Smith Sheet Metal Works Ltd. was established in 1998 as a father-and-son company and has been providing HVAC and custom sheet metal fabrication services throughout British Columbia and the Lower Mainland for more than 28 years.
In the beginning, Merle and Aaron rented a small, 1,800-square-foot building in Port Coquitlam. With a $4,500 loan, they purchased some basic machinery—and away they went.
Like any growing business, there were plenty of challenges along the way, including recessions, changes in government, and more than a few unexpected bumps in the road. Nevertheless, their determination to succeed, willingness to work hard, and commitment to the trade always shone through. Whatever the challenge, they found a way to keep moving forward, growing, and prospering.
In 2000, Aaron’s wife, Colleen, joined the dynamic duo and began the daunting task of organizing their shoebox of receipts. She introduced electronic accounting software and brought some much-needed order to the front office the two of them had created. She came to the company with extensive experience, having managed the finances of her family’s gas station and worked at a law firm prior to that.
Merle and Aaron are certain that without her, the company would not have grown into what it is today. Her contribution became one of the most important keys to the company’s continued success and growth.
In 2003, the family purchased the building they had been renting and expanded the shop area to 5,000 square feet. By then, the company had grown to a team of six employees.
In 2014, Merle retired, marking the beginning of another new chapter. The shop was expanded once again, this time to 10,000 square feet, and the team grew to 16 employees.
Then, in 2023, the next generation joined the family business. Aaron’s son, Jacob, graduated from high school and decided to follow in the family’s footsteps. He is now a journeyman in the trade and is doing extremely well. Learning the business from the ground up, Jacob continues to develop his skills while earning the respect of his peers.
By 2024, the original shop had been modernized with the best equipment that could fit within the available space. At that time, the company had 20 fabricators working in the shop, producing the sheet metal materials required by more than 50 field employees.
Smith Sheet Metal crews work throughout the province on as many as 60 different construction sites at any given time. Over the years, the company has become well known and respected within the industry, working on projects ranging from small tenant improvements and full restaurant builds to major commercial and institutional projects. These have included the UBC Biomedical Research Centre, the First Nations Health Authority building, various hospital projects, and projects for companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.
By 2026, Smith Sheet Metal had expanded its original building to the largest footprint the property could sustain, and the reality that the company had finally outgrown its longtime home became impossible to ignore.
After an extensive search, the family found a new location on the other side of town that seemed to meet all the needs of the growing company: a 28,000-square-foot freestanding building situated on a 1.1-acre corner lot, with excellent accessibility to the surrounding area.
There was just one challenge—the building needed extensive upgrades to become a modern sheet metal fabrication facility and to meet current building code requirements.
The solution was to gut the building and start from scratch.
Fortunately, the existing shell provided a great foundation to work from. Brand-new offices were constructed with a bright, modern, clean, and comfortable design, while the shop was completely reimagined to support the company’s current operations and future growth.
With the increasing demands of today’s construction projects, more stringent safety standards, the need for improved air-quality systems, and increasingly sophisticated life-safety requirements, the family knew that training would play an even greater role in the company’s future. During construction, dedicated areas were incorporated into the new facility for onboarding new employees, health and safety training, and ongoing skills development.
The new shop was also designed with employee comfort and productivity in mind. Four 16-foot-diameter Greenheck HVLS fans were installed to improve air movement and temperature control during the summer, along with radiant heating systems for the winter. An on-demand chilled-water dispenser helps keep the team hydrated, while upgraded LED lighting creates a bright and comfortable working environment.
Team building has always been a high priority at Smith Sheet Metal, so considerable attention was also given to the smaller details that make a workplace better. The new facility includes employee lockers, showers, a dedicated crew cleanup area, and a high-quality lunchroom.
Although the new facility has the appearance and capabilities of a much larger corporate operation, Smith Sheet Metal remains, at its core, a family-style business. The goal is to create a workplace where employees feel comfortable, valued, and proud to be part of the team.
The new layout of the shop and machinery has already enabled the company to become far more efficient while continuing to build an even better product. With the additional space, Smith Sheet Metal is incorporating an entirely new lineup of machinery that will help the team keep pace with increasingly complex projects and tighter construction schedules.
One area that received particular attention in the new facility is the custom stainless-steel department. Smith Sheet Metal is proud to have some of the industry’s finest TIG welders, who fabricate a wide range of custom products, including elaborate sinks, specialty tables, exhaust canopies, and railings. They are also always ready for the challenge of bringing to life whatever unique creations our customers may bring to them.
In addition to custom fabrication, Smith Sheet Metal’s welders assist with the on-site installation of specialized laboratory ventilation systems. This expertise has proven to be a significant asset and a major success on some of the company’s most specialized projects.
Today, as Smith Sheet Metal continues to grow and expand its team, the company maintains the same commitment to quality, craftsmanship, service, and hard work that it was built on.
As a family, we have taken the time to carefully consider the path forward and what we want the future of Smith Sheet Metal to look like. We have chosen a succession plan that will allow the company to continue with the same fundamental values and vision that were there when my father and I started the business 28 years ago.
What began as a father-and-son company in a small 1,800-square-foot shop with a $4,500 loan has grown into a three-generation family business operating from a 28,000-square-foot facility.
A great deal has changed since 1998—but the foundation of Smith Sheet Metal remains the same: family, hard work, skilled craftsmanship, and a commitment to building something that will last. ♣
