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Tri-Metal Fabricators Ltd. is not the largest sheet metal fabricator in the Lower Mainland, but it probably is the region’s oldest. The company was founded in 1963 by Jerry Thackery, Eric Orr and Bill Harmen to fabricate sheet metal primarily for the commercial HVAC sector.

Forty-four years and four generations of owners later, Tri-Metal has gone through a significant evolution, but one thing has always remained the same: its major stakeholders have been former Tri-Metal employees. The current president and major owner, 64-year-old Joe Toso, would like to keep it that way. It’s the reason the fabricator is still in business, he suggests, noting that experienced employees have proven masterful at steering the company in the right direction over the years.

Toso, who was hired by the company in 1965, says the decision by the company in its earliest days to focus on custom fabrication has been a key to Tri-Metal’s success. In the mid ’60s the shop acquired specialized equipment such as cutting shears and a press brake for heavy materials, including 3/16-inch, 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch plates. Today, custom work still represents the lion’s share of its business, and plenty of that business is repeat long-term customers. “I guess that is what you call goodwill and a sign that Tri-Metal’s been very keen to maintain good quality and service.”

Moreover, Tri-Metal’s diversification moves have kept it afloat through rough economic periods. A case in point is the early 1970s when construction in the Lower Mainland was at a low ebb. Back then, Tri-Metal started fabricating custom parts for HVAC systems for tugboats. Heavy gauge metal—16 gauge or thicker compared to only 22-24 gauge in construction—and welded fabrication was standard in the marine industry, a radical departure from the conventional sheet metal joint fabrication commonplace in the construction sector.

“It made us a more versatile company,” explains Toso, adding that the 50-person fabricator also pushed into other sectors such as institutional. When Simon Fraser University was built, Tri-Metal was called on to fabricate HVAC elements. The industrial sector—particularly mining and pulp and paper—also became a big segment of its portfolio and in the early 1970s the fabricator started building specialty replacement fans for those industries. The idea was to produce custom fans in three to five weeks for a mill or mine with a pressing need. That shaved two to three months off the time mills and mines had been waiting for replacement fans from other sources. Using much the same technology today, Tri-Metal makes 12-inch to 60-inch axial centrifugal fans with aluminum blades cast by a Lower Mainland company.

Meanwhile in the 1970s, Tri-Metal continued to grow in pulp and paper, fabricating conveyor chutes and corrosion-resistant stainless steel holding tanks. “It was a learning curve for us because stainless steel was relatively new. The welding, cutting and forming is different than carbon steel,” says Toso. Tri-Metal had to invest in specialized equipment to complete the work, but the additional costs paid off. “It’s part of doing business, or should I say, doing more business.”

The 1970s were good years for the company, but times changed in the ’80s when interest rates soared and the economy nose-dived. Metal fabrication companies folded and layoffs were commonplace. To minimize the impact of the downturn, Tri-Metal set up a “workshare” program in which employees worked three days a week. “We were trying to keep our key people because they were, and always will be, the company’s number one asset.”

In 1986, Toso and fellow employees Tom Bryan and Larry Smith purchased Tri-Metal for more than $2 million. The company moved from Burnaby to larger confines in Delta and added a new arena of work to its portfolio: custom make-up air handling units (rooftop hot and cold air supply) for U.S.-based Pace Handlers. “We slowly got out of the HVAC/ductwork sector because it wasn’t paying well and the competition those days was stiff.”

Also in the 80s the company was commissioned by Weatherhaven (a Burnaby-based supplier of portable shelters to mining operations), to fabricate a prototype military shelter. Fast forward to 2006 and Tri-Metal has built about 1,700 of the 8 x 8 x 20-foot units, many which have been sold to the Department of National Defence for use in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. military has been Tri-Metal’s biggest customer but the militaries of Japan, England, Switzerland, Venezuela, South Africa and Australia have also purchased the innovative shelters. The work has been a stabilizing force in Tri-Metal’s portfolio. “It allows us to keep more people steadily employed,” explains Toso.

Made and certified to International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) Standards, the shelters are built to carry substantial loads because they are stacked nine high on container ships for overseas journeys. To carry the loads many columns and corners are fabricated with 3/16-inch and 1⁄4-inch plate.
In the ’90s Tri-Metal continued to have a stable of custom fabrication contracts in pulp and paper and mining industries and it upgraded its plant equipment with the acquisition of plasma cutting and laser cutting machines. The plant has come a long way from the days when patterns were transferred onto steel, then cut by hand using torches and shears. “Whatever it took four or five workers to do in those days, it takes only one to do today and it is done much faster,” says Toso.

In 2001, Toso’s two partners retired. Not having enough cash to buy them out, he went into a 50/50 partnership with Weatherhaven to acquire the company. The arrangement has proved a smart move because it ensures that Tri-Metal will continue to secure commissions from Weatherhaven, now that it has a vested interest in Tri-Metal’s fortunes. “Their work has filled some gaps for us during economic downturns.”

Crucial to the deal was that Weatherhaven act as a silent partner. Left alone at the helm, Toso purchased new equipment and is expanding the South Surrey location in order to secure work over the long term. The addition of an 8,000 square foot paint booth to the 25,000 square foot facility is scheduled to be operational by mid-year.

Toso, 64, sees a bright future for Tri-Metal after he retires in a few years. To ensure its longevity he created a partnership that allows employees to become part owners. “I want them to continue doing what we have been doing without changing anything drastically if it has been successful. My main concern is to keep the good reputation of the company and that, in turn, should be enough to keep the good customers we kept all these years.” The first junior partner is Craig Ono, who is manager of the company. Ono’s been with Tri-Metal since 1980. He is following in his father’s footsteps, George, who was part owner of Tri-Metal from 1971-1986. Craig Ono, also heavily involved in the HVAC Marine Industry with the refurbishing of the ferry fleet, has brought a new dimension to Tri-Metal.

Toso says the most important issue to him is that Ono and other future owners maintain the high-quality standards Tri-Metal has come to be known for. “I don’t care as much about how much money we make as I care if our name is “mud” in the industry. What I want to hear is that Tri-Metal still does good work. I expect that will happen as long as people who have worked in the company for years are running the place.”

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