“Our staff has far more experience than the customer, and although we respect what the customers expect, we will always stand by what our employees think,” he said, noting it’s the company’s job to get things right.

From a small basement-run operation started in 1970, brothers Bert (left) and Mahlon Frey have turned Frey Building Contractors into a business on a much wider scale. They're celebrating the company's 40th anniversary this week.

Frey Building Contractors has designed everything from hog farms to custom homes all around the world. On Friday, the firm officially celebrated its 40th year in the community with an open house and BBQ at the Hawkesville Community Centre.

With his brother Mahlon and brother-in-law, the late Orlan Cauman, Bert started the company on Mar. 31, 1970. In the four decades since, they’ve come a long way.

They began as sub-contractors for the now-defunct Beaver Lumber Co. in the basement of Bert’s Hawkesville home.

“By the end of the first year, I think we had five employees,” he recalled, laughing.

The company has grown to include 51 employees who work out in the field, and 12 full-time office staff. The basement has been replaced by 14,000 square feet of office and shop space, as well as a one-acre storage yard for trucks and heavy equipment.

Many entrepreneurs start their own business because they like the idea of setting their own hours, and that’s exactly what drew Frey to the idea.

“Back around 1970, the government passed a law stating that any time over 45 hours had to pay time-and-a-half,” he explained. But when his employer said the new law as impractical and unaffordable, and wouldn’t allow anyone to work overtime, Frey set out on his own.

“I was just married, I had a family, and felt that I could not support my family on just a 45-hour week – I was used to working 60 hours plus, and so that’s really why we started. I knew as a sub-contractor I could set my own hours.”

He never finished public school, but went back to night school and took classes in accounting and drafting. The three men built their company through trial-and-error, and by learning from their mistakes along the way.

“Oh, good heavens, I could write a book! I made all the mistakes there are to make. I really didn’t have any formal training on business, I went to college and got my carpenter’s papers, but that’s really the extent of my formal education.”

About 90 per cent of their work still occurs within an hour’s drive of their office, but the award-winning company has also done construction work as far away as California, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Their reputation is one of reliability, courtesy and professionalism.

Frey said that one of the biggest reasons for their continued success is that the company remains involved in a project every step of the way, from the initial design and excavation, to the final finishing touches. This approach allows the company to maintain efficiency, and to produce a better product in the end.

“When the project is complete the superintendant can say with pride, ‘I did that whole project’ as opposed to having multiple people coming in, each one sort of doing their own thing and then moving on,” he said.

With so much success in the past 40 years, what does the future hold for Frey Building Contractors?

“We’ve done a lot of development in the last five to seven years to create a company that could run indefinitely into the future. I wanted to create opportunities to continue, and so in the last five years we’ve worked hard on reorganizing the company. The company is now governed by a board of directors, and opened up for all employees to buy shares.”

Bert has removed himself from the daily operations of the business, saying that he was there in name only: “I’m pretty much out of the game.”

But others aren’t so quick to dismiss his role within the company.

“Bert has taken more of an advisory role within the management team,” explained Ryan Martin, operations manager at Frey. “Not necessarily involved day-to-day, but … we try to meet a couple times a year.”

To celebrate 40 years in the community, the company has decided to forgo their annual company golf tournament and instead donate to a very worthy cause.

“We’ve asked our suppliers to consider donating with us in the Homes for Haiti project,” said Martin.

It’s just another way in which Frey Building Contractors continues to build on its 40-year legacy in the community.

Weber has been working as an electrician for RW Electric ever since he graduated from Elmira District Secondary School 12 years ago. He signed up for the tech class, became familiar with the trade and was hooked. Learning the ropes from St. Clements’ Ron Beaupre, Weber got hands on experience in the installation, operation, repair, and maintenance of electrical systems.

Having worked for RW Electric since he was an apprentice, Randy Weber made the the move to business owner. He intends to build on its established reputation.

“With this kind of job, every week is a bit different,” said Weber. “Some days you are called out to do a quick fix and then other times it’s a week-long installation. You’re always learning.”

