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 shined our spotlight at companies from across the entire construction spectrum and across the entire breadth of Canada – we’ve covered crane manufacturers in British Columbia, mechanical contractors in Manitoba, municipalities in Ontario with exciting infrastructure projects, planning and development consultants with hotel projects across the country, and much more. On our cover is Marwest Group of Companies, an example of a builder developer, builder, and property manager, with a home base in Winnipeg but projects all over the country. They were founded all the way back in the 1960s, and over the years they have grown at a steady and sustained pace while honing their mastery in construction and finance. We caught up with Armin W. Martens, a third generation leader of the company. We talked about the company’s history and legacy, about their focus on seniors independent living today, and about some of their recent and very significant projects – most notably, Marwest is currently building a 250-unit independent living facility in Winnipeg’s brand new Refinery District, which will be their latest such facility to date. In this edition, we also take a look at The Geofocus Group, based in Ontario. They provide complete construction management, construction consulting and land development services to clients spanning a variety of sectors. Much like Marwest, they are a family company with a longstanding history – theirs goes back to 1971 – and their portfolio includes projects all across Canada. In recent years, they have focused mainly on developing purpose-built rental properties, which the housing market in Canada desperately needs. We spoke to Adam Altobelli, the company’s second generation president, about that need and how they are filling it. We also highlighted some ongoing projects, including their work in the town of Hanover, where they plan to deliver at least 120 units over the next two-to-three years. Also in Ontario is Atec Signs – they’re based in Brampton, and specialize custom fabrication, high rise and crown signage, digital and architectural signage, and wayfinding. They recently worked on the Rogers Centre Gardiner Pylon Marquee for the Toronto Blue Jays, a landmark project that came with a lot of challenges but exceeded all expectations. We talked to project manager Noah Jeppesen about that job and how they pulled it off, and we also highlighted some other recent challenging and ongoing projects. For those stories – and a lot more like them, about more of Canada’s leading developers, builders, and suppliers from east to west – 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 Jacqueline Van Belois Derrick Pelley Business Development Managers Mary Ann Taylor Douglas Thomson Production Manager Brennan Midghall Digital Strategist Pranim Thapa Administration Manager Belyn Quijance-Dorero
OCTOBER 2025 MARWEST CONSTRUCTION LTD Solution-based building THE GEOFOCUS GROUP Precision in every decision ATEC SIGNS Finding sign solutions MUSSELL CRANE Never ending improvement SEGO CANADA Pump Solution Architects TOWNSHIP OF ALGONQUIN HIGHLANDS Bringing people together RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MORRIS Preparing for growth UENS POLELINE Powering communities A&B MECHANICAL LTD. Everyone knows A&B API DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS Problem solvers DUTRA ARCHITECT The right fit GENREP Powering reliability INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS INCINERATING TOILETS IN THIS ISSUEOCTOBER 2025 MUSSELL CRANE SEGO CANADA
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA UENS POLELINE GENREP DUTRA ARCHITECT
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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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Solution-based building
The Marwest Group of Companies is a family operation founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since forming in the late 1960s, they have grown at a steady and sustained pace, honing their mastery in construction and finance while developing, building, and managing income producing properties across the country. Today, they are in their third generation of family ownership, they have offices in Winnipeg and Calgary, and they proudly boast over $1 billion of developed and built commercial, industrial, and residential real estate. “Although we have grown tremendously, we still thrive off of the hard work and entrepreneurial instincts engrained by our families back in the late 60s,” says Armin W. Martens, a third generation leader of the company. “Our offices in Winnipeg and Calgary allow us to operate with agility and precision across western Canada, while growing our strong family company for success today, tomorrow and for the many generations hereafter.” Armin personally joined the family business in January 2009 as a project manager. By the time he joined, Marwest Group had evolved from a general contractor with an expertise in heritage projects, to a builder and developer of their own projects – particularly projects in the seniors independent living sector. They had moved into that niche because they realized there was a void in the marketplace for quality housing for seniors who didn’t need assisted living, but who wanted to downsize to a more convenient property while still “seeing out their retirement in style.” “We realized quickly those projects were quite OCTOBER 2025
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA Zoom Painting specializes in high-quality painting and traffic coating for multi-family, single-family, and commercial projects across Canada. With more than 10 years in the market, we bring proven experience and a reliable team to deliver projects on time and on budget. Helping General Contractors and Owners achieve durable finishes with products tailored to their projects.
