Nov-2017

42 43 DEPENDABLE MECHANICAL SYSTEMS The Thompson Hotel, Toronto Absolute Condos, Mississauga Maple Leaf, Toronto TTC, Toronto SERVICING THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY SINCE 1965 O'Neil Electric Supply carries a complete range of electrical products in lighting, controls, power distribution equipment, conduit, wire, boxes, devices, heating & ventilation, tools, safety equipment etc. Ontario’s Premier Independent Electrical Supplier oneilelectric.com POWERING FORWARD • The Largest Stocking Distributor in the GTA • In-house Product Specialists and Projects Team • Easy Ordering, Fast Service PROUD SUPPLIER OF Dependable Mechanical Systems Inc. PREFERRED VENDOR n Earl O’Neil Electric Supply Ltd. www.oneilelectric.com credit facilities set up, but those things are now in the past.” From its headquarters in Concord,Dependable Mechanical Systems operates a 25,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility,where theymake their own metal, do assemblies, and prefabricate components for delivery to sites for installation.A small office in Belleville and a temporary satel- lite office in Kingston,manage work in the East- ern Ontario region,where some big projects are underway in the Kingston/Trenton/Batawa area. Government contracts are lucrative for Ahuja’s business, including a large project finished last year at CFB Trenton.The massive hangar facil- ity for Canada’s C-17planes was a challenge in terms of logistics and installation, featuring two hangar bays, 120 feet high. Dependable Mechan- ical Systems also does a significant amount of work for Metrolinx: The Union Pearson Express facility at Toronto’s Union Station; a 200,000-sq.- ft. GO facility that services all eastern Ontario Metrolinx buses; GO Brampton and GO Halton bus facilities; and several TTC projects in prog- ress. With an increasing aging population, long-term care is another major sector.Ahuja reports,“We’re doing a big facility in Kingston, and another for VIVA in Oakville; just finished ones in Barrie and Oshawa, the expansion at Kipling Acres for the City of Toronto, and have a couple more in the pipeline. In fact,we have a crew geared especial- ly for those projects, as there is so much work out there in this field.” New builds comprise most of the work, but the company also does expansions and retrofits for school boards, universities, and governments, such as recently completed mechanical and electrical system upgrades for the City of Bar- rie offices.“We go in as a general contractor for these institutions,” says Ahuja.“On the heritage front,we’re presently working on the Old post office building in the city of Cambridge, and have done several historic buildings in downtown Toronto. Retrofitting these old structures requires specific expertise, because while you’re setting up new systems, you need to ensure the heritage aspect is not disturbed. “Because we’re in the infrastructure sector now, almost all our projects have LEED Gold and Silver re- quirements built in. It’s a point system–you must be fully aware of what design changes are required to conform to and exceed the requirements, and ensure sustainability is maintained over the whole life cycle of the building.” Looking ahead, the company is planning to ex- pand into other Canadian provinces and south of the border, as well. But Ahuja wants the infrastructure in place internally, first, so it’s a profitable venture when theymake the leap. Public/private partnerships is an- other sector being actively pursued; teaming up with general contractors and establishing new relation- ships in a big way in the future. Ahuja says,“Our business model moves around two key items.Technology is our biggest tool for growth –keeping checks and balances in place. Repeat business with customers is the second factor. Collab- oration with all stakeholders is critical. Keeping our clients abreast of changing tech requirements to bet- ter the design is an important aspect. It’s the flow of minor details that people, in hindsight, forget to take care of, but, in the long run, they can be very helpful to improve the life cycle of the building.These are what we bring to the table to ensure clients get the right product and value for their money.”