RW Electric was founded by Beaupre and his brother-in-law, Wayne Forwell. They took on Weber as an apprentice when he was just 17. Now it is Weber’s turn to take the reins and he hopes to maintain the great reputation that Beaupre and Forwell have created. He is even keeping the business name.

“It was pure luck that our initials are also his initials,” said Beaupre with a laugh. “I am glad to see that it will be continuing on.”

Beaupre has seen any number of changes to the industry in the 33 years since he founded RW Electric, but more so in the technology used than the methods employed.

“The biggest change for us has been the product line,” he explained. “How we install something now is the same way that we would have installed it 33 years ago – that hasn’t changed. But nowadays the industry is leaning towards electronics.”

Some things however have stayed just the same.

“Quality is still the most important thing,” he said, noting that quality, honesty and good service are the keys to building a successful business. During the time of transition he also mentioned that he is extremely thankful to his customers and clients who have worked with him over the years and that he will miss the relationships he has made.

“What I learned from Ron is always to do the work efficiently and with integrity,” echoed Weber, who officially became the head of the company on June 1. “Being honest with the customer up front is extremely important for doing good, quality work.”

And with the honesty and integrity comes simplicity at RW. The company does minimal advertising and their clients are found primarily through word of mouth.

“We don’t even have a logo on the truck,” said Weber. “Ron has an excellent reputation; everyone seems to know who he is, so he has never had to advertise.”

Both Ron and Randy have had the additional support from their wives when starting the business.
Following in the footsteps of Beaupre’s wife, Randy’s partner Karen keeps up all the tasks from maintaining the finances to scheduling appointments.

“She makes all the important phone calls, keeps the business side running,” said Weber.

And just in case Weber comes across a problem he doesn’t know how to solve, Beaupre is not far away. The longtime electrical guru plans to continue to work for RW Electric part-time, but now as an employee rather than owner.

“He is always there to answer questions or to lend some help if it is needed,” said Weber. “We are very grateful for that. It would be much harder to start the business without the foundation that he has set.”

“The stage has been set at this Curves location and now we are just trying to take it a bit further, to expand our client base a bit,” said new owner Deanne MacIntosh.

Curves veteran, Deanne MacIntosh is the new owner of the Elmira location of the women's-only fitness club.

After 10 years of leadership by self-starter Shelley Cassel, the franchise is now under the guidance of fitness fanatic MacIntosh, who has 10 years of experience working for Curves. For the last  four years, she’s been  the owner of a Kitchener location.

“After 10 years I was ready for something different, ready for a new challenge,” explained Cassel. “I put the word out that I was looking to sell the business. The whole process went a lot more quickly than I anticipated, but I was ready.”

MacIntosh made her way to Curves in 2000, after a two-year bout of depression left her with low self-esteem and a negative body image. Curves is the first fitness and weight-loss facility designed for women. It provides one-stop exercise and nutritional information, and the exercises work every major muscle group with strength training, cardio and stretching in just 30 minutes, three times per week.

“A friend told me about Curves and it actually saved my life,” explained the new owner. “It was a manageable, quick and easy workout and the place wasn’t intimidating. I felt safe there.”

Now the Kitchener native has lost 40 pounds, exceeded her fitness goals and is hoping to help women who are in similar situations reach their goals as well, with a host of new opportunities at the local club.

“My goal is to make it easier for women to come in here and make a fitness routine that works for them, and works with their schedule. The new technology we are installing will be a big part of the change.”

The ‘Smart Equipment’ is a feature that MacIntosh tested at the Kitchener location, finding it to be quite effective. To use the device, a member scans their tag and the electronic coach will count their repetitions, check their range of motion and calculate their calories. The coach is designed especially for each client and it remembers every workout. At the end of the workout, simply scan the tag to check your results at the kiosk.

“It’s like having a personal trainer with you at every station,” she enthused. Other changes to the club include some new equipment and longer hours. Previously, the club closed for a couple hours around midday but it will now remain open all day long.

Cassel said that she is looking forward to seeing what MacIntosh will do with the franchise in the coming months.

