Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/785220
FEBRUA RY 2017 | 9 MCW Consultants Ltd. RENDERING COURTESY MCW CONSULTANTS LTD. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW LATREILLE/COURTESY PERKINS+WILL E very successful business starts with a great idea, and that's exactly how MCW Consultants came to be. Back in 1964, two Winnipeg salesmen who were working for Canadian Ice Machine Co. Ltd. came up with an idea to efficiently install air conditioning into a historic hotel for Canadian Pacific Hotels (which today operates under the Fairmont name), without severely disrupting daily operations. Their design and construction concept was so much better than those proposed by the engineering firms CP had previously consulted, that the hotel chain encouraged these men to start an engineering firm to complete the project. This unforeseen opportunity, together with the entrepreneurial spirit and tech- nical innovation by these two founders, gave birth to a new building services con- sulting firm, now known as MCW Consultants Ltd. "After the successful installation at the first hotel in Saskatoon, MCW began a long relationship as consulting engineers for CP Hotels, working on some of the most iconic hotels in Canada, including the Royal York in Toronto, the Empress in B.C. and the Banff Springs hotel in Alberta," says David Bellamy, CEO and executive partner. What they probably didn't realize was that the firm would eventually grow into one of the largest privately-owned engineering firms in Canada that offers profes- sional consulting engineering services, energy management services and engineer- ing-inspired project development services. Today MCW Consultants Ltd. and its sister company MCW Custom Energy Solutions, employs around 475 highly skilled staff in 14 offices across Canada (and an office in London, England) and is the largest firm of its kind in Canada to focus solely on mechanical and electrical (M&E) building services. "We are quite unique in the marketplace due to our focus," explains Greg Lord, managing partner for Western Canada at MCW Consultants Ltd. "We offer fully integrated mechanical and electrical systems and services. We don't claim to be anything else and haven't strayed from our path of expertise. We specialize in the engineering of things that make buildings work; our clients understand that we are true specialists and pride ourselves on that. They want the best of breed in each engineering discipline and we aim to be the best at building services." While in theory this sounds simple enough, with technology in the M&E sector advancing at a rapid rate and regulations constantly being updated, staying one step ahead definitely keeps the employees at MCW on their toes. Employing talented staff helps MCW go above and beyond client expectations, and as Lord explains, "Our best calling cards are the high-performing buildings we have designed all across Canada. We manage ourselves around creating the right outcomes for our clients, and success follows that. Our staff understand this phi- losophy and they do an amazing job. We are very lucky." To ensure they attract and retain the best in the industry, MCW places a lot of importance on its employees. "Back when we completed our expansion from coast to coast, we ensured all staff would work together in some capacity and share exper- tise. Our offices are not set up to be territorial or in competition with one another," explains Bellamy. Of course building a strong network of people who feel connected when they are 4,000 kilometres apart can be a real challenge. So managers encourage new staff to take part in job rotations and work-sharing by working in other offices. This way they get to meet other MCW employees and pick up best practices from other offices that they can then apply locally. "We also hold bi-annual shareholder meet- ings where all 25 members from our ownership group will meet in one of the offices across Canada. We get to know people in that locality and they get to know us, which strengthens those bonds and helps people in different offices understand where the company is headed and what projects we are working on." As a testimony to the company, MCW has a number of long-serving staff. George Bellamy, one of the founding members of the firm, continues to have an active involvement at the age of 85. Tim Jantzi, a senior partner at the Toronto office, has been with the company for 35 years, overseeing all MCW technology resources and new implementations, and then there's Bellamy and Lord, who have been with the company for more than 20 years each. Surrey City Hall, Surrey, B.C. | MCW provided mechanical systems and electrical & IT consulting services; Marine Gateway, Vancouver, B.C. | MCW provided mechanical systems for this high-density, mixed-use development; Nova Centre, Halifax, NS | MCW designed all the mechanical and electrical systems.