sterling industry reputation for their versatility, their quality, and their consistent customer satisfaction – as evidenced by their glowing customer testimonials and high ratings on sites such as Google and RenovationFind. “Whatever the client needs done, we can do it,” says Nick De Carlo, founder and owner of the company. “We don’t like to say no to clients. And when we say yes, we guarantee the client will be satisfied with the end product. The job isn’t finished until they are happy.” Nick has personally been in the construction industry ever since he was eight or nine years old, when he started visiting sites with his father, who was also in the industry. As he aged, he started working various trade specific roles, and eventually he started working as a subcontractor for other builders. “I’ve always enjoyed every aspect of building,” he says. “That’s what led me to starting my own business as a general contractor. I wanted to be involved in every part of the building process.” Officially, NRD Construction incorporated in 2020. At first, Nick was a one-man-band doing handyman work and small renovations, but eventually he was able to bring on some employees and get into larger scale projects. Today, the company primarily does “mid-range” commercial and residential renovations, with values ranging anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000. In terms of typology, Nick estimates that approximately 70 per cent of their work is residential and 30 per cent is commercial. In the near future, his goal is to get into even larger scale work and strike a commercial-residential balance closer to 50-50. SEPTEMBER 2024
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Ultimately, Nick believes both client types choose NRD Construction for the same reasons, but he says their priorities do tend to be different. Commercial clients, for example, are very concerned about disruption to their businesses during the renovation process. Fortunately, NRD Construction excels at minimizing that disruption. “On the commercial side, I think we get a lot of work because we really focus on not interfering with the client’s day-to-day business,” Nick explains. “We really make an effort to get the job done without negatively impacting the client’s business. Even if that means working overnight or working on weekends – we’ll do our best to not interfere so the client can continue to make money as usual.” On the residential side, meanwhile, Nick says that what clients really value is communication – which is something else NRD Construction excels at providing. “I know from talking to our clients, and from reading our reviews online, that’s what people like about working with us,” he says. “They like the way we communication throughout the process. They like the way we keep them informed and upto-date. They always know what we’re doing and why.” “I think it’s just common courtesy, especially when you’re working in people’s homes, that you let them know exactly what’s going on,” he continues. “You let them know when you’re going to be there, when you’re going to arrive. Of course, some things are uncontrollable, but we all have the ability to reach out in those instances and let the client know when there’s a delay expected. I think our clients really appreciate that.” SEPTEMBER 2024
“I’ve always thought about it this way: if there was any kind of work being done at my mother’s house, I would expect the proper respect to be shown,” he says. “No matter who we’re working for, we try to show that same level of respect.” NRD Construction also strives to deliver to the same standard of workmanship that Nick would expect from contractors working in his mother’s home. To achieve that standard, he explains that they have “many quality checks throughout the process.” In addition, when there are challenges on a project, they take pride in being flexible and collaborating with their clients and other stakeholders to find solutions. “With all our partners, we focus on being flexible,” Nick explains. “In construction, I think that’s mandatory, because nothing is ever really what you expect it to be – especially when it comes to remodels and renovations. When there’s an issue, the important thing is to come together, figure it out, and find a solution that works for everyone. We’re almost always able to do that because that’s the kind of mindset we have.” As a result of that mindset, NRD Construction has not only earned positive feedback from clients – as is reflected in their aforementioned reviews – but also a lot of repeat business. Though the business has only officially been around since 2020, Nick says they already have clients they have done two or three major projects with. He also says the vast majority of their work is generated from referrals and word of mouth. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Flexibility, communication, quality Currently, NRD Construction employs 16 team members. According to Nick, the company has so far been able to steadily add to that team without having to do much subtraction because of how carefully they have been when hiring. “We really look for people who have the kind of qualities we value – flexibility, communication, quality of work,” he says. “Those are really the three things we focus.” “Again, on the residential side, you’re working in someone’s home,” he adds. “So it’s all about being respectful of that fact. We look for people who understand that, and who care about quality, and we’ve had some success at finding those people so there hasn’t been a lot of staffing changeover.” When it comes to their extended team of subcontractors and SEPTEMBER 2024