successful for our investors – and our investors started clamouring for more of them,” Armin recalls. As a fully-integrated company, Marwest also quickly realized they were especially adept at turning around those seniors independent living projects. Not only could they construct them, but they could also participate in ownership, raise the funds for them, aid in the designs, and ultimately manage the finished properties. In short order, they become known as expert operators of seniors’ independent living facilities. That expertise is valuable, Armin stresses, and very few companies have it. “As I’m sure you can assume, there are many more amenities and services offered in independent living than a typical apartment,” he says. “Almost anybody can manage an apartment building, but independent living is 80 times more involving. Amenities can include high quality dining, hair salons, libraries, a fitness center – all sorts of things. Not every company can manage that.” Marwest’s first independent living project was called the Boulton River Heights Retirement Community, located on Boulton Bay in Winnipeg. According to Armin, the success of that project really helped establish Marwest in the sector. “That very much established a precedent for us going for going forward, because we offered something there that nobody else was doing – at least, nobody was doing it as well as us.” OCTOBER 2025
A few years later, the company started working on phases one and two of the Parkway, a similar product in a nearby location – though Armin describes it as a “five-star model as opposed to the Boulton’s four-star.” “Though by today’s standards, you might say it’s a four-and-a-half star,” he clarifies, “just because we’re continuously improving in the independent living field. Our newest endeavours are even better. We keep setting the bar higher and higher.” No matter the star rating, the Parkway was delivered to an extremely high standard and was also well received by both investors and residents. In the years since, Marwest has been able to grow significantly based on that success, and not just in the seniors independent living market. The company has also pursued the occasional commercial opportunity – for example, they built the new Earls in downtown Winnipeg, which opened in 2002. Armin reports that their client on that project was also extremely pleased: “They said to our faces that ‘This was one of the best construction relationships we’ve ever had,’” he says. Armin credits that feedback to Marwest’s commitment to “consistently adding value.” He says when working with clients, the company specifically seeks out projects where they can bring their unique expertise and capabilities to bear: “We live in a construction reality where it’s becoming harder and harder to build not just affordably, but also effectively,” he says, “and THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
that’s what we always aim to do. That’s always our goal. So we have to be selective. We don’t chase every opportunity. We try to find partnerships where we can add value and deliver high quality and very value-driven results.” In a lot of cases, Marwest is able to add value to their clients’ projects by joining the development team and getting involved from an ownership perspective. However, even in cases where they are hired strictly as a construction manager, their development experience enables them to solve problems that other construction managers can’t or won’t. “A lot of problems fall in the ‘not my problem’ category for a lot builders,” Armin explains. “There are a lot of the builders that might say ‘you sort that out, Mr. Developer.’ That simply isn’t us, because we are familiar with the side of the aisle that they’re on.” “There are many challenges that can come up from a development standpoint – or even from a property management standpoint – that we have a lot of experience in,” he elaborates. “We know what the owner is going through. So we can provide solutions rather that standing our ground. We are very solution-based and problemsolving-focused.” “We’re motivated to solve those problems because we can want to build long-term relationships,” he continues. “What I try to tell every client is, ‘I don’t want to do one job for you; I want to do at least five.’ And the only way to do five is if they like the Hayfield Facades is a leading architectural facade contracting firm headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT MARWEST CONSTRUCTION ON THE NEST PROJECT. Curtain Wall ∙ Window Wall ∙ ACM Panels Glazing ∙ Architectural Cladding 410 – 11979 40th Street SE, Calgary AB T2Z 4M3 OCTOBER 2025
first one, and then they like the second one, and then the third one, then the fourth.” Historically, Marwest has successfully built longterm repeat relationships with clients. Similarly, they have built long-term relationships with consultants, subcontractors, and suppliers. Marwest is growing quickly, so some of these relationships are recently-formed, but others go back decades. One example of a close-knit partner would be Zoom Painting – a company known for being Canada’s only multi-city, urban-density-focused painting contractor. Since launching in 2012, they have provided competitive painting services for new residential construction, vertical multifamily projects, whole community developments, commercial podium levels, parkade levels, and industrial structures. Much like Marwest, they are a fast-growing and industry-recognized company, with ambitious goals to continue expanding their reach and capabilities. That shared ambition makes Zoom Painting and Marwest natural partners. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Keep solving problems Currently, the Marwest Group of Companies is working on an array of significant projects spanning the multi-family and seniors independent living sectors. For example, they are currently building an apartment called The Nest in Spruce Grove, which will consist of roughly 75 units. “We’re really proud of that project because we’re over a year into it and we’re set to be on time and on budget, and not a lot of developers get to say that,” Armin says. “We are slated to be substantially complete pretty much exactly when we anticipated. I’m really proud of our team for that. When problems arise, they keep finding solutions.” At the moment, Marwest is also building a 144-unit independent living facility called Ocean View in Nanaimo, and they just started construction on a flagship six-storey 250-unit independent living OCTOBER 2025