“I think she will do just fine,” said Cassel. “She has a lot of good skills and experience and I know the club is in good hands.”

As for Cassel herself, the entrepreneur who has been self-employed since the age of 19, the future is an exciting time for change.

“I truly will miss the members at Curves and the relationships I have built,” she said. “But I am looking for another door to open. If that doesn’t happen, I will just have to open it myself.”

Over the years, the two dozen tenants have dwindled to a handful. New owner Michele Khandelwal of Varcan Property Management plans to spruce up the Church Street building, fill it with tenants and make it a draw for Elmira once more.

New owner Michele Khandelwal sees the possibilities for office space and shopping at what was once Brox's Olde Town Village. She's working on refurbishing the building.

Khandelwal plans to turn the upper floor into office spaces for an insurance agent, lawyer, accountant or other financial services. The ground floor is virtually full, with three anchor tenants: Schelter Office Pro, Woolwich Total Health Pharmacy, and the Village Pet Shoppe.

The biggest transformation will occur on the lower level, where Khandelwal envisions a central hallway designed like the main street of a village, with shop windows and storefronts in different colours. The lower level is already equipped with kitchen facilities from the days when it played host to a bar and restaurant, and Khandelwal thinks the space is perfect for a bakery.

“We’d love to get little retail shops down here,” she said.

This is the third commercial property that Khandelwal has bought with the intention of refurbishing and attracting new tenants. She first tried her hand at property management nine years ago, soon after the first of her three children was born. She and her husband bought a student house in Waterloo, and Khandelwal discovered that property management allowed her to balance family and career. She bought a few more student houses and expanded from there into residential and commercial properties.

Khandelwal’s degree in actuarial science wasn’t a lot of help in her new venture; learning to manage properties has been something of a trial-and-error process.

“When we first started, we had no clue,” she chuckled.

Khandelwal has discovered that she prefers commercial properties, and she’s had some success in that line. Last year she bought a building in Kitchener and was able to bring it from 30 per cent occupancy up to 100 per cent.

“We buy a place that needs tender loving care, bring it up, fill it up with tenants and make it a success.”
In the two months that she has owned the Elmira Shopping Village, Khandelwal has given the exterior a facelift: fresh paint on the doors and benches, new landscaping and hanging flower baskets. Work on the interior is now underway, with the public washrooms redone and the basement under renovation.

Now Khandelwal and her assistant Diana Briand are making a concerted effort to find tenants to fill the 20,000-square-foot building, which is divided into spaces ranging from 300 to 2,000 square feet.

Reflecting the mix of commercial and retail uses they’d like to see in the building, the name is changing from Elmira Shopping Village to the Village Shoppes and Business Centre.

Khandelwal said they’re focused on finding businesses that have something to offer to residents of Elmira, and she’s relying on Briand, who grew up in the area.

“We don’t want to make this place just a tourist attraction. We don’t want it to become St. Jacobs.”

The rest of Varcan’s properties are in Kitchener-Waterloo, and Khandelwal explained that it was the potential for growth and the possibilities they could see in the building that drew them to Elmira.

“All of our places are about 10 minutes from where I live. We’ve made an exception for Elmira – it’s 15 minutes.”

John Hogg, president of Green Grid Solutions, says the Ontario Power Authority’s decision to cut the price offered for solar power has destroyed any confidence people had in it.

On July 2, the power authority quietly announced that the price for power generated using ground-mounted solar arrays would drop from 80.2 cents to 58.8 cents per kilowatt hour. Smaller rooftop systems aren’t affected by the change.

OPA painted the change as fixing a “glitch” in the system when ground-mounted projects proved far more popular than anticipated. The government received 16,000 applications, of which 10,000 were for ground-mounted systems.

The change caught applicants and manufacturers of solar equipment flat-footed.

“This rate cut on the ground-mounted systems caused everyone that had an application in or a deposit in to cancel orders,” said John Hubman, president of H-Y Manufacturing, located outside of Elora.

H-Y Manufacturing makes tracking systems that allow ground-mounted solar arrays to follow the sun, maximizing their power output. They started building the tracking systems after the program was announced, investing $150,000 in machinery and another $150,000 in research and development.