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tradespeople, Nick says they look for the exact same values – they have to be flexible, they have to be communicative and responsive, and they have to care about quality. The same goes for the suppliers they source from. On the supply side, for example one of NRD Construction’s closest partners is Ella’s Bubbles, an OEM manufacturer of acrylic walk-in bathtubs and accessible showers. Ella’s is an industry-leading company that has become known for pushing the boundaries of walk-in bath design. Over their years in the industry, they have introduced over 25 distinct and proprietary models – all of them thoughtfully-designed and sensibly-priced, as they are driven by a passion to offer innovative and unique solutions previously unavailable in the market. They believe that everyone deserves access to luxurious and functional bathroom products – as does NRD Construction, which is why the two companies are such proud partners. Moving forward, in collaboration with partners of that calibre, Nick’s goal for NRD Construction is to continue growing. As previously mentioned, as part of that growth they want to do more commercial work. Currently, they are doing a remodel of commercial building with 42 offices, as well as a retrofit of a supplement store in the city. Those are the kinds of projects they hope to do more of. When it comes to their residential work, meanwhile, Nick sees a lot of potential for SDU conversions, and for retrofitting kitchens and bathrooms to make them more accessible and friendly to aging populations – that’s where the partnership with Ella’s Bubbles particularly comes in handy. They are currently doing a couple retrofits now and they expect to do a lot more in the future. As for the longer term, Nick says the goal is ultimately to get into new builds and developments. They are not yet licensed to do those projects, but Nick says acquiring those licenses is “the next step.” “We’re absolutely going to grow, but the challenging part is deciding by how much,” Nick concludes. “Right now we’re figuring that out. Slowly but surely we’re getting there. The way I look at is that if we can make sort kind of progress every fiscal year, then we’re on the right path. There should be no year where we’re stagnant or moving the other way. So far that hasn’t happened and we expect that to continue.” SEPTEMBER 2024
For more on NRD Construction, their range of services, their past projects, and to hear from past customers - and to get in touch with Nick and his team – visit https://nrdconstruction.ca/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
The Maxan Way
Maxan Interior Systems is a company based in the Greater Toronto Area that delivers high quality interior solutions to clients across the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. Their services include standard and specialty drywall, ceiling systems, acoustic assemblies, as well as unique interior finishes such as architectural wall and ceiling panels, prefabricated office fronts, and specialty millwork. Over the past 34 years, they have continually honed and refined those services to the point where they are unrivalled industry experts. Over the past five years, they have leveraged that industry expertise in order to grow at an exponential rate. Moving forward, the leaders behind Maxan Interior Systems expect their growth to continue. Dane Flynn, President and General Manager, and Clint Jensen, Vice President of Business Development, have big plans for the company. According to Dane, their vision for the future is to have “a strong presence in every Canadian market.” “When my career is over, I’d like to see Maxan as a national company,” Dane says. “I believe the opportunity is there. This would be a unique offering in this very fragmented space. We have the roadmap to achieve our goals, and intend to grow at the right pace, building customer relationships along the way built on trust and confidence to perform every time.” The company was formed in 1990 under the name ‘Maxan Drywall Limited.’ In February 2019, Dane and Clint acquired the company from founder Gabriel St-Denis. For almost 30 years, Gabriel operated the company as a family business – he had grown it to a certain size, and Dane and Clint saw the potential for this company to be a springboard to become much more. SEPTEMBER 2024
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Prior to acquiring Maxan, Dane came from a strong background in construction at the Flynn Group of Companies, a leading commercial contractor for the total building envelope space across North America. His grandfather started the first branch in Regina, and his father took over and grew the business to include 36 locations across Canada and the United States. “I had the benefit of a front row seat to what could be done in the construction space, and I saw there was an opportunity to do something similar with an interior systems company,” Dane explains. “From day one, the plan was to grow. This mindset will provide opportunity for the people currently at Maxan, as well as the people who will join us in the future.” Clint, meanwhile, originally came from an entirely different industry, but at 50 years old he decided to change careers and team up with Dane. He may not have had much experience in construction, but he knew people. “The success of just about every business I’ve touched comes down to people,” he says. That’s why his first order of business at Maxan was identifying the people he felt were ready to help the company take the next steps in preparation for growth. “One of the first things we learned when we took over was there were certain people we needed to keep and make sure they were on the right seats on the bus,” Clint explains. “Fortunately, five years later, the people we wanted to keep are still here, and in many cases, have taken on expanded roles.” The people they’ve retained, Dane adds, deserve the most credit for the company’s recent growth. “Any organization, no matter what industry, is only as good as the people within it,” he says. “And if everybody buys into the vision and if you SEPTEMBER 2024