facility in Winnipeg’s brand new Refinery District. The latter project will be Marwest’s largest such facility to date and is an example of the larger and more luxurious of their two independent living models. Their smaller model is called The Melody, while this larger model is called The Williston. “We’re really excited about that one,” says Armin. “It’s really high end – it is non-combustible, structural steel, mason block. We’re not pursuing wood frame like many do in the low-rise arena. We’re going for non-combustible, and that’s because we are trying to deliver a long term value, not just a spreadsheet value to our investors. And due to our strong cost-saving initiatives, we were able to get our price-per-square-foot down to a comparable level of what a wood frame project would typically be.” Much like The Nest, that project is already under budget and ahead of schedule. “Our team is working really hard on it,” Armin says. “I’m extremely proud of what they are achieving there.” In addition to the three projects the company has under construction – The Nest in Spruce Grove, Ocean View in Nanaimo, and The Williston in Winnipeg – Marwest also has several more projects earlier in the development pipeline. For example, they have a permit-ready project in Kelowna called The Williston Saddleback which is waiting to go ahead, and they are entering the permitting stage on another project in Winnipeg called Molson and Concordia. A few years back, Marwest also launched the Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which is an unincorporated, openended real estate investment trust specializing in income-producing multi-family properties in Western Canada. That’s an offering they have on the TSX Venture under the ticker MAR.UN. It’s performing quite well and is rated highly by artificial intelligence tools. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Pride in quality Moving forward, the Marwest Group of Companies aims to keep growing and expanding their reach. For example, they hope to become more and more active in Calgary, where they are currently responding to RFPs for multi-family projects as well as looking for potential sites for their own independent living projects. They are also pursuing work in the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island. “We’re looking for opportunities that will allow us to build an additional 100-to-200 units per year throughout Western Canada,” Armin says. “If we can build an additional 300 per year, then that would be even better.” OCTOBER 2025
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Scott Craig is the president of development for Marwest and heads up the company’s Calgary office. For his part, he says the vision is simply to keep doing good work and providing value for all company stakeholders. “We want to continue to offer what we feel is high quality, long-lasting product that provides value for our shareholders as well as our residents,” he says. “We pride ourselves on that. We pride ourselves on doing good work.” Scott also stresses that they are doing important work, because Western Canada – like all of Canada – desperately needs more housing, and that need isn’t set to abate any time soon. “Calgary alone is going to hit two million people quite soon, maybe even next year,” he says. “Those people will need places to live. We want to do our part to make sure those are places they can be proud of.” OCTOBER 2025 Hilmer Collado P.Eng. (403) 606 0218 | hilcoprojects@gmail.com Your Development Site Servicing Solutions Partner Providing civil engineering services to various developers and builders.
For more on Marwest Group of Companies, their capabilities, their past projects, and their expert team – and to get in touch with that expert team today – visit https://marwest.ca/ And for more on the Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust, visit https://marwestreit.com/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Precision in every decision
The GeoFocus Group is a company that provides complete construction management, construction consulting and land development services to clients spanning a variety of industry sectors. Though based in Vaughan, Ontario, their history is marked by a series of successfully delivered real estate and development projects in Canada, the US, and Europe. In recent years, they have focused mainly on developing purpose-built rental properties, which the housing market in Canada desperately needs. Some of those projects they are delivering for external developers, and on some they are working for themselves. On all projects, they utilize their experience and expertise to proactively manage risks and deliver exceptional results throughout the entire project lifecycle. “At The GeoFocus Group, we understand the complexities of today’s construction landscape,” says Adam Altobelli, the second generation president of the company. “We are dedicated to navigating them alongside our clients, ensuring that every project is completed with unparalleled expertise and efficiency. Precision in every decision defines who we are and what we deliver.” The GeoFocus Group was originally founded in 1971 by Roger Altobelli, Adam’s father and a veteran of the construction industry. Adam himself grew up around the industry and after graduating university joined the family business. When he got there, the company’s focus was on “projects that went sideways.” “We would jump in on behalf of the lender, the receiver, or the developer, and really work backwards to try and figure out what went wrong,” Adam recalls. “We would essentially clean those projects up, turn them around, and take OCTOBER 2025
