DMC Mechancial Setting The Bar High:

For a company that has only been around for eleven years, DMC Mechanical has created a substantial footprint for itself in major construction sites in the Greater Toronto area.  The mid-size company, which provides HVAC for the commercial, industrial and institutional market, boasts an impressive list of completed projects, including such landmarks as Mt. Sinai and North York General Hospital, Ricoh Coliseum, the BMO Field Exhibition Place and the Terminal 3 expansion at Pearson International Airport.  Its current jobs include the Metropolis in the Toronto Life Square at Yonge and Dundas Streets in downtown Toronto, the RBC Centre, the Archives of Ontario York Research Building at York University, 6775 Financial Drive, a 128,000 square foot commercial facility in the heart of Mississauga, a retrofit of the Royal Conservatory and the expansion of the emergency department at Sunnybrook Hospital, to name only a few.  While the company specializes in ventilation systems for larger structures, Kim Crossman DMC’s president notes that they happily embrace a wide spectrum of work from small jobs to large and complex.      

Established by partners Kim Crossman president and John Craig vice president and treasurer, DMC Mechanical is a leader in Ontario’s commercial HVAC contacting.  As Craig explains, “Starting up we took over an existing company that was winding down.  We took a good foundation, built on it and crafted our own entity.”  Developing an excellent reputation for meticulous preparation and job execution, DMC Mechanical works from the ground up – designing, building and installing custom HVAC systems.  It also provides service and upgrades on existing systems.  From the beginning Crossman and Craig set their performance bar high. “We wanted to insure that our record for understanding complex design challenges, meeting them with timely precision and co-operation with our partners would be unmatched in the industry,” they say.  When some of the most reputable names in general contracting began knocked on their door, the partners had proof their high standards were paying off.   DMC Mechanical currently operates in the greater Toronto area as well as in south western Ontario, including Guelph, Kitchener and Hamilton.

According to Crossman DMC’s distinctive quality lies in the solid core of people that comprises its team.  “High standards extend from our office to our project managers, foremen and supervisors, right through to the crews we have working on each job,” he says.  A vital component of the team is its coterie of apprentices. In fact, DMC mechanical makes a practice of hiring apprentices, retaining them throughout their studies until they can be hired on as fully qualified journeymen, building a team from the ground up.

Clearly, fully qualified personnel are central to DMC’s ability to meet its customers’ every demand.  As Craig points out, a number of sheet metal businesses no longer have their own shops, buying their materials ready made from manufacturers instead. “We have an excellent shop onsite so if a customer calls us with a request on Friday, for instance, we can turn around that request in a day.”  Crowning the company’s winning combination is its insistence on remaining abreast of technological developments.  “Technology moves rapidly and so do we,” as Craig puts it.  “Our on site facility uses the most modern materials and equipment so our customers can rest easy knowing they can trust the integrity of their HVAC systems.”

Crossman echoes his partner’s sentiments, “We believe in being prepared to execute the upfront construction tasks so that means being active in detailing and drafting and carrying exacting preparation through to installation.  As a sub trade we work collaboratively on team projects – its one of our strengths – so we are always in touch with the bigger picture.  In fact, we’re one of the few companies to fit this profile.”  Being prepared is the watchword that informs every job that DMC takes on.  “When we’re on the job, we get it done with no time wasted.”  

For the past year and a half, DMC Mechanical has engaged in a number of design built contracts, for instance with government projects financed by the private sector, orchestrated by a large general contractor.  As Crossman notes with pride, “We find ourselves working as a highly functioning partner in a complex construction collaborating with engineers and architects and thanks to our methodology and insistence on precision, we can determine a price because of our experience and our “up front” approach.”

Coming full circle, the partners’ high performance ethic within the bigger picture is reflected in their industry memberships.  Both are active in OSM and the Toronto Sheet Metal Contractors Association and TCA.  Crossman is currently co-chair of Training for the Provincial Sheet Metal Workers Training Trust fund (PTTF), a body dedicated to state of the art training for apprentices and journeymen and chair of the Apprenticeship Committee for TSM while Craig serves on the negotiating committee and the Joint Conference Board for TSM.  Setting the bar high apparently pays off for all.