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have the right people in the right seats – and with a little bit of luck, you almost can’t fail. If you have the right plans, the right execution strategies and the right people, then success is sure to follow. That’s certainly a major factor in why we’ve been able to do what we’ve done so far.” But what does it mean to have ‘the right people’? In Dane’s view, it means having people who are happy to come to work every day, who care and go the extra mile. He adds, “We want people that are driven, people who are team players, people who have the right values and people who want to be part of a company that’s growing. I think growth is an attractive thing for many people. I believe the people who are successful here are ones who are joining a team and joining a family, and they feel that they’re part of something that’s greater than themselves.” Another driving factor behind the company’s growth has been their name change. As previously mentioned, the company was originally called ‘Maxan Drywall Limited.’ Early on, Dane and Clint made the decision to change the name to “be more descriptive of what we actually do.” “Drywall is where we started, but we do more than that now,” Dane says. “Being called ‘Maxan Drywall’ pigeonholes us to just drywall. However, we were already doing many other scopes of work with high precision, degrees of difficulty and attention to detail, and now do even more. We do sub-framing, insulation, drywall finishing and install a host of specialty acoustic panels, wall and ceiling panels, door frames – the list goes on. Our company is more than just drywall. We recognized this fact early on and rebranded to ‘Maxan Interior Systems’, which is a little more all-encompassing and reflective of our competencies.” The new name also gives the company license to continue expanding their capabilities and services, Dane adds. In the future, they’d also like to do interior glazing and flooring – “anything that is an interior finish in the ICI space is something that we’re capable and willing to grow into. We already have a great stable of customers who trust us; the more we can do for them, the better!” One more thing Dane and Clint did when they took over – which they believe has helped accelerate the company’s growth – is they spent “a lot of time coming up with our company values.” “Through structured workshops with our people, we figured out what it means to do things the ‘Maxan Way”, Clint explains. “And the Maxan Way touches everything from the way we relate to our customers & suppliers, to the way we connect to our people, to our approach to safety, to quality and to continuous improvement. We’ve looked for ‘can-do’ people who buy into all these things. And if everybody we have is doing things the Maxan Way, then that’s a competitive advantage that our customers will value.” SEPTEMBER 2024
Customer service The company recognized the needs of their customers and launched a brand-new Service division. This division can take on a wide range of smaller, complex or time-sensitive projects that are often a nuisance for customers. “Our primary goal with our service offering is to take care of our customer’s pain. The best business development tool we have is to go out and do great work, where our customers just call us for the next project,” Dane says. Dane and Clint had recognized early on this is a relationship business. According to Dane, the company has been able to build new relationships as well as expand upon some of their long-standing relationships – not through luck, but through quality and customer service. The “nice thing about that,” he says, is that “it’s repeatable.” “We have a recipe that works,” he says. “And we are very aware that THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
“We have a recipe that works,” he says. “And we are very aware that every customer we have is a repeat customer. Our eye is on the long term.” He elaborates on what it means to provide first class customer service: “We appreciate and welcome feedback from our customers and have heard loud and clear what they are looking for. Things like responsiveness, attentiveness, a strong safety culture and subject matter expertise – it means being the resource for our customers to take their pain away. Clients are coming to us as a specialty subcontractor because we know what we’re doing and we’re able to help them achieve their goals.” “Their goals are important,” he continues. “It’s not just about us. Through a continuous feedback loop, we listen carefully to what’s important to each customer and that determines our goal for that project. Our role is to make our customers look good, and when our customers look good to their customers, we will have achieved our goal”. SEPTEMBER 2024
Looking long-term In addition to building strong relationships with clients and employees, Dane and Clint have also been successful at building and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers. One of Maxan’s main supply partners, for example, is Hewson Brothers Building Supply – a fourth-generation family company that has been providing high-quality building supplies to construction projects across Southern Ontario, Niagara, and the GTA for over 40 years. Over those years, they have developed into a leading interior finishing distribution company with an extensive fleet of service trucks and unrivalled knowledge of the construction industry. According to Dane and Clint, the quality of Hewson Brothers’ products – combined with the unwavering support of their expert team – has been critical to Maxan Interior Systems’ recent growth. With external partners like that, Dane says the key to building a good THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