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them through completion. I did that for about the first 15 years of my career until we essentially made a pivot and started focusing more on new construction.” In the last three-to-five years, The GeoFocus Group specifically pivoted to focusing on missing middle purpose-built rental developments. Geographically, the company now operates across Ontario – with work reaching from the GTA to Ottawa and Deep River, north to Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout, and west through Chatham, London, and Sarnia – and also has experience in Vancouver, New Brunswick and Alberta. Their project sizes vary. Since the inception of the CMHC MLI Select program, the majority of their projects have been missing middle purpose built rental developments, consisting of two-to-three story buildings with eight-to-12 units – though the company also continues to execute buildings as small as six units for pre-existing clients, and they can also take on mid-rise to high-rise developments exceeding 100 units. As previously mentioned, The GeoFocus Group is both a developer and a builder, and as a builder they will work on their own developments as well as developments for clients. When it comes to their clients, Adam believes the company’s experience “taking over projects that have failed” has proven to be very attractive differentiator. “It’s a unique ability to be able to jump into a project, figure out what went wrong, bring it back up to speed, and take it through to completion,” he explains. “Our experience doing that gives us a OCTOBER 2025
lot of insight into why projects go sideways. That experience has given us the ability to identify red flags earlier than most of the firms in our industry.” “That’s what a lot of clients are looking for – especially clients financing projects through programs like CMHC MLI Select,” he adds. “They’re really coming to us to mitigate their risk, and we have the experience and expertise to help them mitigate their risk appropriately.” That experience and expertise is truly invaluable, Adam emphasises. When The GeoFocus Group was focused on taking over projects that went wrong, their first step was always “identifying the why.” In the majority of cases, Adam says the answer was the inexperience of the team working on the project before them. “It wasn’t even the quality of the team,” he says. “It was the fact that the right people weren’t in the right places. For example, you don’t want to hire an architect that specializes in single family homes to design a high rise for you. That’s where a lot of projects have gone sideways. They just put the wrong players in the wrong positions.” The GeoFocus Group, however, know the sector they work in very well, and they know how to see projects through from beginning to end. Their clients have come to recognize that ability, and the result is a steady stream of repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals. Of course, that repeat business is also a credit THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
to the quality of work that The GeoFocus Group delivers. Adam credits that quality to the high calibre team they have assembled from top to bottom: “You have to right people in place,” he reiterates. “Starting from the beginning with your due diligence consultants, and then your design consultants, then the trades that you’re selecting, then the third-party testing and inspection agencies that you put in place – every single person every step of the way needs to know what they’re doing.” When it comes to selecting and vetting those team members, Adam says The GeoFocus Group looks for three things: “Availability is the best ability. That’s number one. We want to make sure that whoever we’re working with has the ability to keep up with us and keep up with our clients.” Secondly, the company looks for expertise – specifically expertise in the sector they are active in. They have learned from their experience in takeovers and turnarounds, so they know not to rely on designers, engineers and architects that haven’t built or designed in the field they are working in now. The third thing they look for in their extended team members, Adam explains, is “team players.” “We want partners who will come to the table with us and work as a team to figure things out,” he elaborates. “This is construction. Things are fluid. Things go wrong. And when things go wrong, we want people who are bold enough, brave OCTOBER 2025
enough to be able to come to the table and find that resolution and find it quickly. Time is money in this industry, and we want to make sure that we’re protecting our clients’ investments as best we can as consistently as possible. Over the years, The GeoFocus Group has built up a team of consultants and trade partners that reliably tick all three boxes. According to Adam, some of those relationships started with his father and go back 40-to-50 years. Some relationships are newer, however, and Adam stresses the importance of developing those as the company moves forward: “Growing new relationships is what’s helping us to grow and scale,” he explains. “Everyone has a limit, or a capacity. Not all of the companies we work with can grow at the same rate as us, or want to grow at the same rate as us, and we understand that. That means building new relationships is really a key for us and for our clients. We need to make sure that we have a good roster of consultants, architects, and engineers to ensure that when we scale we’re not losing that efficiency or competitiveness across the board, and we’re able to maintain the same speed and quality.” Once again, when it comes to building those new relationships, the company’s history has proven very useful: “I would say our experience and expertise in taking over projects gives us that ability to build relationships quickly,” Adam says. “When we used to do that, we were typically dropped into a new market. We may have never worked in that market before, and we needed to be able to navigate who’s reputable and who’s not. That’s given us a good insight into how to vet contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers quickly. It’s given us the ability to pick out the partners who will be able to deliver for us.” One example of a reliable partner would be sTrack Energy – a Toronto-based consulting firm focused on decarbonisation, energy, and sustainability for new and existing real estate. By operating at the intersection engineering, technology, and software, sTrack helps real estate stakeholders navigate complex energy markets and make long term decisions for their properties in the most economical and sustainable manner. As a company committed to maintaining sustainability in all their projects, The Geofocus Group typically places a high value on sTrack’s input and advice. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
