Growing up in suburban London, Ont., Calvin Schouten got his first taste of running a tractor with a backhoe attachment at a nearby farm, doing everything from clearing snow to cleaning out the barn.
He was only 13.
“I wanted to work on a farm so I asked my parents and they brought me out every Saturday during the school year and in the summer,” he recalls.
“I loved working on and operating equipment.”
The experience set the foundation for his career as a heavy demolition contractor, forming Schouten Excavating Inc., that today brings down old schools, factories and hospitals across Ontario, from Windsor to Ottawa.
It is a business “that is fast approaching the $10 million mark a year,” says Schouten, who is 24, an age when many young people are still looking for their first jobs.
“I don’t think we’re going to change the world in the demolition industry but we are definitely going to try to be the best.”
Schouten’s current jobs include the old Sarnia General Hospital and a police precinct in Toronto.
Based in Watford, which is between London and Sarnia, Schouten started his company in 2014 with a small bulldozer, a financed excavator and a penchant for straightforward excavation jobs, which consisted mainly of clearing bush and other farm-related jobs around southwestern Ontario.
“It was just me,” he says, noting he hired his first employee six months later.
Today, Schouten has about 25 employees, including an abatement crew for asbestos, mould and other hazardous materials which is led by a foreman with many years experience in the field.
You have to be willing to invest and give your guys the tools they need
— Calvin Schouten
Schouten Excavating Inc.
While he expects to hire more workers this summer, labour scarcities are “a huge issue.”
The company, which places help wanted ads in local newspapers and online, takes “a more selective approach” to hiring than it once did.
“We used to interview five people and maybe hire three but now we interview 20 and maybe hire just two,” he says. “I need people that are going to love what they do.”
Incentives include competitive salaries and the company is structuring a benefits plan expected to be in place later this year.
“We could get away with paying them less but we are here to build a company,” Schouten states. “We want people to stay for the next 20 years.”
Keeping crews busy even through slow times is part of the formula for success, he believes.
“I’ve wanted to grow but I have wanted to have good people, treat them well and keep them working,” he says. “That is a priority.”
Staying current with tools and equipment technology is also paramount because they help increase production efficiencies.
As an example, the contractor is transitioning to a fully integrated coupler of its heavy equipment fleet. It will eliminate 10 to 20 minutes of downtime that is now required to change attachments.
“You have to be willing to invest and give your guys the tools they need to do the job properly,” he says.
“I think they see we’re doing all we can and I am always open to hear from them if they have a problem. If they think they need more money, just come talk to me and we’ll figure it out.
“We’ve never had employees leave because they weren’t happy with the company.”
Schouten says the company is young and can learn from experienced larger contractors — especially those willing to invest in new technology and equipment innovation.
Tracking costs is also important to Schouten.
“I want to know down to the dollar what a job is going to cost,” he adds.
To that end, the company is looking into building its own software program that integrates estimating and other costs specific to demolition, a program that includes knowns about a project as well as unknowns so “we can factor in our level of risk.”
Schouten, who is married with two children aged two and nine months, says while the hours of work are long, he doesn’t hanker for more downtime.
“I’ve always wanted to work,” he says. “With the time I have free I spend with my family.”
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