relationship is “mutual respect and a long-term outlook.” “We plan on being here for a long time,” he says, “it’s never about one singular job. It’s always about the lifetime of the relationship. The suppliers that we choose to do business with have a similar viewpoint on that – we all plan on being in business together for the long-term. So, we need to be on the same page, have shared values and goals. That’s what makes us work well together.” Moving forward, in collaboration with those likeminded partners, the vision for Maxan Interior Systems is to continue growing. As mentioned previously, Dane’s goal is to have a strong presence in every major Canadian market,” as well as a “strong network of partnerships throughout the country in terms of general contractors and suppliers.” Lastly, in order to achieve a strong national presence, Maxan Interior Systems intends to grow both organically and through mergers and acquisitions. When it comes to acquisitive growth, Dane believes the demographics in their space will result in plenty of opportunity. He also believes many business owners who manage the succession planning process, will view Maxan as a great option that provides growth opportunity and security for their people. Dane and Clint believe the future at Maxan is very bright; “We have the vision, the willingness to grow, the resources, the foundation and, most importantly, the right culture to make our vision a reality. Every day at Maxan is exciting, fun and rewarding and we couldn’t be more excited about our future!” SEPTEMBER 2024
For more on Maxan Interior Systems, what they do, the services they provide, and examples of past projects – and to get in touch with Dane, Clint, and the rest of their expert team – visit https://maxaninteriorsystems.com/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Performance, durability, craftsmanship
UrbanAge Homes is a multi-award-winning local builder currently focused on serving St. Albert, Alberta. Since forming in 2012, their focus has evolved, the kind of homes they do has changed, but their commitment to quality never has – from the start, they have been dedicated to building homes that exceed the industry standard in terms of craftsmanship, while also maintaining a reputation for style. In recent years, that dedication has been recognized with multiple industry awards, including three at a national level. According to Jordan Pelletier, one of the company’s four partners, that success and recognition is a credit to the unwavering pride and passion of their team. “We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to do what we love every day and be surrounded by people who share the same passion,” he says. “We believe our commitment to building homes that focus on performance, durability, and craftsmanship enables us to be one of the premier home builders in the Edmonton region.” UrbanAge Homes was founded in 2012. At first, they mainly built new homes in Spruce Grove, a smaller municipality just outside of Edmonton, and were “one of the pioneers” working in the Edmonton infill market. Eventually, they became “a recognized brand” when it came to infills in the city. Over the last few years, they ended up venturing outside of the city again and building new homes in up-and-coming subdivisions. Currently, UrbanAge Homes works only in St. Albert, a municipality on the northwest edge of the city. More specifically, they work exclusively in Riverside, a new community by the developer Genstar. Riverside includes 145 acres of lush forest and countless walking trails, is minutes away from big Lake and Lois Hole Provincial Park, and in terms of amenities has “everything you need within walking distance.” UrbanAge opened SEPTEMBER 2024
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a show home in the community late last year, they are building almost 40 new homes there this year, and their goal is to build about 50 new homes next year. The sales prices of those homes are expected to range from about $600,000 to $1.7 million. Within that niche, Jordan believes what sets UrbanAge Homes apart is that despite their growing volume, they have maintained a “small builder feel.” “We’re competing with the largest builders in the city, but we try to maintain a boutique style delivery,” Jordan says. “We provide a more personal service than a lot of the companies we compete with.” UrbanAge Homes offers clients a range of home models to pick from, while also still offering a fully custom experience. They also regularly build spec homes – which they call “quick possession homes” – some of which are available for sale currently. Despite their volume, however, they don’t treat their clients like numbers, or their homes like products coming off an assembly line. They form personal relationships with every client, they stay in contact every step along the way, and they remain responsive after the job is done. “We maintain open communication with our homeowners throughout the entire process,” Jordan says. “Whether it’s a spec home or a presale, we’re in constant contact and interaction with them every step of the way.” “Afterwards, we provide the warranties which are legislated in our province, but we’re pretty flexible in that we try to go above and beyond for our clients even beyond warranty periods,” he adds. “I think that’s something that stands out about us. Most builders, I would say, are pretty rigid when SEPTEMBER 2024