The right people When it comes to their in-house developments, The Geofocus Group targets smaller markets that have low occupancy or low vacancy rates and “a desperate need for housing.” In those communities, their goal is to build quality stock at a steady and sustained pace in order to meet that need. Currently, for example, the company is developing two projects in Hanover, Ontario, where that need is great – a nine-unit development and a 25-unit development that broke ground this year. Over the next two-to-three years, their goal is to add at least 120 more units to that community. For a client, meanwhile, The Geofocus Group is currently current building a purpose-built rental development in Barrie totalling around 100 units. That project, called Clapperton Village, includes multiple OCTOBER 2025
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buildings with a mix of unit sizes, including a lot units targeted to growing families. The client there is the Sustainable Development Group (SDG), led by Jimmy La, and Adam describes their relationship as “really great.” “I met that client when I was speaking at speaking at a missing middle purpose-built rental development course,” he recalls. “I was an invited speaker at that course to talk about my experience and projects that have gone sideways and how a construction manager could be beneficial to a purpose-built rental development. The client came to our office to visit us after that engagement, and we’ve been working with them ever since. We started with one project and just kept going. We’ve been engaged fully as construction managers and development managers on nine of their projects now.” Moving forward, Adam says the goal for the The Geofocus Group is to build similarly repeat and long-lasting relationships with clients like that one. In partnership with those kinds of clients, they would love to keep growing and expanding into different markets, but Adam says they will only do that if they can find the right personnel. “We want to bring in people who have the right expertise, but we also want to make sure we’re bringing in people with different perspectives,” he says. “That’s the hardest part about growing.” “We speak about it often in the office – our only limitation is that personnel limitation,” he adds. “We’ve seen companies grow quickly by bringing in tonnes of employees, and then their quality suffers. We’re not interested in that type of growth. For us, it’s all about quality and control. That means we need to find quality candidates. We’ve seen what happens when companies don’t put the right people in the right positions. That’s never going to be us.” OCTOBER 2025 At Grad Surveying, we specialize in providing a comprehensive range of surveying services tailored to meet the unique needs of each project. Our expertise covers boundary, topography, infrastructural, road, layout and as built, all of which are delivered with precision and efficiency. www.gradsurveying.ca (647) 518 1362 462 Chester Ave, Newmarket, ON, L3Y 6R7
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA For more on The Geofocus Group, their services, their past projects, and to hear from their past clients – and to get in touch with Adam and the rest of his expert team – visit https://www.thegeofocusgroup.com/
Finding sign solutions
Atec Signs is a Brampton, Ontario-based company specializing in custom fabrication, high rise and crown signage, digital & architectural signage, and wayfinding. Since 2000, they have grown into a successful and sustainable business with a team of capable employees working out of a 40,000-square-foot facility. While much of their work is concentrated in the Greater Toronto Area, Atec delivers projects across Canada and the United States, often in partnership with leading designers, architects, and builders. “Our focus is collaborating with architects, designers, and builders to execute complex sign projects safely and to specification,” says Noah Jeppesen, a project manager and marketer with the company. “Atec brings effective engineering, fabrication discipline, site coordination, and installation experience to help deliver a shared vision – always recognizing the contributions of its partners and project teams.” Atec Signs was founded by three partners – Erik Jeppesen, Stefan Zwaal, and Stephen Hurst – and has steadily expanded its team while building expertise in structural steel and miscellaneous metal fabrication (aluminum, steel, Corten, stainless), plastics, Ipe wood, painted vinyl, digitally printed graphics, and illuminated/unlit signage. Atec has embraced technological advances in digital signage, as seen in projects like Scotiabank Arena Gate 1 and the interior signage package, where Atec worked alongside partners such as PCL, entro, LG, and ANC – trusted collaborators who rely on Atec to help deliver on client and designer visions. These days, backed by that knowledge and experience, Atec Signs takes on a wide variety of projects varying greatly in size and value. Their OCTOBER 2025
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For over 50 years, Paynel Electrical Contractors LTD has been a trusted leader in the electrical industry. Delivering multi-million-dollar projects in process electrical, food process plants, water treatment plants, and global adjustment systems for energy credits for world-renowned companies. SAFETY ■ SUPERIOR QUALITY ■ CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INFO@PAYNEL.CA 905-936-1105 focus, however, is split between expanding service offerings and large-scale and highly complex signage projects including but not limited to, architectural and LED signage, wayfinding, arena/ entertainment signage, and much more. For example, they recently produced and installed the pylon at YZD Downsview. This project was led by one of Atec’s closest partners, Kramer Design Associates (KDA), with Jeremy Kramer (the principal and creative director) consulting with site ownership to create a landmark design. Atec had the pleasure of manifesting this vision: a 35-foot-tall, 13,000-pound sign featuring wood, metal, and backlit YZD letters. “It was quite an intricate sign,” Noah says, “and a great demonstration of what Atec is capable of making real in partnership with leading designers.” When it comes to projects of that caliber, Noah believes clients and construction partners choose Atec signs for a few key reasons. Despite operating and competing at the “highest levels of the signage industry,” Atec remains a “family business,” which allows the company to form personal relationships with clients and partners. This unique combination enables Atec to pivot and handle project variances more adeptly than many competitors, always prioritizing collaboration and teamwork. Additionally, Noah believes Atec Signs is set apart by their experience. Each of the three owners has a “lifetime of knowledge,” and they also have a number of employees with over 30 years of experience. Noah himself is newer to the business, but he’s a fourth-generation sign-maker OCTOBER 2025
