History

The Painting Contractors

The Calibre story began in 1986, with Terry Jennett Painting. When Terry graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in geology, Calgary was experiencing a downturn in the oil industry and there were no jobs for young geologists. Terry decided to turn his painting skills, which he used to work his way through school, into a business. Terry worked from an old truck, winning contracts with property management companies to perform condominium and apartment repaints.

In 1990, Shayne Butcher joined the company while he was attending the U of C to earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Coincidentally, he had previously owned and operated his own residential house painting business for two summers. Shayne became the production manager of Terry's company which, by now, had grown to a $400,000 per year operation. The company was renamed Calibre Coatings Ltd. in 1990 and within four years enjoyed a significant leap in sales.

In 1994, Terry decided to focus Calibre Coatings on commercial painting; the company was immediately successful in winning a number of contracts on newly constructed buildings. The formerly small truck-and-ladder painting contractor had become a growing commercial enterprise with nearly $1 million in annual sales. Although record growth happened quickly, it was not without growing pains - while revenues increased significantly, the business was losing money. Calibre discovered the expensive learning curve associated with entering a new market too quickly. There were no fast and easy solutions to the company's malaise except for the partners' desire to stay and succeed.

"We felt strongly that we had an obligation to the suppliers we owed money to and our employees. We didn't feel it was right to pull out on the business and them. We had the desire to turn the company around," recalls Shayne of their decision to stick it out. They soon learned how to manage the new construction division of the business and, as revenues continued to increase, the company returned to profitability. In fact, 1994 would stand as the only money-losing year in Calibre Coatings Ltd.’s now 19 year-long history.

Desire can be a powerful tool for an entrepreneur. Even when things seem bleak, a good business will reach deep, finding the desire to turn away from adversity and head toward success. In 1995, Calibre Coatings surpassed $1 million in sales and two years later it exceeded $2 million in revenue.

In 1997, Terry and Shayne became full partners. In 1999, the partners added Calibre Coatings (Edmonton) Ltd., a commercial painting company; and in 2000, Cal-Res Coatings Ltd., a residential painting company, to become “The Calibre Group of Painting Companies”. To better service their clients, equity partners were brought on board: James Strayer and Colin Ippolito for Edmonton; Jon Gibbs and Frank Brauer for Cal-Res. That same year, The Calibre Group recorded $5 million in sales.

Today, The Calibre Group of Painting Companies is one of the largest, most qualified commercial and residential painting services in Canada with sales of approximately $12 million per year.

In the construction industry where the lowest bid usually wins the contract, Calibre distinguishes itself by being consummately professional in its approach to business.

"There are not a lot of ways to paint a wall, but what we bring to our business is a professional outlook. Our staff dress and act professionally and when we take on a job, we do it right.

"But if problems or concerns arise, we go the distance to make it right," says Shayne. "There are a lot of competitors out there that are painters trying to run a business. We are businessmen running a painting company."

Calibre has built a reputation in the market for reliability. They are often awarded tenders even if the quote is slightly higher than the competition.

Calibre is also unique in the market in the way that it manages its workforce. Since painters tend to be transient within the industry, the companies work hard to attract and retain good employees. To that end, Terry and Shayne pay their painters higher than industry average wages and offer a benefits package. The companies also have profit sharing programs for key employees.

"Some of our staff have been with us for over 10 years," says Terry. Shayne and Terry also believe in giving their employees the freedom to be innovative. As the group of companies continue to grow, it becomes more difficult for the partners to be hands-on with every single project and to continue to interact with each and every customer.

"With the size that we are now, Terry and I would be running off our feet if we tried to manage every detail of the operation. We believe in giving our key employees the freedom to make decisions and take on progressively greater responsibility within the company. This allows us to take a more global approach to the business," says Shayne.

With new construction still going on in Calgary and Edmonton, Calibre Coatings expects continued growth, albeit at a little slower pace than in recent years.

"We'd like to continue to expand the business. We attribute our past growth in part to our willingness to venture into new areas of coatings applications and, of course, the strong Alberta economy. But we see most of our future growth coming from sticking to our core areas of expertise and expanding our business geographically," says Shayne.

The partners also attribute their success to the nature of their relationship: a good mix of business and friendship joined by the understanding of where to draw the line between the two.