In early fall 2009, still in the depths of the recession, Hubman had six employees. By November, with orders pouring in, he was hiring people back and soon added a second shift. The company went from building one or two systems a week to building between eight and 10.

Now, customers are cancelling or putting their orders on hold and they aren’t building anything. The investment and the jobs created are now in jeopardy.

“Money aside, the worrisome part is the effect it’s going to have in laying people off. It’s back to the gloom days of the middle of last year,” Hubman said.

Paul Parker, a professor of geography and environmental management at the University of Waterloo, welcomed the program when it was announced.  He’s had solar panels on the roof of his Conestogo home for the past five years. Through a net metering system he gets credit for his electricity costs, which works out to between six and 10 cents per kilowatt hour. At that rate, it will take him 50 years to pay off his investment.
Few Ontarians were willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars and wait 50 years to recoup their costs, which is why Parker was happy to see the government making solar power more attractive. He believes the new price of 58.8 cents per kilowatt hour is appropriate, given that the costs of equipment have come down substantially.

“To my mind, how it’s implemented is the problem,” Parker said. “I can understand the frustration, if you make your decision based on one price and then find out you’re getting a different one.”

While many applicants and suppliers were taken by surprise by the price change, John Hogg has been waiting for something like this to happen. Hogg is president of Green Grid Solutions of Waterloo and has been in the renewable energy business for 10 years. He says that 80 cents per kilowatt hour is an unheard-of price; in Europe, governments offer between 60 and 70 cents and people can’t believe it when he tells them Ontario was offering 80 cents.

“It was almost disappointing that the number was so high because it just created a frenzy and from experience with OPA, you know they’re going to claw back at a certain point.”

The biggest problem is that OPA intends to make the price cut retroactive to early 2010. People who submitted their applications and went ahead with securing financing and ordering the systems are now caught in the middle.

“It would make sense to say from this day forward we’re going to cut rates, but to make it retroactive … to go out to the communities and promote renewable energy, promote 80 cents and then make it retroactive to before they started this publicity campaign, that’s a bit disappointing,” Hogg said. “The confidence people had in OPA is completely dissolved.”

Hogg pointed out that the rate cut disproportionately affects rural areas, where people have the space to install ground-mounted systems. Farmers, already skeptical of anything involving government, will be even more so now, he said.

Hogg believes that when the 30-day comment period for the change expires, the government may compromise a bit and settle on a price somewhere between the 58.8 and the original 80 cents per kilowatt hour.

Hubman isn’t optimistic. He’s waiting for Aug. 3 when the comment period closes, but he’s afraid that he’ll be laying off employees again.

“I think it’s a forgone conclusion,” he said. “They hoodwinked a lot of people in Ontario saying that we’ll pay you 80 cents, go ahead and develop all of this and create jobs.”

But how do you keep your promise to buy local foods, and also have a variety in your diet when staple items are only in season at certain times of the year?

Kevin Martin of Martin's Family Fruit Farm is touting the virtues of the Red Prince, a new variety of apple growing at the company's St. Jacobs-area orchard.

Members of staff at Martin’s Family Fruit Farm in Woolwich Township are taking the first step to tackle that challenge, and are currently marketing a new item – the Red Prince apple. Its first widespread introduction into the Ontario marketplace happened at the start of February, a time when most other apples on the shelves here are imports. The Red Prince’s unusual prime season gives it a niche in an otherwise overcrowded market.

“It’s exciting because we have found an apple that actually gets better the longer you store it,” said Martin’s president Kevin Martin. “Some apples get worse for wear after a while but the Red Prince stays crisp and the flavour actually gets better with time.”

The Red Prince apple was discovered in 1994 in an orchard located on the German/Holland border in a small town called Weert. The farm’s owners noticed one of their apple trees had produced a beautiful red apple among a sea of green apples. At the time, they believed it was a gift from Mother Nature and later discovered that it had been developed through the natural crossing of two varieties: the Jonathan and the Golden Delicious.