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who grew up around the industry – that kind of institutional knowledge and expertise is hard to replicate. “No matter the challenge, we have the knowledge and the craftsmen to be able to say ‘yes, we can do that,’” Noah reiterates. “That’s our big point of difference. Atec has the architecture and expertise to execute on virtually any project, especially when in partnership with clients and collaborators.” A recent example is Atec’s role on the Rogers Centre Gardiner Pylon Marquee for the Toronto Blue Jays – a collaborative effort with the venue, Rogers Centre, project leads, SNA, and design partners Anthony James Partners (AJP), whose team delivered an exceptional design and rendering for the marquee. The scope included a new digital display, illuminated channel lettering, Blue Jays logos, and RGB architectural lighting tied into perforated cladding. Atec’s contribution was to execute on AJP’s vision, covering structural review alongside their consulting engineer, shop drawings, custom fabrication, site assembly, and installation, ensuring the final product matched the high standards set by the design team. This project required existing-conditions scanning, engineering coordination, precision geometry for a seamless video display and careful craning/booming in a sloped grade and confined area, sequenced around live event schedules. Atec worked alongside its exceptional contractor and manufacturing partners, whose expertise and support were essential to meeting the tight OCTOBER 2025
deadlines and ensuring successful execution. Without their collaboration, the end-point delivery would not have been possible. While Atec did not manufacture every single component in-house, the company was responsible for all manufacturing design, coordinating the process to ensure quality and alignment with the project vision. The team delivered ahead of firsthome-game timelines, demonstrating planning discipline and site adaptability. “It took tight coordination between partners and trades,” says Noah. “Our role was to fabricate accurately and install safely so the final product performed as designed.” “Nothing was really simple throughout the entire installation,” he adds. “I can name a thousand challenges we had to confront – but alongside our partners, we worked through them all one-byone, and the project turned out amazing. It was very challenging but very rewarding in the end.” The previous signage elements had to be disassembled in order to erect this replacement. The replacement leverages updated engineering and materials selected by the project team for durability. Atec’s focus is building to the specified standard and installation method, so the system performs over its intended service life. Moving forward, Noah says that the vision for Atec Signs is to take part in more large-scale, “highimpact” projects like that one. Beyond the Blue Jays pylon, Atec supports technology-forward signage and interior LED integrations in collaboration with venue and design partners. Examples include THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
ET Construction is North America’s leading contractor for concrete platforms, sign and billboard bases, and slabs—delivering high-performance foundations with speed, precision, and cost-efficiency. HUGUES LÉVEILLÉ President (514) 791-0463 hugues@etconstruction.com OCTOBER 2025 ongoing programs at Scotiabank Arena, high-rise video/feature signage such as the TD Tower cube affixed six stories above the TD Canada Trust Tower, and four-sided LED integration into the award-winning TD Terrace at 160 Front Street. “We plan carefully, fabricate precisely, and install safely,” Noah says. “Our value is in reducing site risk and helping partners deliver complex scopes on schedule.” Most importantly, Noah says that Atec Signs will continue to honour and maintain their reputation as the sign-making company that can find accurate solutions to difficult challenges. “There are a lot of truly incredible designers out there – KDA, AJP, mackaywong, and entro, to name just a few,” Noah says. “They’re starting to push the limits of what’s possible for architectural signage. Many companies struggle with these challenges, where we enjoy them. We can do what other companies can’t. We give designers the confidence to push the limits of what’s possible by actively engaging in the collaborative process.” “The three owners – Erik, Stefan, and Stephen – have really designed the business so that we’re able to take on these highly complex, completely unique projects,” he adds. “We have the knowledge and the skills to figure out how to get those projects done – and how to get them done within a timely manner.” Lastly, when issues arise on site – which they often do, that’s just the nature of the construction industry – Atec Signs has the capacity and, more importantly, the contractor and partner network to be agile in addressing those issues quickly and keeping the project moving. The company’s recent work on the Rogers Centre demonstrated that adaptability and the value of strong partnerships. “We have the capacity to solve problems,” Noah concludes. “That’s our bread and butter – taking complex issues and simplifying them for the people that are employing us. We take the complexity on ourselves and strive to find effective solutions. We achieve results here.”
THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA For more on Atec Signs, their products, services, and past projects – and to get in touch with their expert team – visit https://atecsigns.ca/
Never ending improvement
Mussell Crane Manufacturing is an Aboriginal owned and operated company based in Chilliwack, BC, primarily focused on the design, fabrication, freight, installation and service of overhead bridge cranes, gantry cranes, jib cranes, and custom design material handling equipment. Since forming over 30 years ago, in 1991, they are a company that has evolved by leaps and bounds, greatly expanding in terms of products, services, and capabilities, and building an unrivalled reputation in the region for the experience, expertise, and dedication of their staff. “Our team of professionals are well educated, energetic, resourceful, and dedicated to meeting all of our clients’ material handling needs,” says Andy Hellemann, production manager. Our objective and commitment is to pursue never ending improvement in quality and design, ensuring that our clients receive the very best possible product.” Mussell Crane was originally founded by Fred Mussell, a member of the Skwah First Nation, who started out with just $15,000, a small garage, and a desire to build cranes. From those humble beginnings, he built up a business now equipped with production facilities totalling over 60,000-square-feet, with a production output of approximately 200 cranes per year. Andy, meanwhile, personally comes from a deep background in welding and fabrication. He first became acquainted with Fred while working at other shops where Mussell Crane came to install cranes. Last year, Fred reached out to him looking for a new production manager and he jumped on the opportunity. The opportunity was OCTOBER 2025
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highly appealing, he says, due to the history and reputation of the company. “Fred is very well respected in the industry,” he says. “He’s a very hard working guy and everyone I talked to said he was an awesome gentleman to work for.” Shortly after joining, Andy was involved in the company’s largest project to date in Langley, where they installed 15 overhead cranes and 17 jib cranes in a new facility for Accurate Fabricating. “So literally my first job was to basically run this entire construction site – hire a field welder, do inspections, deliver material, oversee all the fabrication installation of all these overhead crane systems. Since then, it’s been one job after the other.” These days, Mussell Crane acts as a manufacturer and supplier to clients spanning the commercial, military, and government sectors all over Canada and the United States. Their projects can range in size from standalone jib cranes that can lift a couple hundred pounds, all the way to cranes with lift capacities up to 20 tonnes. “It all depends on the requirement of our customer,” Andy explains. “We can service just about everybody. If a customer has any lifting requirements, we can provide a solution that meets their needs.” According to Andy, a big part of what draws clients to Mussell Crane is their ability to provide a turnkey service. Speaking from his personal experience, he says that clients highly value the fact that they “only have to make one phone OCTOBER 2025
call,” and Mussell Crane will take care of all their crane requirements from beginning to end. They have the ability to do everything in-house, from engineering and design using the latest computeraided software, to fabrication at their state-of-theart shop in Chilliwack, to transportation utilising their own commercial transport fleet equipped with Hiab truck cranes, to the professional installation (usually led by Fred himself), all the way to load testing and commissioning. That full suite of services enables them to excel beyond the competition when it comes to deliveries and accountability. Even after a project is completed, Mussell Crane remains there for their clients. The company’s service technicians are fully trained and experienced to deal with all equipment malfunctions and breakdowns. The company also offers monthly, bi-annually, and annually inspections to increase safety, prevent costly breakdowns, and meet WorkSafeBC requirements. Again, Andy says that clients highly value that versatility. It’s much simpler for them – and much more cost-effective – to work with just one company that can have full control of a project from beginning to end and beyond. In Andy’s experience, clients also value the quality of fabrication that Mussell Crane delivers. He credits that partly to the quality of the materials they use – “we work with the best suppliers in British Columbia,” he says – and partly to the talent and dedication of their team in the shop. “When you have a combination of the right guys, the right equipment, and the right suppliers, everything comes together to add up to a very high quality product,” Andy says. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Endless opportunity When it comes to their team in-house, Mussell Crane currently employs nine employees in the shop and several more in the field. Andy describes the culture as “very family oriented,” as well as very much focused on training and skill development. A few of the company’s employees are very longstanding, but they also have some new guys coming in as those original employees near retirement. “We’re making sure that wealth of knowledge from the older gentlemen is being passed on to the new guys, so everybody is on the same page and we can keep the company strong moving forward.” When it comes to vendors and suppliers, Andy says they also enjoy a mix of longstanding and fresher relationships, as they have had to add to their roster to accommodate their growth. When vetting new OCTOBER 2025