"We knew each other professionally before we worked together. The friendship which developed has always been secondary to the business relationship," says Shayne. "We have disagreements like all partners do, but we always settle them like businessmen and don't take it personally. We think the partnership has been very good for the business."

Terry and Shayne are very pleased with how the painting business has evolved in 19 years and they are proud of Calibre's accomplishments. In 1997, Calibre Coatings was the first Alberta painting company to win an international award from the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America for a project it completed in the summer of 1996. The award was especially meaningful for Calibre because it competed against numerous companies from all across North America. Calibre Coatings also received an Honorary Mention in another competition for year 2000 projects.

Realizing that their success has been a team effort, the partners are very thankful for the support and loyalty of the company's suppliers and customers and especially appreciative of the time, effort and care put forth by their staff.

The Paint Recyclers

In 2004, Terry Jennett and Shayne Butcher purchased the assets of a failing recycler, and launched themselves in to the environmental services industry with Calibre Environmental Ltd.. Until that time, all of the unwanted paint in Alberta (or in western Canada, for that matter) was being incinerated or land-filled. This “post-consumer” paint was a resource that the partners could see needed to be recycled!

By 2005, Dean Brawn came in to the company as a partner. That same year, Calibre Environmental was able to secure a contract with the City of Calgary to recycle all the post-consumer paint from that town. Finally, in April of 2008, the province of Alberta unveiled its paint stewardship program, and the entire province was on the way to recycling all of its unwanted latex paint with Calibre Environmental!

Today, Calibre Environmental recycles about 800,000 litres of latex paint that, in days gone by, would have been sent to Swan Hills. In addition, Calibre Environmental crushes and bails all of the paint containers and finds recyclers to take this metal and plastic resource, which amounts to over 80 tonnes per year! These containers all used to end up in land fills across Alberta.

Calibre Environmental now has its sights set on the provinces of B.C. and Saskatchewan, where paint recycling still does not exist. It is the hope of the Calibre team that one day soon, all unwanted latex paint across western Canada will be recycled by Calibre Environmental Ltd..

The recycled paint that Calibre Environmental produces is called ecocoat, and it can be found in fine lumber and hardware store retailers across western Canada!

The Renovators

2005 was also a year that saw Terry and Shayne incorporate Calibre Developments Inc., originally formed to take advantage of the growing Calgary home renovation market, along with partners Tim Arnett and Jason Schoenau.

"The first year saw some growing pains as we had to learn what we were doing. We always had that Calibre entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to doing the job right and that got us through the first year," says Tim.

Late in 2006, the renovation company started conducting maintenance and improvements projects for property managers and small commercial projects for mainly Calibre Coatings customers who were starving at the time for skilled trades-people. The business basically took off from there. The company is continually working on larger projects and has undertaken the investment in time and money to make it happen.

"Our focus, as in all of our companies, is to reinvest in the company so that we are constantly improving the service to our customers. Throughout 2007, 2008, and 2009 we have been investing in safety – as evidenced by our obtaining our COR certification, and investing in our people, and in our tools and equipment," says Shayne.

Adds Tim, "One of our key differentiators from our competition is our commitment to our employees. We employ certified journeyman and encourage our apprentices to get certified. If you think about a customer who’s had their kitchen ripped apart, they don’t want to hear excuses on why we didn’t show up. By having employees as well as a mix of subcontractors we can greatly control this process and prevent the horrible stories you hear about from happening to our customers."

The Shelter Guys

January 1 of 2009 marked Calibre’s entrance to the oil and gas industry via the acquisition of Mocoat Fiberglass Products Ltd..

Long-time friend and partner Tim Arnett was persuaded that his company would be better off as part of the Calibre Group, and that he should become a partner along with Terry and Shayne in the centralized management company Calibre Management Services Ltd..

"We are excited by the enormous potential that Mocoat brings to the Calibre Group" says Terry. "We will reinvest in the company and constantly look for new opportunities to improve the products and processes that we offer to our customers – just as we have done with all of the other companies".

"With a customer base stretching from Colorado to the North Slope of Alaska and having served Western Canada since 1968, the company is well-established, well-known and is in a great position for significant growth," adds Tim.

The Calibre Group of Companies could not be successful without their loyal, repeat customers, suppliers and long-term operating partners and employees. They are thankful for that and really appreciate the support that they have received.