In 2001, Irma and Marius Botden, co-owners of Global Fruit in Thornbury, planted their first Red Prince trees in Ontario. Nine years later, as exclusive growers in Canada, they, alongside the staff at Martin’s Family Fruit Farm who are helping to market the product, are excited to introduce the Red Prince apple to Canadians.

Recognized for its red skin, rich with antioxidants according to Martin, the Red Prince has inherited a number of characteristics from its ‘parents’: the sweetness and juiciness of the Golden Delicious and the crispness and tanginess of the Jonathan.

The biggest challenge with marketing a new apple however is the hurdle of getting people to change their eating habits, said Martin.

“People will go into a store and pick up a Macintosh because it’s familiar. They’ve tried Macintosh, they like Macintosh. Why try something new?” he explained. “It’s our job to get people to pick it up for the first time. Once they do we are confident that they will like it.”

To raise awareness about the new product, the team of marketers at both farms have developed something called the 30 Day Civility Challenge, which encourage people to do a kind act for someone else every day.
“The theme of the civility challenge goes along with the prince idea,” explained Martin. “It can be tough to create a brand around food but we think by encouraging people to do good things and eat a healthy, local product, we can’t really go wrong.”

The Red Prince apple is currently sold in Sobey’s, Loblaw and Longo’s stores in Ontario, as well as locally at Martin’s Family Fruit Farm and the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market.

What happens next is sometimes less than environmentally friendly. Some items are recycled more successfully than others; the current recovery rate for paper-based packaging is 58 per cent and 56 per cent for steel packaging, compared to just 22 per cent for plastic packaging.

Martin Vogt, president of EFS Plastics, displays a handful of the pellets his plastic recycling facility produces. EFS Plastics can recycle both rigid and film plastics like shopping bags into bags, tool boxes, lawn edging and other products.

Some municipalities, looking to save a few dollars, sell their plastic material to brokers who ship it overseas to countries like China and Vietnam where there are few environmental or labour regulations. Items are sorted by hand, and the material that can’t be recycled is dumped.

For Martin Vogt, it doesn’t make sense to ship plastic back and forth across the ocean. Vogt is president of EFS Plastics, an Elmira company that recycles mixed post-consumer plastic into pellets that are used to manufacture plastic bags, tool boxes, piping and other products.

Vogt explained that recycling plastic requires less energy than making virgin plastic and prevents wasting both the raw material and the energy that went into making it when the item is thrown in a landfill.

Vogt moved to Canada from Germany in 2006, and discovered that Canada was almost 20 years behind when it came to recycling post-consumer plastic. Post-industrial plastic, like waste from manufacturing cars, is much simpler to recycle; it’s clean and already sorted by type. Post-consumer plastic, on the other hand, is mixed and contaminated by colouring, labels, glue and residue.

In Germany, Vogt’s father had an injection moulding and extrusion business and turned to recycled plastic as a new source of raw material. Vogt started as a tool and die maker and then went back to school and studied mechanical engineering, specializing in plastics engineering.

Vogt settled on Elmira to start his business because of the number of manufacturing shops that could produce the equipment he designed. His timing was unlucky; just when things were up and running, the recession sent oil prices down, making his product less competitive and hurting the manufacturers who were his customers.

Business finally rebounded in February of this year, and things are looking up. EFS received funding from Stewardship Ontario and Waste Diversion Ontario to develop new processing capacity for mixed plastics, and got a contract to produce pellets used in the new “Tote for Life” in Sobeys stores that is made from 100 per cent recycled materials. In June, Vogt received the ‘newcomer of the year’ award from the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

Currently EFS recycles more than 7,500 tonnes of plastic a year, and Vogt wants to double that number by the end of 2011. That will mean moving to a new location and adding another production line.

As promising as the picture looks, there is still a ways to go. Some municipalities, like Waterloo Region, are willing to support local recyclers by offering long-term contracts that guarantee there will be the raw material available to start a business. In other cases, there needs to be more political pressure brought to bear in municipalities that are just looking for the highest price or are unwilling to change what they’ve always done. Vogt notes that it’s also important that people see the benefit of their recycling efforts.

