Robertson & Marcovecchio – Sellick Equipment Ltd.

When Sellick Equipment wanted to build a larger facility to house its manufacturing operations, Robertson Building Systems and Marcovecchio Construction Ltd. designed and delivered a sophisticated, modern facility from the ground up. This video shows how the team was able to exceed customer expectations with capabilities as well as fostering a deeper relationship with the customer.

Transcript

Mike Carbone	Travel west from Toronto and you’ll come upon Kitchener, London, Leamington, Kingsville, and Harrow, a town made up of less than 3,000 people and home to Sellick Equipment. It’s where I met up with Nick, who told me this sizable project started in a most unusual place. This job came about in a very interesting manner. Tell us about that.
Nick Marcovecchio	It came in a golf course, actually golfing. We both had a customer that we were dealing [and we] just finished a customer’s building that was doing [some] logistics for here and he was having a charity golf tournament, so they put us together in the same cart. And for the next four hours we just talked about the families. We never talked about the building; we just talked about our families and business, and we got to know and develop the relationship.
Mike Carbone	Well, Nick, we’re in a golf cart but I’m not buying a building. Let’s get out of here.
Nick Marcovecchio	Let’s go hit some balls.
Mike Carbone	Steve, tell me about Sellick Equipment.
Steve Ingratta	Sellick Equipment…they are a manufacturer of all-terrain forklifts. They’ve been around 50 years and they are third generation.
Mike Carbone	So they come to you and they say, “You know what, we need a bigger and more sophisticated facility.” Tell us what happened.
Steve Ingratta	Correct. So really, all they had was the challenges they knew. The challenges were the square footage–they needed a larger facility that wasn’t 100 years old. The first meeting we had, they didn’t even have anything on paper. They just knew they needed a larger facility and all the challenges that needed to be met. So we had they come up with a basic wish list of what the production flow would be like. We took that to paper and they we called our DM (District Manager) from Robertson right away and we started that design process so that we could make an efficient building that both met their needs and could be built in an efficient manner.
Mike Carbone	Joel Grace, you’re new to the role of District Manager but you’ve been with Robertson for a while.
Joel Grace	Yeah, I’ve been with Robertson for about three-and-a-half years and a year-and-a-half as a District Sales Manager.
Mike Carbone	Now this project was originally spearheaded by Glenn Morren.
Joel Grace	That’s right. When Glenn brought it in, I was the Engineering and Drafting Manager.
Mike Carbone	So they come to you with this list [and say], “Here’s what we’d like.” As you look at that list, what’s the team thinking?
Joel Grace	So what we did in this case is we got together with our internal team. We broke it up into different building segments, had drafting and engineering working on one side but then also, in tandem, had engineering and drafting working on the other corner, which would have been more of a warehouse type facility.
Mike Carbone	And to your knowledge, had Robertson ever done anything like this before?
Joel Grace	Not on this scale. Typically what we would do is have one engineer or one draftsperson working on it, all the way from start to finish, and then just complete the project. With the schedule and timelines we were looking at with this one, we just couldn’t do that.
Mike Carbone	So you bring Robertson in early, but there are other advantages of working with a company like Robertson.
Steve Ingratta	Definitely. There are so many advantages of working with Robertson because they handle from roof to floor essentially, except for the concrete. Standing seam roof system, insulated metal panel system, and of course the framing system. And then we also have interior partitions so we use some PBR profile.
Joel Grace	What we believe we bring to the table as an advantage is being a single-source supplier. The roof-panel being Double-Lok™ [was] probably the most popular panel that we were utilizing. The wall panel was 4-inch insulated metal panel that came out of our Hamilton facility that we recently opened up. And that 4-inch panel, we believe, really set the stage for success on this project [with] one panel being able to close that building in very quickly helped our partner get inside the building as opposed to putting steel up.
Mike Carbone	Overall, looking back at this, what would you say are the key traits that made this a success?
Steve Ingratta	Well, we had a team. The teamwork was key.. Whether it be our design team or our team that included Robertson. And it was a one-stop shop. So we could literally control that timeline because they provided us with so many things.
Joel Grace	[With] a project with of this magnitude and this scope with the challenges that come in the construction industry, you really can’t do it without having a good team together. We were brought in early and were asked our opinions on how we were going to make this successful. We listened to our partner’s requirements. Without that communication, without that teamwork–working together as opposed to working on our own individual islands or silos–we wouldn’t have been able to make it happen.
Howard Sellick	It’s such a comfortable feeling to be in a new building, a new design [with an] open-concept–unbelievable.
Mike Carbone	And you’re happy with Marcovecchio?
Howard Sellick	Oh, very pleased.
Mike Carbone	So happy, in fact, that he built a new house for you.
Howard Sellick	That’s correct! I might as well have built a new house. He renovated my father’s place and he did an excellent job. As a matter of fact, we just completed it.
Mike Carbone	Little bit bigger than this place, but still quaint and cozy.
Howard Sellick	That’s correct.
Mike Carbone	Congratulations on your new home.
Howard Sellick	I appreciate it.
Mike Carbone	Well, I gotta tell you, Joel, Steve. This has been a terrific tour . And great work, Marcovecchio, as always, and I want to say–Bob! Bob Rollason! I thought that was you. What are you doing here?
Bob Rollason	Well, you know, I retired but then Denise retired and she thought I should get out of the house.
Mike Carbone	So what, are you here a couple of days a week?
Bob Rollason	Well no, seven. Seven days a week. Gotta supplement the pension.
Mike Carbone	That’s a heck of a retirement package you’ve got there. Listen, Bob, the buildership is down in Jamaica. Anything you want to say to them?
Bob Rollason	I always enjoyed the Partnership Forums. They are just so good for relaxing in the sun and creating those relationships that are so important afterwards, when you get back. I’m jealous!
Mike Carbone	That’s great. Get back to work.
Bob Rollason	Yeah. Sorry. Guys are watching.