it comes to warranty, whereas with us, three of our four partners live in the subdivision that we work in. So we’re only a phone call away for most people, and we’re pretty accommodating. I think that’s something our customers really appreciate.” Relatedly, Jordan believes the hands-on involvement of all four owners is something else that sets UrbanAge Homes apart. “One of the biggest separators for us would be that we are owner-operated,” he explains. “Everything our company does on a project – from conception all the way to completion and beyond into warranty – is all overseen by one of our partners.” “It’s definitely a differentiator that we can tell our clients that one of the partners will be on site building your home every day,” he adds. “That invokes an aspect of trust.” “Most of our clients have our personal cellphones, he adds. “If they have a problem, they can text us or email us, and we’re usually on it within a matter of hours, not days.” That’s not to discount the value of the rest of their team, however, according to Jordan. “Of course, we also have an amazing team of staff that share the same values, and they help or lead in facilitating whatever it is that needs to get done.” THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
SEPTEMBER 2024
A pretty good spot As examples of what UrbanAge Homes is capable of, Jordan cites two of their most recently industry acclaimed projects. At the 2024 Canadian Home builders’ Association National Awards of Housing Excellence, the company won both categories they submitted for – their ‘Beverly’ show home won ‘Best Production Home 2,101 to 2,400 square feet,’ while their ‘Augusta’ model won ‘Best Production Home 2,401 to 2,800 square feet.’ The Beverly, first off, is a show home that boasts numerous highend features. There are 10-foot ceilings on the main floor and eight-foot doors throughout. Other highlights include custom iron railings, stained maple cabinetry, multiple arches, a real stone fireplace surround, a Venetian plaster hood fan, and herringbone tile. The upper floor includes nine-foot ceilings, a primary suite, two children’s bedrooms, an office space, and a bonus room. The finished basement includes ceilings between nine and 10.5 feet, a THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
wine room, a gym with glass enclosure, a full wet bar, and a golf simulator. Earlier this year, the Beverly also won ‘Best Single Family $600,000 to $700,000’ at the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Edmonton Region 2024 Awards of Excellence in Housing Gala. The Augusta, meanwhile, was also designed for clients looking for a “wow factor.” With massive vaulted main floor ceilings and a bold exterior, Jordan says that model “has all the bells and whistles.” Some of those bells and whistles include the massive entertainer’s kitchen, which features a 13-foot island, a full butler-style pantry, and a main floor office space. On the second floor, the list includes a lofted bonus room, bedrooms, and a laundry room. The primary suite features windows right to the floor in the bedroom and a spa-like ensuite as well as vaulted ceilings. The basement features a massive golf simulator with some viewing space, an adjacent wet bar, lounging/cigar space and a large gym. Both the Beverly and the Augusta models have been around for about two years. The Beverly is the company’s show home in Riverside, and while the Augusta has no show home version, they do have models under construction as well as a completed version they can gain access to. The award-winning show home version of the Beverly was actually completed within five-and-ahalf months in order to be ready for an annual block party event that Genstar hosts in Riverside. Completing the home in that time frame was a SEPTEMBER 2024
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challenge, Jordan says – “we had to battle some adversity” – but he credits the achievement to the talent and dedication of the UrbanAge team. That team, Jordan emphasizes, includes their direct staff as well as their roster of subcontractors and suppliers. When it comes to their direct staff, Jordan believes they have established “a pretty fun working environment,” wherein everyone is motivated but not micromanaged. “We rely on everyone to do their job well, finish tasks on time, and deliver quality work,” he explains. “And as long as that’s happening, we’re not peaking over anybody’s shoulder. We’re letting people flourish in the position that they’re meant to be in. We have found that’s gone a long way with keeping motivation high, and fostering a company culture that is enjoyable to be a part of. We don’t have a high amount of turnover at all. So we like to think we’ve created a fun place to work. We’re a young group –and we enjoy going to work together every day.” As for their suppliers, Jordan calls them a “huge part of our business,” and says they have strived to build long-lasting relationships. We’ve been working with the same suppliers – everything from lumber to drywall to appliances to plumbing – pretty much since the inception of our business. If we didn’t have them, we couldn’t do what we do. We’re sitting in a pretty good spot right now because of them.” Looking to the future, Jordan says their goal is mainly to remain poised for organic growth. Right now, he says, “we’re pleased in knowing we have quickly become St. Albert’s preferred builder” – and he doesn’t want to grow too big or too fast and risk jeopardizing that title. “Our five-year goal is to strike the perfect balance between maintaining a lean team and achieving growth. We aim to expand without overwhelming our staff or increasing overhead to an unsustainable level.” The company’s ideal volume, Jordan believes, is around 75 homes per year. To reach that number, he says they would likely need to get into at least one more subdivision, and they hope that subdivision is close to where they are now, as “our goal is to remain as efficient as possible.” “We’re trying to work smarter, not harder,” Jordan concludes. “If we do that, I think we can get to 70-to-75 homes per year without adding a whole lot of pieces to the puzzle. We can stay pretty consistent with our processes.” SEPTEMBER 2024
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