“Plastics recycling makes a lot of sense,” he said. “It helps the environment on one side, but it also creates a lot of jobs and ensures manufacturing can stay in Canada. You have your raw material in front of your door.”

“I’m going to take a few weeks of vacation first, and then do volunteer work,” he said.

Martin has supervised a number of building projects for the Elmira District Community Living, and is an active volunteer on a handful of boards.

Having overseen a large expansion of the business over the years, Wayne Martin (left) has gradually turned over the reins of Way-Mar Inc. to Darrell Martin.

“I don’t see him sitting still – or at least not very long,” said company president Darrell Martin, who will be taking over in partnership with three others.

Wayne started the business in 1973. He’d worked for a contractor for nine years before problems with his knees lead him to switch to sales. Eight months later, he struck out on his own.

For the first two years, Wayne ran Way-Mar out of his home with two employees. In 1975, he went into partnership with three other men and expanded the company.

“I had more work than I could handle. I was working from six in the morning until 10 at night.”

The business has expanded from exterior claddings into all types of home renovations: windows, doors, skylights, roofing, additions and insulation. After moving from Conestogo to Hawkesville, Way-Mar relocated to its current spot on Ament Line in 1985. The present building offers 8,000 square feet of warehouse space and 4,000 square feet of office and showroom space.

Wayne said he never thought his home-based business would grow to one with 40 employees. He gave some thought to retiring 10 years ago, but his main business partner at that time died of cancer. It was then that Wayne decided he wanted to be done at 65. Having been in the works for the past four or five years, the transition is sure to be a smooth one.
“It just feels like it’s the right time,” he said. “I hope the business can continue the way it has and I see no reason why it can’t with the people who are here. Basically they’ve been running the business for the last few years and I’ve been assisting.”

Wayne has seen any number of changes to the industry in the 37 years since he founded Way-Mar, but some things haven’t changed.

“Quality is still the most important thing,” he said, noting that quality, honesty and good service are the keys to building a successful business.

“The best advertising is referrals – that’s where those three things are important,” added Darrell.

Way-Mar is having an open house July 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. for people to drop by, see the facility, and offer their congratulations to Wayne.

Brian’s Foto Source owner Brian McHugh and manager Jaime Peter are steering the Elmira store in a new direction to keep up with changes in photographic technology and the way we use it.

For more than 20 years, Brian McHugh and Dianna Weltz were co-owners of Elmira Photo Lab; this past year the two went separate ways.

“Last year it was time for me to move onto other things and so I gave up my share of Calla Studio to concentrate on the photo business alone for the long haul,” said McHugh. Given the changes, the store reopened as Brian’s Foto Source with McHugh noting the past few months have been a period of transition and growth.

McHugh began his life in the photo industry when he worked for a weekly newspaper in Elmira as a reporter and photographer.

“Back then I didn’t have any experience with photography. They just handed me a camera but nobody bothered to show me how to use it, really.”

His first assignment was to shoot a canoe trip on the Grand River, and the only photo on the roll that turned out properly was one he had taken in the parking lot, of a canoe being run over by a Jeep.

“I failed entirely. I was learning by the seat of my pants.”

Noticing a need in the community for a retail photography store – at the time, Elmira residents had to travel to Waterloo to have their photos developed – Brian and Dianna opened the photo lab. There, too, McHugh was learning as he went. He had only taken one seminar on retail photography before opening the store. By now, however, he has it all pretty much figured out.

The business offers a wide variety of services to its customers, including photo finishing, photo enlargements, sale of cameras and accessories, and even photo restoration and recovery.

“People come in here with a whole host of requests,” said McHugh. “We had someone in here this week that accidentally lost the photos from his sister’s wedding, around 1,000 of them. We are working now to see if we can get them back.”

Unlike some bigger chain photo development stores, the employees at Brian’s Foto take time for personal attention to their customers, he stressed.

“We look at every frame and try to make the best possible picture we can for our customer by making colour and density improvements.”

Alongside evolution of the industry came new challenges for the business, mainly a decrease in customers wanting to print their photos.

