Waterloo-Wellington's Unique Personality

There are a number of conditions that set the Waterloo-Wellington Sheet Metal Association apart from other sheet metal associations in the province.  Firstly, it has no central office, instead, association president Mike Dietrich handles association business from Rozell Inc., his own company.  Handling organizational matters this way allows the association to run on a tight budget.  As Dietrich explains, “We have a breakfast meeting once a month to stay on top of developments and a retired member looks after the bookkeeping.”

Noting that a number of sheet metal associations in Ontario are tied with mechanical contractors, Dietrich explains that due the particular circumstances of Waterloo-Wellington area, it made better sense for the contractors to organize themselves.

“This gives us the autonomy that we need to adapt to our geographic and industry locations,” Dietrich said.

In fact, Waterloo-Wellington covers an impressive expanse, extending north through Owen Sound and up the Bruce Peninsula toward Tobermory.  The northern sector poses a challenge due to the proliferation of non-union contractors.  As a result, most of the Waterloo-Wellington members, based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph or Cambridge, draw their contracts from closer to home.  

Nonetheless, even though it is one of the smaller sheet metal associations in Ontario, it boasts the third highest number of manhours, coming in right behind Toronto and Ottawa, occasionally tying with Hamilton. 

An aggressive work ethic and a will to “go anywhere there’s work” explains why most of the Waterloo-Wellington contractors do their work outside of the local area whether it be the Honda plant in Allison, the Toyota facilities in Woodstock and Chatham or the General Hospital in Sarnia.  In Dietrich’s experience, the contractors in his area are flexible, bold and exacting.

“They will take on any job and adjust to it,” he said. 
 
Staying abreast of industry demands keeps the skills of the Waterloo-Wellington contractor members finely honed.  As a result, the area is known for its quality custom fabrications.  An example of this can be found in the fabrication of sound enclosure buildings Rozell recently installed covering turbines in the Alaska pipeline system.   

One of the major problems confronting the Waterloo-Wellington area is the shifting fortunes of local industries.

“For years, our contractors counted on the local industry for maintenance work.  Now the high Canadian dollar and adjustments in the automotive industry have altered that picture,” Dietrich notes.  “And that’s not all.  When jobs move offshore we lose to the US and to Mexico where the cost of fabrication is a fraction of ours. 

Also, we used to be able to count on the tobacco industry, no longer a source of contracts.  There used to be three tire building/rubber plants in our area.  They are no longer in operation.  On top of it all, the industry is going high tech, which doesn’t require a lot of sheet metal.”
   

Rather than being downcast, Dietrich assesses the situation levelly.

“All of this forces contractors to cut back or to find alternate sources of work.” he said.

In fact, contractors in this area are blessed with ingenuity and a great location.  Highway 401 cuts east/west through the area, making it less than an hour to drive to Toronto or London.  Hamilton is a scant 20 minutes.
 

Finding alternative sources of work simply means diversifying to find different niches.  Here, Dietrich points to the successful entry Nelco Mechanical Ltd. has made into the grocery market industry.  However, according to Dietrich, there is a “but” in the equation. 

“Basically all of us in the unionized sheet metal trade have to adapt to the times if we want to end up on top of the game,” suggesting that an on-going and creative climate of cooperation between the forces of management and the union is a major factor in success.  “Unless we continue to achieve major shifts in our philosophy and practice, the unionized contractor is placed in jeopardy.  In that event, the whole sheet metal industry suffers.”

A commitment to the strength of the whole is a permanent plank in this association’s strategy to operate from a position of strength.  For many years, Waterloo-Wellington, an active OSM supporter from its inception, has made a rich contribution to the structural fabric of the provincial organization.  Pointing to this tradition, Dietrich is proud of the fact that a number of OSM leaders have come from his area, including its current president Harry Vogt.  Dietrich, himself, has played a major role as chair of the Labour Relations Committee for many years. 

“Our area always has a large representation at OSM conferences and our members serve willingly on OSM committees," he said.

Likewise, the association is a strong and effective supporter of apprenticeship training and development, witnessed by the number of its apprentices who compete at the provincial level.
 

“Over the years our apprentices have taken a good number of top prizes, usually coming first or second," Dietrich said with pride.  "This year, for instance, we attained second place at the Canadian competition.” 

While many Ontario sheet metal associations have adopted a system whereby apprentices are indentured to a Local Apprenticeship Committee, Waterloo-Wellington maintains its original model with apprentices indentured to individual contractors.  The association prefers this training model because it is tailored specifically to its particular circumstances and requirements.  As Dietrich points out, “We feel this enables us to get the best individuals into the system and developed to suit the needs of individual contractors.  It’s a system that works given our economies of geography, market and scale.”
 

Overall, the Waterloo-Wellington Sheet Metal Contractors Association displays a distinctive and vigorous character that promises on-going and future success.