Business View Magazine | June 2022

65 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 SHEET METAL SUPPLY LTD . to survive through the pandemic, we needed to have sound finances and remain attractive as a customer to vendors,” says Kweton. “We’ve always believed that you buy from somebody that you like. Similarly, you sell to people you like and take care of them. So, part of our success was understanding that even though supply chain dynamics were constantly changing, we had to keep paying our bills like clockwork. In so doing, we presented ourselves as very easy to deal with to our vendors, allowing us to get a lot more inventory in shorter lead times and helping balance out the peaks and valleys in the supply chain.” Eastlake Metals was one such vendor. “We’ve worked with Eastlake Metals for many years, but our relationship really took off during the pandemic, primarily because their business model supports rapid lead times of more exotic fabrication jobs,” says McCorkindale. Looking to the next 30 years, the company is clear about one thing; the building and construction industry is rapidly evolving, and SMS must keep innovating and changing to survive and thrive. For example, as the company pushes into newer, different markets, it is seeing that the importance of custom colors is becoming much higher because people don’t want standard colors anymore. “People have a dream, and they want to see it come to fruition,” says Kweton. To this end, Sheet Metal Supply Ltd. plans to continue experimenting with new products and processes, as architects and their customers push design boundaries even further.