“People can show their photos on the camera screen, or on their TV or computer – there are so many way to view photos these days the customers feel like they don’t need to print them,” said McHugh. “But I am worried that this might be the generation that will have no photos of their children.

“They only have digital images. People store their photos on computers or flash drives or whatever they have on hand – but what happens if this digital media crashes?”

He does, however, think that digital photography has made taking great photos much easier for the recreational photographer.

“Now, with digital, people have an educational tool right there in their hands,” he exclaimed. “They can see the photo and say, ‘Oh, this isn’t turning out, I should do something else.’  I love digital cameras for customers because now their photos are all turning out well and they’re excited about taking them.”

McHugh thinks the next big revolution for the industry will be the integration of cameras with other forms of technology, including cell phones and video cameras.

“At some point, you are going to have a tool in your hand that is your camera and your cell phone and your video camera and whatever else you can think of. The quality of the photos will be so good that you won’t need a separate camera.”

To help stay on top of the market, McHugh enjoys hiring young people to work in the shop with him. With the help of students who are savvy with digital services and new media including Facebook, Brian’s Foto can offer leading edge products and services.

“The young people in the office are familiar with the newer devices and they use them easily,” he said with a laugh. “I am learning from them. I am from the old-school; it’s so important to keep on learning.”

As for McHugh, he is in charge of making sure customers are happy when they leave his store.

“The customers are the most important part of any business. Being a part of the community is so important to me. I love seeing the friendly face of a return customer, or meeting one for the first time.”

Owned by Breslau residents Nancy Dalgard and her husband Bob Rebelo, the business has operated out of four different locations in the village in its 12-year history. Having recently moved into a brand-new building all their own, Dalgard hopes they’ll be staying put for a while.

Nancy Dalgard, president of BRC Mechanical, stands in the showroom of the company’s new building on Woolwich Street in Breslau. The finishing touches were made to the showroom this week.

BRC Mechanical’s new location on the west side of Woolwich Street offers 3,350 square feet of space, more than three times the square footage of their old location.

A combined reception and showroom in the front showcases all the products they sell – fireplaces, water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces and geothermal units. In the back is a shop and storage area, and there’s a meeting room upstairs, used for staff training and public information sessions.

Dalgard and Rebelo started BRC Mechanical in 1998, working out of a small shop on their property.

Thinking back, Dalgard just shakes her head at the audacity of their timing. They had a new house and a young son, and she’d lost her job when the medical supply company she was working for went bankrupt.
They started out doing a lot of subcontracting, installing furnaces and air conditioners. Rebelo had all the required licences and Dalgard worked alongside him. It was two years before they hired their first employee and five before they felt they had their feet squarely under them.

“We both really love this industry so there’s nothing we’d rather do, but it was tough,” Dalgard said.

It was also difficult being a woman in a male-dominated industry, Dalgard said. More women are moving into the trades these days, but 12 years ago they were few and far between. That experience has proven valuable as she spends more time in the office handling orders, sales and organization, because she understands all aspects of the job.

“There’s nothing our guys have done that I haven’t done at some point.”

The company has grown to 12 employees, but customer service is just as important as it was in the early days, Dalgard said. They keep track of how their customers find them, and more than 80 per cent of their business comes through referrals.

They’re also seeing an increase in customer knowledge, particularly when it comes to geothermal. Geothermal clients have researched the technology for two years on average before they call BRC Mechanical, Dalgard said.

Two years ago, oil prices went up and stayed up for several months, only coming down with the onset of the recession. For many homeowners, that price climb was the final push they needed to switch to geothermal heat.

BRC Mechanical started doing geothermal installations five years ago, but they already make up 30 to 40 per cent of the company’s business. The new building is heated with geothermal, and the unit is on display in the showroom, so people can see it at work. The walls are decorated with photos of installations in progress, so potential customers are aware just what the process looks like.

BRC Mechanical moved into its new headquarters last December, but the busy winter months mean the finishing touches were put in place this week. The business is throwing open the doors of the new building for a community open house June 17 from 2 to 8 p.m.