Stephen Benson, chair-elect of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC), got his feet wet in the industry in 1978 as a junior estimator at the Bomac division of Marshall Steel. He is now president and CEO of Benson Steel Ltd.
Stephen Benson, chair-elect of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC), got his feet wet in the industry in 1978 as a junior estimator at the Bomac division of Marshall Steel.
“One of the senior partners took me under his wing,” recalls Benson, now president and CEO of Bolton-based Benson Steel Ltd. “He taught me how to do shop costing and estimating.”
Three years later, Benson left that firm to help his father Ken get newly minted Benson Steel up and running. After taking a break to attend York University, he rejoined the family business in the summer of 1985.
He has been there ever since.
“The family joke is that we have rust in our veins,” says Benson, whose grandfather George was active in the structural steel industry in the 1930s and 1940s.
Benson, who has a combined honours degree in economics and physical education, rose through the corporate ranks over the years, initially serving as sales/contracts co-ordinator.
His responsibilities were to secure projects for estimating, oversee tendering, win contracts and oversee projects from award to completion, “on budget and on time.”
Over the next ten years, his position and title remained the same. However, during this period, Benson Steel increased its sales and capacities “to enter a new and larger fabrication marketplace.”
In January 1996, Benson was named executive vice-president. His responsibilities were to oversee all aspects of sales and estimating, contracts, engineering, drafting and production while establishing new contacts and maintaining its roster of current clients.
In December 1999, he was promoted to general manager & executive vice president.
His job description was extended to cover world sales, fabrication and erection operations as well as general administration. He was appointed to the position of president and CEO in September 2005.
While Benson Steel’s four-person executive team includes chair Ken Benson and executive vice-president Bob Benson, the company’s success is predicated on the efforts of the entire staff.
“We are very fortunate to have great support staff and senior executives to guide us,” Benson says.
The company currently has 43 full-time employees and another 20 contract employees. It offers a full range of services, including fabrication and erection of structural steel.
Benson, who joined the CISC board of directors in the spring of 2001, has witnessed significant shifts in the structural steel industry during his career in terms of project delivery mechanisms, technology and even attitudes.
In the procurement sphere, the advent of the alternative finance and procurement (AFP) model is having an impact in the way in which projects are delivered, says Benson whose firm has partnered with major contractors on five Infrastructure Ontario projects to date.
“This (AFP) is a model that is still evolving,” he says. “I think one of the things that gives the IO model some credibility is the fact that it really makes the project team jell and come together.”
Computer technology has also made its mark in the steel industry in terms of sophisticated fabrication and 3-D modelling tools. Benson Steel introduced CNC (computer numerically controlled) technology to its fabricating lines in 2005. The firm also is also making use of specialized modelling software.
“There is a lot less paper flowing these days between the drafting office and the shop.”
Benson thinks there has also been a shift in attitudes in the construction industry over the years.
“Construction used to be a rough and tumble industry — and it definitely can still be,” he says.
“But I think there is a more of an attitude now that we are building complicated structures on tight schedules with huge financial constraints and that the team needs to pull together to meet the project goals.”
At CISC, Benson is serving as a member of the institute’s board through to 2014. He also sits on the CISC’s governance and audit committees. He recently completed a two-year term as a governor of the Steel Structures Education Foundation, an affiliated corporation.
His priorities for his two-year term as CISC chair include obtaining input from the design community on the CISC’s code of standard practice for structural steel and ongoing government relations activities.
“The economy is still a challenge,” says Benson.
The institute is a national organization representing the structural steel, open web steel joist and steel platework fabricating industries.
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