are below them the way that we would want to be treated,” he says. The team is quick to reject the “old school” style of supervision that breeds negativity. Instead, they look for team-minded leaders who elevate those around them. Mackenzie elaborates: “We hire people that care. It’s a very close company on all levels. A lot of the staff does things with each other outside of work, too. You know when somebody genuinely cares about their job – they have to care about the client, they have to care about the work they’re putting in, they have to care about the quality.” Again, that approach has resulted in retention – according to Mackenzie, they have “a lot” of supervisors and managers that have been working on the same sites for over a decade now. And according to Terry, some recently-retired employees had been with Kelson & Kelson even longer than him. He credits that loyalty to the company’s positive corporate culture, as well as their openness to input and ideas, no matter where or who the idea comes from. “We tell the employees when we first hire them that if you look after the company, the company will look after you,” Terry explains. “Even if you’re a first-year apprentice, if you’ve got an idea that you think will help save us time, effort, or make it safer in any way, bring it to us. We’re open to listen to everything.” A lot of the same applies to Kelson & Kelson’s roster of key suppliers and technical partners. In the industrial coatings world, Mackenzie says that products and support can make or break schedule and performance, so it’s important they choose the right partners and they work closely with those right partners. “Suppliers are one of the most important things for us to be able to do business the way we do,” Mackenzie says. “Over the years, we’ve identified a few suppliers that are just a cut above the rest, and we’ve built phenomenal relationships with them. They have helped us grow the business.” Once more, many of those ties go back decades, are built on responsiveness, trust, and mutual performance. “We have suppliers that are willing to bend over backwards for us, which is just so important,” Mackenzie says. “We could pick up the phone at 2:00, 3:00 in the morning and somebody’s going to answer, and they’re going to have an answer to help us carry on MARCH 2026
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