suppliers, he says the first and most important thing they look for is stock availability. They also look for partners who are adaptable and willing to work with Mussell Crane to find solutions to challenges. “We stick to the people who treat us well,” Andy says. “They provide the product that we need in a timely manner. And if they don’t have something on hand, they will go above and beyond to try and source it for us. Sometimes we need some unusual materials. The vendors we use over and over are the ones who will bend over backwards to try and reach out across North America to find us what we need and keep us moving forward.” One example of a key supplier, Accurate Fabricating, was also recently an important client. Much like Mussell Crane, they are a longstanding company that builds long-term relationships with their customers – since 1994, they have been building and designing superior quality heavy equipment attachments, and many of their customers go back over 20 years. They have earned that kind of loyalty by offering high quality products, professional and communicative service, and by being responsive to their customers’ needs. Recently, they opened a new state-ofthe-art 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Langley, in which Mussell Crane played a key role. That was Andy’s first project after joining the business, as previously mentioned, and while there was “a lot to juggle,” he says “everything went very, very well.” “The client has been more than happy,” he says. “We exceeded all our deadlines. We’ve been ahead of schedule on everything we had to THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
have installed. They’ve been over the moon with everything that we provided.” Andy credits their success on that project, in spite of all the challenges, to the talent and preparedness of Mussell Crane’s team. “Any hurdles that came up, they leaped over them,” he says. “If there was something we needed in a pinch, they were reliable. If I needed something on site, I just had to make a quick phone call back to the yard, and the guys would take care of it. I would pick it up that evening, and drop it back on site in the morning.” Andy also credits the other stakeholders on the project, including Orion Construction, the contractors. He says dealing with the team at Orion was easy and he calls them an “awesome group of guys.” “There were always willing to try and accommodate whatever we needed,” he says. “If we needed a ramp into the building so we could drive our trucks inside to unload cranes, they were on it. Everyone involved with the project was fantastic to work with.” Moving forward, Mussell Crane hopes to be involved in more projects of similar size and scope, as they have proved they can handle them. They also want to continue growing, and they see a lot of opportunity to realize that growth. “I think we definitely have the ability to do more,” Andy says. “The industry is in a weird spot right now where a lot of crane companies are older, and the owners of those companies are deciding whether or not they want to stay in the industry. There’s a void being left by those companies. We have the capacity to fill that void, and that’s allowing us to expand.” “The opportunity for growth is, quite frankly, endless,” he concludes. “The Mussell Crane name is so prominent in the lifting industry already; it’s not even a matter of advertising or getting our name out there. It’s just a matter of keeping up with our customers. If we can do that, there will be nothing but success for us looking forward.” OCTOBER 2025
For more on Mussell Crane and their wide range of products, services, and capabilities – and to get in touch with their expert team – visit https://www.mussellcrane.com/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
Pump Solution Architects
Since 1975, Sego Canada has been counted on to supply the very best in pump products to installers across Canada. Today, the company continues to expand across Western Canada with locations in Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Kelowna, Surrey, Winnipeg and beyond, offering not only industrial products focused on water and fluid management, but also a full suite of engineeringdriven solutions. For Kayode Olayemi, Southern Alberta Manager, this balance of technical depth, cross-sector knowledge, and customer focus is what defines the company. Kayode Olayemi himself is an engineer with over two decades of international experience. With a degree in mechanical engineering, his career in pump technology has taken him across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East before he settled in Canada. “I’ve worked with some of the largest pump companies in the world, and that global exposure has given me a solid foundation for solving water challenges in diverse environments,” he explains. He says he was drawn to Sego by the safe, exciting, and inclusive work environment, as well as the opportunity to utilize his problemsolving skills. Sego Canada positions itself as a solution provider, not just a supplier. The company’s engineers and specialists approach every project with the goal of solving problems rather than simply moving products. “We’re solution architects,” Kayode says. “We don’t come in with a one-size-fits-all approach. We look at each challenge, evaluate the data, and determine what combination of technology, design, and service will best serve the customer.” This philosophy is strengthened by the company’s relationships with major pump manufacturers worldwide, giving Sego the flexibility to recommend the right equipment for OCTOBER 2025
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